Google Cloud Launchpad: Scholar Onboarding — Transcript

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1. 0:01[music]
2. 0:03>> Welcome everyone to the Google Cloud
3. 0:05Launchpad program fall 2026. [music] We
4. 0:08are absolutely thrilled to have you join
5. 0:09this cohort of ambitious and dedicated
6. 0:11scholars. Before we take another step
7. 0:13today, please stop right now and make
8. 0:15sure you [music] have your scholar
9. 0:16handbook open right in front of you.
10. 0:18Whether you have it opened on your phone
11. 0:19or in a separate window on your computer
12. 0:21screen, [music] you will need it
13. 0:22throughout this entire onboarding
14. 0:23process.
15. 0:24Please turn right now to page one of
16. 0:26your scholar handbook. As you watch this
17. 0:28video, your main goal is to follow
18. 0:30[music] along page by page. To
19. 0:31understand where we are going, we first
20. 0:33need to look at our foundation. Mentor
21. 0:35me Collective is a technical institute
22. 0:37engineering a pipeline to hire the
23. 0:39leaders [music] of the future by
24. 0:40bridging specialized learning with
25. 0:42real-world professional mastery. Our
26. 0:44purpose is to engineer the
27. 0:45infrastructure for the next [music] 1
28. 0:47million tech leaders. Our vision is a
29. 0:48global workforce where technical
30. 0:50excellence is verified and every scholar
31. 0:52turned leader is indispensable. [music]
32. 0:54And our mission is simple, to provide a
33. 0:55high-velocity residency that transforms
34. 0:57ambitious candidates into indispensable
35. 0:59hires [music] through Google grade rigor
36. 1:02and UN Sustainable Development Goal
37. 1:03project builds.
38. 1:05Our story began in May 2020
39. 1:07>> [music]
40. 1:07>> during a period of unprecedented global
41. 1:09crisis. As the pandemic unfolded,
42. 1:11existing social, educational, and
43. 1:13economic disparities [music] did not
44. 1:15just persist, they amplified rapidly.
45. 1:17Seeing these systemic gaps firsthand,
46. 1:19[music]
47. 1:19our founder Chanel launched this
48. 1:21initiative not merely as a temporary
49. 1:22fix, but as a direct response to combat
50. 1:24pandemic inequities. The goal was simple
51. 1:27yet profound, to build a sustainable
52. 1:29bridge for talent [music] that the
53. 1:30traditional system was actively
54. 1:31overlooking. As we step into our shared
55. 1:33journey, it is essential that we
56. 1:35establish a clear understanding [music]
57. 1:37environment we are building together.
58. 1:38Our code of conduct is not just a set of
59. 1:40rules, it is the [music] cornerstone of
60. 1:42our community reflecting our deepest
61. 1:44commitment to creating a safe,
62. 1:45inclusive, and respectful space for
63. 1:47every single [music] participant whether
64. 1:49we are interacting online or offline.
65. 1:51This framework is directly grounded in
66. 1:52our core values,
67. 1:53>> [music]
68. 1:54>> excellence, faith, responsibility,
69. 1:56belonging, and respect. We embrace true
70. 1:58accountability and ownership, and we
71. 2:00deeply value the diverse perspectives
72. 2:02each of you brings to the table. [music]
73. 2:04Through open communication, genuine
74. 2:05collaboration, and mutual respect, we
75. 2:08ensure [music] that this community
76. 2:09remains a supportive space where
77. 2:10everyone can thrive, grow, and
78. 2:12contribute to positive change. Let
79. 2:14[music] us look at the key principles on
80. 2:15this slide. First, respect first. We
81. 2:18expect every member of this cohort to
82. 2:20treat each other with dignity, showing
83. 2:22consideration for different opinions,
84. 2:23life experiences, [music]
85. 2:25and technical backgrounds. I want to
86. 2:26emphasize this clearly. Harassment,
87. 2:28discrimination, or any form of
88. 2:30disrespectful behavior operates on a
89. 2:32zero tolerance [music] policy here. We
90. 2:34protect our community culture fiercely.
91. 2:36Second, professionalism. We ask that you
92. 2:38maintain a professional tone across
93. 2:40[music] all channels of interaction.
94. 2:42Whether you are posting in Slack,
95. 2:43participating in live video calls,
96. 2:45working on team projects, or engaging in
97. 2:47external program activities, [music]
98. 2:49keep your communication clear,
99. 2:50constructive, and courteous at all
100. 2:52times. Third,
101. 2:54>> [music]
102. 2:54>> collaboration. Success in this program
103. 2:56is not a solo journey. We encourage you
104. 2:58to actively foster a spirit of teamwork.
105. 3:00[music] Support your peers, lend a
106. 3:02helping hand when someone is stuck, and
107. 3:04contribute positively [music] to group
108. 3:05discussions. When one of us succeeds, we
109. 3:08all move forward together.
110. 3:09>> [music]
111. 3:09>> Please keep these standards top of mind.
112. 3:11As noted on the screen, please refer to
113. 3:13page three of your GCLP Scholar [music]
114. 3:15Handbook under Code of Conduct 1 through
115. 3:173 as your official source of truth.
116. 3:19>> [music]
117. 3:19>> Continuing with our code of conduct, let
118. 3:21us look at the final three principles
119. 3:23that guide how we hold ourselves
120. 3:25accountable and [music] foster an
121. 3:26inclusive environment.
