Student organization seeks imaginative technological solutions to today’s societal problems
In just two short years, the WMU Google Developer Student Club (GDSC) is already increasing the opportunities for hands-on experience in innovative technology, complex computer development, and broad community impact at Western Michigan University’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
“GDSC WMU’s mission is to empower our community with the resources, education and experience they need to create imaginative technological solutions to the problems facing society,” says Anika Tabassum, who is a computer engineering major and president of WMU’s chapter of GDSC.
Since the development of GDSC WMU, Tabassum has been an integral part of helping increase student involvement and community relations for the organization. One of her favorite accomplishments was bringing together multiple university computer clubs across the state of Michigan to collaborate and connect through workshops and networking events.
The group attended Michigan DevFest in Detroit, an event hosted by Google Developer Groups where they were able to hear from keynote speakers as well as collaborate with universities including University of Michigan and Wayne State University. Tabassum also served as a facilitator for this event which included helping plan, promote and manage event activities.
“It felt amazing to be able to collaborate with different universities and see our network grow even wider,”
says Tabassum.
Cody Thornell, a computer science major and GDSC WMU finance director, also attended the event. There he learned about new technologies, networked with other students and heard from industry professionals.
“My favorite speaker event was on Apple Vision Pro development, as we got to see an in-depth look into this before it was publicly released,” says Thornell.
In addition to attending Michigan DevFest, WMU’s GDSC travels to various events throughout the year including Google I/O and North America Connect in California, as well as the Midwest Collegiate Computing Conference (MWC3) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, all to help build connections and further develop their understanding of the industry.
Getting the opportunity to go to events like these has been fun and great for professional development, which I wouldn’t have gone to without being a part of a club here at Western.
Along with these opportunities for networking across the nation, WMU’s chapter of GDSC hosts various events throughout the year including workshops, trivia nights and hackathons to increase understanding of coding, applications, and computer developing tools within the Kalamazoo community.
“Most of our events are structured in a way that people from any major with any level of skills can join and learn,” says Tabassum.
The national GSDC program hosts an annual competition called the Solution Challenge. The Solution Challenge encourages students to create a project that contributes to solving one or more of the United Nations’ (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals, established in 2015 to help end poverty, ensure prosperity and protect the planet.
In 2023, GSDC WMU hosted their own version of this challenge where each team was asked to build a solution for at least one of the UN’s developmental goals. Due to his innovative ideas and skillful programing, Thornell won the GSDC WMU Solution Challenge with his app focused on clean water and life below water.
“My goal was to build an app that allowed the user to record and easily store the results of various tests and results, with the idea of researchers and activists being able to use this tool to help keep water clean,” says Thornell.
The Google Developer Student Club is a program developed by Google to help students network with other budding developers and build solutions for communities with Google technology. The GDSC at WMU’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences is one of over 2,100 college and university chapters across more than 100 countries.
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