In spite of the pandemic, it has been a tech-filled weekend last Oct. 17-18 as GDG Philippines streamed DevFest — an annual event that brings developers, tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and technology experts together to learn and collaborate.
The 2-day event covered six (6) main tracks: Mobile, Web, General Tech, Cloud, Data Science, and Women in Tech. It kicked off with a keynote talk from WTM Ambassadress and Co-Founder of Zaniacloud Ms. Josan Astrid Dometita-Chug for Day 1; and from the VP for Engineering of Hubble, a construction tech company based in Singapore, Sir Julius Uy for Day 2. DevFest not only aims to impart technical knowledge, but also targets a holistic approach through the General Tech Track where technology in different fields have been shared by speakers who are experts when it comes to education, agriculture, mental health/psychology, and personal development. A panel discussion with ladies in tech was held during the second day as well and it revolved around the topic of “Adapting the new normal and recovering during the COVID19 Pandemic” wherein best practices and coping mechanisms were shared.
The Virtual Experience
Collaboration and teamwork plays a vital role to make things work, especially in these trying times — which is why different chapters (GDG Manila, GDG Baguio, GDG Cebu, GDG Zamboanga, GDG Cagayan De Oro, and WTM Manila) in the country exerted their efforts to make DevFest happen virtually for the first time.
Technology is truly something that bridges people as it made it possible to bring the same energy and experience to the community amidst the pandemic. The event collectively garnered thousands of views from our social media channels. A dedicated Slack channel has been set up as well for everyone to communicate with fellow attendees, speakers, and volunteers — networking continues, now with just some clicks!
Event goodies, a physical photo booth, and fancy meals may not have been present due to the situation… but games, a virtual photo booth, and raffles with prizes were still achieved, plus the fact that everyone’s in the safety and comfort of their homes sipping a cup of coffee or enjoying the snacks of their choice while learning matched up with the paid physical experience. With the community being hungry for knowledge, the major advantage of having the event streamed online was that it can be replayed in their convenience — all for free!
*Kindly check out the details below to replay.
Hopefully, the pandemic will be over soon. But who knows? Uncertainty continues to prevail. But one thing’s for sure: based on the event itself and the majority of the attendees’ feedback, Google Developer Group Philippines have indeed set the bar high for its first virtual DevFest, conserving the event’s branding as the grandest tech conference. Therefore, it just proves that this pandemic will not hinder the community from being passionate when it comes to growing, sharing, and acquiring new knowledge.
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Share your DevFest feedback at: http://bit.ly/DevFestPHFeedback
Missed some talks? Replay anytime for free:
DAY 1
Plenary Sessions
Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/unEp6ul31SE
Keynote by Josan Astrid Dometita-Chug
11:15 – 55:48
Achieving hermetic UI tests by Kurt Renzo Acosta
1:01:40 – 1:49:02
What’s New in Kotlin 1.4 by Hassan Abid
1:49:30 – 2:39:15
AI Pilipinas Talk with Ralph Regalado
2:39:48 – 2:44:45
Building your Performant Web App using Fastify and Lit Element running on Firebase Hosting and Cloud Run by TJ Monserrat
3:00:22 – 3:56:41
Shipping a PWA as an Android app using Bubblewrap by Blessing Krofegha
3:58:20 – 4:46:45
Angular & Technical SEO by Sam Vloeberghs
4:48:15 – 5:28:23
Breakout Sessions
Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/Sfgtum5ENSM
Bridging the Gap of Education and the Tech Industry by Marie Ariessa Lane Chua Ko
23:16 – 51:10
Platform Innovation for Impact & Inclusivity: Agri-Sector’s High-Tech and High-Touch Model by JT Solis
1:16:00 – 2:00:42
Unionbank
2:08:20 – 2:29:40
Mental Health & the Psychology of Emotion In Technology by Margaret Alexandra Castañeda Lee
2:30:20 – 3:17:13
A Practical Guide To Build Your Personal Brand by Alex Solis
3:19:05 – 4:15:50
DAY 2
Plenary Sessions
Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/6wCLai4nKhc
Scientific Leadership by Julius Uy
10:50 – 53:25
Secrets and Serverless — managing and deploying secrets with KMS and Secret Manager in Google Cloud by Weiyuan, Liu
54:08 – 1:44:25
Event-driven serverless architectures using Knative and Cloud Run by Mete Atamel
1:44:45 – 2:42:15
Cloudstaff
2:42:40 – 3:11:46
Panel Discussion: Adopting the new normal and recovering during the COVID19 Pandemic
3:21:15 – 3:55:55
Stojanovic and Associates
3:56:18 – 4:08:14
The Magic Data Science Toolbox by Melissa Gave Miró Quesada
4:08:44 – 4:48:40
Accelerating model training speed using distributed training with TensorFlow 2 by Jeong Kyu Shin
4:50:15 – 5:38:53
Breakout Sessions
Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/YkHMwI4Lo0g
Contemplate, Connect, Create: How Diverse Experience Helped Me as a UX Career Shifter by Chickee Pante-Fuerman
00:15:20 – 1:13:15
Game Design Essentials by Maria Rona L. Perez
1:14:40 – 1:45:22
This is what a Tester Looks like by Charlotte Bersamin & Charlene Mendillo Granadosin
2:12:30 – 3:02:10
How You Can Up Your Tech Career by Cristine Chen
03:03:55 – 03:56:18
