DevKids: An inside look at the kids of DevFest
After Aaron Ma, an 11-year-old DevFest speaker, recently gave
his
tips on coding, people kept asking us, “so what are the other kids of DevFest
working on?” In response, we want to show you how these incredible kids, or DevKids as we call
them, are spreading their ideas at DevFest events around the world.
Below you will find the stories of DevKids from Morocco to Toronto, who have spoken on topics
ranging from robotics to augmented reality. We hope you enjoy!
Ider, an 11-year-old developer from Morocco, has a passion for Python and
is not afraid to use it. With an incredibly advanced understanding of machine learning and
augmented reality, he was asked to speak at
DevFest Agadir on what
the future holds for kids interested in programming.
Ider’s presentation was titled, The Talk of The Next Generation and focused on how kids can
find their passion for computer science and start building the future they one day hope to
call reality.
Selin, a 13-year-old developer from Istanbul who was named the
European Digital Girl of the Year by AdaAwards,
joined the DevFest family last season. Recently, at a
DevFest event in Istanbul, she told the story of
how she became fascinated with robotics through a presentation titled,
My Journey of
Building Robots. With a passion for Python, Java, and Ruby, she explained how she
is using her skills to build a robotic guide dog for the blind. She hopes that with the help
of technology, she can open up a new, more accessible world for those with
disabilities.
Radostin, a 13-year-old programmer from Bulgaria, joined the DevFest family
last season as a speaker and is now a core member of the DevFest Organizing Team. Recently, he
created an app for the team that gathers feedback on different DevFest
events.
Previously, he gave a talk at
DevFest Sofia on
how he built an app that teaches people to play chess on Google Assistant. The young developer
also spoke of how his aunt introduced him to coding and how watching her program inspired him
to learn Java, Kotlin, C #, Python, Dart, and C ++. He ended his presentation
recounting long nights, spent watching YouTube videos, in search of anything he could get his
hands on to learn. Radostin has inspired his DevFest family to believe they can learn
anything, anywhere, at anytime.
Artash (12-years-old) and Arushi (9-years-old), are a brother-sister programing team
from Canada. At
DevFest
Toronto, they showcased their very-own facial recognition robot that uses Machine
Learning to Detect Facial Emotions. Their presentation was complete with live demonstrations
where their robot analyzed fellow DevFest speakers and gave physical responses to their
emotions. The two up-and-coming programmers also described how they went about creating their
own ML algorithm to build the robot.
What inspired them to start such a project? Space travel. Artash and Arushi believe that as
astronauts embark on longer space missions, it’s important to build tools that can monitor
their mental health. One day, they hope their robot will accompany astronauts on the first
trip to Mars.
Inspired by these awesome kids? Want to share your own ideas with a welcoming
community? Then find a DevFest near you, at devfest.withgoogle.com.
