As a global organisation, Google has become one of the largest employers on the planet and as they aim to find more representation in the tech industry, an internal group named the BGN (Black Googlers Network) was working on doing just that. Part of those efforts was the Hackathon, an intiative designed to bring more Black talent into the industry at the entry level. The successful 70 applicants came for a 24hr hackathon in Google’s Kings Cross event space, where they were broken into teams and worked to create products based on the following themes:
- Build a Tool which helps small businesses
- Build a tool that educated or empowers people
- Create a game around the entertainment and leisure industry
Combined with this, the candidates were also given a presentation from various Recruiting teams, detailing some of the opportunities and ways to access employment at Google. The hackathon and presentations were delivered in a space utilising a panoramic video wall from Samsung, Meyer UPJ audio array, a lighting grid utilising NET3, and the highlight reels were shot using Sony FS7 cameras.