Nairobi Devfest2017 Through The Eyes Of a Newbie
Queuing behind my super-hyper friends at the security check at Strathmore University,I could feel excitement rushing through my veins and threatening to explode through my ears to my mouth.I wanted to scream or shout or do anything crazy but luckily, I caught myself just in time.It was like I had stumbled upon a new wave of emotion that was so alien for me to wrap my mind around it.It was a rollercoaster of excitement,anxiety,anticipation and extreme curiosity! This was the day I was going to attend my first GDG Devfest!
The event had already started by the time we were all cleared up at the entrance.One of the things that make me love tech events is the free things you are given there and besides,who doesn`t? And this is what happened immediately thereafter.We were each handed really lovely bags as they confirmed our registeration to the event.Inside the bags were super soft t-shirts with GDG Devfest logo on them.Now that is what I love!
We proceeded to the tents which were really packed with tech lovers(approximately 800+ attendees) and the only free seats we could find were the ones at the far back.From where I was seated,the speakers on stage were nothing but a blurry of images and God help me if I am not going to confess that it felt like I was in diaspora.I guess that is what you get for coming late.The only saving grace I had was that I possess a really good pair of ears and a smartphone that allowed me to view the speakers from the GDG website.
Starting with our country`s GDG mentor,Dennis Riungu,the speakers gave well prepared and interactive presentations on various fields,from the latest technologies Google has released to the different APIs a developer can use to build applications.The following is a list of some of the sessions we had:
LIST OF THE SESSIONS AND THE SPEAKERS:
1. Introduction to Firebase — Joey Yang and Spencer Phippen
2. Making the world a better place with Local Guides Programme — Robert Opiyo
3. The API Ecosystem and Google APIs in business — Amadou Daffe
4. Android App Architecture Patterns — Seth Kigen
5. Progressive Web Apps — John Kennedy Mumo
6. The basics of Angular JS and Typescript — Dennis Riungu
7. Taking advantage of Kotlin with Android — Frank Tamre and Seth Kigen
8. The Ultimate Pitch (Pitches,Launchpads,Startups) — Dirk-Jan Koeman
9. All things IoT — Alfred Ongere, Leonard Mabele and Ngesa Marvin
10. Google Assistant — Caleb Ndungi Kimani
11. DevOps — Joseph Muli and Thomas Nyambati
12. Machine Learning — Catherine Gitau, Hazel Apondi and Muthoni Wanyoike
The above list is just the tip of the iceberg.If you want to learn more,follow this link:
Of course time being a limiting factor (why does it always have to be time?? Ugh!),we could not be able to attend all of the sessions.Believe me,no one could and that is the exact reason why such events are called Devfests!! They are buffets!!! You eat according to your own top priorities.Since we arrived late(not too late,it was eleven),we found some of the sessions such as All things IoT already over and done with,but just in time for other equally awesome sessions such as ‘The API Ecosystem and Google APIs’ by Amadou Daffe,the CEO and Co-Founder of Gebeya.To be brutally honest,somethings I was hearing them for the first time and why not,I am a newbie!
However,after lunch which unfortunately was in my mind all through the two previous sessions,came the session which I was eagerly waiting for.The FIREBASE APPFEST session which by the way was going to be the first in Africa! This is the session I had anticipated for all week.It was going to be a hackerthon in which all the registered teams were going to create an application which used firebase tools.It was a competition where the lucky team were going to win 1000USD and other amazing prizes such as chrome notebooks.I may have “floated” in the other sessions but I knew there was no way the same was going to happen in this.Reason being that that whole week I had been practicing how to integrate Firebase features such as realtime database,cloud messaging,cloud firestore,remote configuration and of course,authentication into applications.I remember how at times in between the week I would fall asleep on my laptop while I was coding.
Eyeing the other teams scattered all over in the beautiful yet massive auditorium one last time,I crossed over to where my teammates were waiting for me and settled down to some real work.After about 4 hours,we submitted our application not with so much hopes.We knew we had done our best.However,we did not win.We did not even make it to the top 5 apps! It was awful,not the appfest,the app we made but at the back of our minds,the app was still a dream and we knew it would be right someday.Just not that day.
But the overall best thing I love about these events is the networking part.The collection of people that you meet and interact with is sometimes the sole reason I attend these events and Nairobi Devfest was one that I could not afford to miss.The possibilities it promised were endless.I got the chance to interact with people with whom I share the same passion for tech,for development and for a better world with.I acquired new friends,colleagues and mentors.Trust me you,the jokes and the laughter would make one doubt if these crazy fellas would even understand the basic tags of html!
Coming to the end of the day,I could not help but wonder at just how much one can accomplish within a day.It was one of the best days I have ever had and I swear it was one hell of an event you wish you had never missed(..that is if you did).
For a newbie,Nairobi Devfest2017 did not disappoint.In fact it outdid itself and surpassed all my expectations.Thanks to the great organizing team being led by Dennis Riungu and Roina Achieng’,Strathmore GDG lead.
#NAIROBI DEVFEST2017
