Join the Speedrun Challenge Europe
You have the opportunity to join our second Community Speedrun Challenge, that takes place this May in collaboration with Google Developer Groups, Developer Student Clubs and other tech communities in Europe. Here you have the chance to get learn and get hands-on experience with different topics, all while scoring points and winning prizes. We have in total four different Speedruns ready for you.
What is a Speedrun?
A Speedrun is a game based on Qwiklabs that contains different labs that you need to complete as fast as you can in order to score points to make your way up in the leaderboard. New to the topic? Great news: Each Speedrun kicks off with a webinar hosted by a Google trainer so you can make yourself familiar with the topic. After the webinar you have one week to complete all of the labs in the speedrun as fast as you can (you can try each lab five times). Check out the videos from the previous Speedrun Challenge in February here.
Prizes*
This Community Speedrun Challenge is for developers in Europe, this means prizes are available for developers based in Europe. Please also register in order to receive a prize for the Speedrun Challenge.
- All participants that finish at least one Speedrun will get one-month free subscription to Qwiklabs and earn a badge for each Speedrun they complete
- Top Winners from each Speedrun receive a $50 voucher for the Google Online Store
- Runners-up 2-5 of each Speedrun receive $20 voucher for the Google Online Store
Who is this online training for?
Both the webinars and the labs in the speedruns are designed so both beginners and more advanced users can enjoy the learning experience. They include all the necessary explanations so everyone can do it at their pace.
How does it work?
Each Speedrun kicks off with a Webinar by a Google trainer (19.00-21.00 (GMT +02)). The Speedrun is open until Sunday the same week to give you the ability to finish all labs in your best time.
- Register for all Speedruns that you are interested in
- Receive the access to the Speedrun as well as all information about the webinar before the Speedrun starts
- Register your Qwiklabs account (you will need an account to participate)
- Join the online webinar and learn from a Google trainer all about the Speedruns topic and finish the first lab together
- Within the same week: Complete all of the labs for the Speedrun as fast as you can - you can play each of the labs up to five times to score your best time
- Check out the leaderboards and see how much you scored (will be updated soon)
- Receive a one-month free subscription to Qwiklabs*
- Repeat for all Speedruns :D
Topics & Times
Speedrun #1: Baseline: Data, ML, AI
Labs: AI Platform: Qwik Start, Creating a Data Transformation Pipeline with Cloud Dataprep, Dataflow Qwik Start - Templates, Classify Images of Clouds in the Cloud with AutoML Vision- Timeframe: May 4th-10th
- Game & Leaderboard (access code: 4d-csc-0105)
- Webinar with Zack Akil (Google) - YT Recording
- May 4th, 19.00-21.00 (GMT+02)
- Lab: Classify Images of Clouds in the Cloud with AutoML Vision
Speedrun #2: Intro to ML: Language Processing
Labs: Google Cloud Speech API: Qwik Start, Cloud Natural Language API: Qwik Start, Entity and Sentiment Analysis with the Natural Language API, Speech to Text Transcription with the Cloud Speech API- Timeframe: May 11th-17th
- Game & Leaderboard (access code: 4d-csc-0205)
- Webinar with Dale Markowitz (Google) - YT Recording
- May 11th, 19.00-21.00 (GMT+02)
- Lab: Entity and Sentiment Analysis with the Natural Language API
Speedrun #3: Intermediate ML
Labs: Implementing an AI Chatbot with Dialogflow, Classify Text into Categories with the Natural Language API, Awwvision: Cloud Vision API from a Kubernetes Cluster, Google Assistant: Build an Application with Dialogflow and Cloud Functions- Timeframe: May 18th-24th
- Game & Leaderboard (access code: 4d-csc-0305)
- Webinar with Lee Boonstra (Google) - YT Recording
- May 18th, 19.00-21.00 (GMT+02)
- Lab: Google Assistant: Build an Application with Dialogflow and Cloud Functions
Speedrun #4: BigQuery for Machine Learning
Labs: Getting Started with BQML, Predict Taxi Fare with a BigQuery ML Forecasting Model, Predict Visitor Purchases with a Classification Model in BQML, Implement a Helpdesk Chatbot with Dialogflow & BigQuery ML- Timeframe: May 25th-May 31st
- Game & Leaderboard (access code: 4d-csc-0405)
- Webinar with Felipe Hoffa (Google) - YT
- May 25th, 19.00-21.00 (GMT+02)
- Lab: Predict Taxi Fare with a BigQuery ML Forecasting Model
Trainers
Do I need to register to join the Speedrun?
Yes, you need to register in order to receive the access code for the Speedrun. Only then your best time will be counted for each Speedrun. With registering you will be provided with all necessary information as well as the access to the webinar that is connected with the Speedrun.
Is this an in-person Event?
The Speedruns and the webinars are all online events, so you can join from wherever you want.
Is this a lecture about Google Cloud?
No, it is not. This is a hands-on event to get you started with a new topic every week using Qwiklabs as a learning platform. The trainers will guide you through the lab(s) for the webinar. After that you can continue the journey for this speedrun on your own.
Is this a Q&A session?
You have the chance to ask questions during the webinar (via the comment function on YouTube Livestream).
Will I get free access to Qwiklab after the event?
Yes, you will, if you finished at least one lab. The event offers a one-month free subscription to Qwiklab which will be shared with you in the beginning of June after all Speedruns finished. If you join more than one Speedrun, you only will be able to access Qwiklabs for one month in total, not for four months. You also need to redeem the Qwiklabs code within a month in order to access the one-month free subscription.
Winners and prizes
The Community Speedrun Challenge is for developers in Europe, this means prizes are for developers based in Europe. Everyone can enjoy the learning experience through Qwiklabs.
- One-month free subscription for Qwiklabs: everyone that finishes at least one Speedrun will receive this prize
- $50 voucher for the Google Merchandise Store: the top winner of each Speedrun
- $20 voucher for the Google Merchandise Store: the runners-up from the 2nd to the 5th position of each Speedrun
Participants need to redeem their voucher within a month.
More Questions?
Please reach out to: community-training-eu[at]google.com in case you have more questions.