The department's student, Konstantinos Kechagias, a member of the team responsible for coordinating the Google Developer Group (GDG) in Athens, was recognized by Google at the European level for his contribution to the computing community, as one of the top GDGs in Europe.
The aim of GDG Athens is to create a community where those interested in computing can communicate, exchange ideas, and assist each other.
As part of these activities, the team carried out many actions that led to the community's distinction at the European level. These included supporting teams to participate in innovation contests, workshops for technologies in demand in the labor market, supporting students and workers to obtain certifications in the field of computing, interview simulations, and of course, lectures from leading scientists in the field.
In parallel, the community commits to providing equal opportunities to all its members and actively works towards this direction. These actions aim to address inequalities that may exist in the computing community and promote equal opportunities for all. Moreover, members of the community have been encouraged to engage in meaningful discussions about ethical practices and fairness in technology. These conversations also focus on how to prevent the replication of real-world biases and injustices in the computing sector.
Subsequently, actions were taken to explore the connection of computing with other sciences. For example, one such activity was 'Music in Computing', where people from these two worlds were brought together to discuss and explore any correlation between the science of computing and music, and if there is, to examine potential synergies to advance both fields.
The collaboration with the University of Athens is close, with many activities of GDG Athens also being supported by the Google Developer Student Club and the ACM Student chapter of the University of Athens. Meanwhile, the department's doctoral student, Konstantinos Kechagias, has been selected by Google as co-lead of the GDG, focusing on Cloud & Artificial Intelligence.