122. 3:28Fourth, accountability. We ask that you
123. 3:30take full ownership of your actions and
124. 3:31contributions [music] to this program.
125. 3:33Fulfill your commitments, stay on top of
126. 3:35your schedule, and meet [music] all
127. 3:37program deadlines. If you ever run into
128. 3:39obstacles or foresee any challenges,
129. 3:41communicate early with your mentors and
130. 3:42peers [music] so we can support you
131. 3:44before issues compound. Fifth,
132. 3:46constructive feedback. Growth happens
133. 3:48when we share perspectives thoughtfully.
134. 3:50We encourage you [music] to give
135. 3:50feedback respectfully to help others
136. 3:52improve, while remaining open to
137. 3:54receiving feedback yourself. [music]
138. 3:55Treat every piece of guidance as a
139. 3:57direct opportunity for personal and
140. 3:58professional development. Sixth,
141. 4:01>> [music]
142. 4:01>> diversity and inclusion. We actively
143. 4:03embrace diversity in all its forms and
144. 4:05celebrate the unique backgrounds, ideas,
145. 4:07and [music] experiences each scholar
146. 4:08brings. Our goal is to ensure every
147. 4:11individual feels welcome, fully valued,
148. 4:13[music] and empowered to participate
149. 4:14completely. Remember also to adhere
150. 4:17strictly to all program [music]
151. 4:18guidelines outlined by Mentor Collective
152. 4:20and program leadership. Please keep
153. 4:22these standards [music] top of mind as
154. 4:23we move forward together. As noted on
155. 4:25the screen, refer to page three of your
156. 4:27Scholar Handbook under Code of Conduct 4
157. 4:29through [music] 7 as your official
158. 4:31source of truth. To thrive here, you
159. 4:33need to understand our system. We live
160. 4:35by four fearless pillars. First is
161. 4:37fearless feedback, [music] where
162. 4:38feedback is part of our daily rhythm,
163. 4:40rather than something we wait for at
164. 4:42review time, holding [music] each other
165. 4:43to high standards at all times. Second
166. 4:45is fearless growth, where this program
167. 4:47serves as an intentional stretch to
168. 4:49master new tools, navigate [music] team
169. 4:51dynamics, and acquire the exact skills
170. 4:53the tech industry actually demands.
171. 4:55Third is fearless purpose, showing up
172. 4:57with conviction, leading with your
173. 4:58unique gifts, and tying everything we do
174. 5:00to real-world impact. [music] Finally,
175. 5:02fearless alignment, keeping your process
176. 5:04and flow tight so your energy goes
177. 5:06toward the mission, [music] not
178. 5:07administrative confusion. Because
179. 5:09integrity means following through on
180. 5:10your commitments every time.
181. 5:15>> [music]
182. 5:15>> Now, let us zoom out and look at the big
183. 5:16picture of your experience over the
184. 5:18coming weeks. Welcome to your 16-week
185. 5:20journey to impact. This program is
186. 5:22intentionally [music] structured into
187. 5:24two distinct, high-value phases designed
188. 5:26to take you from foundational learning
189. 5:28all the way to practical,
190. 5:30>> [music]
191. 5:30>> real-world application.
192. 5:32The first major milestone is the Educate
193. 5:34phase, running from August 8th through
194. 5:36October 30th. This is your high-velocity
195. 5:38learning period. [music] During these 12
196. 5:40weeks, you will balance self-paced,
197. 5:42asynchronous coursework through Google
198. 5:43Skills platform with high-touch peer
199. 5:45[music] engagement. You will attend at
200. 5:46least one weekly track connect and
201. 5:48mandatory Workshop Wednesday sessions
202. 5:50[music] designed to keep you aligned and
203. 5:51supported. Your primary objective here
204. 5:53is clear. Complete all of your required
205. 5:56Google Cloud milestones by October 30th,
206. 5:582026. Once you complete the coursework,
207. 6:00>> [music]
208. 6:00>> you will transition directly into the
209. 6:02build phase, which spans from October
210. 6:0431st through November 29th. This
211. 6:06four-week period is dedicated entirely
212. 6:08[music] to your capstone phase. Here,
213. 6:10you take everything you learned during
214. 6:11the educate phase and synthesize [music]
215. 6:13that technical knowledge into real-world
216. 6:15portfolio projects. You will work on
217. 6:16hands-on solutions aligned with global
218. 6:18challenges, giving you tangible proof of
219. 6:20your skills to showcase to [music]
220. 6:21prospective employers and industry
221. 6:23peers. Please keep this roadmap in mind
222. 6:25as you plan your weekly schedules. Each
223. 6:27week builds directly on the last to
224. 6:29ensure you graduate [music] with both
225. 6:30theoretical understanding and real
226. 6:32project impact.
227. 6:34For our AI Cloud Leader track, weeks 1
228. 6:36through 4 focus on Cloud Digital [music]
229. 6:38Leader fundamentals, including
230. 6:39transformation, data strategy, trust,
231. 6:41and security, delivering a digital
232. 6:43transformation [music] brief and
233. 6:44security audit. Weeks 5 through 8 into
234. 6:47generative AI leadership, covering
235. 6:49vision, rag, responsible AI and
236. 6:51productivity apps, where you will build
237. 6:53an enterprise general [music] AI brief,
238. 6:54prompt library, notebook LM research,
239. 6:57and AI Studio Agent [music] prototype.
240. 6:59Weeks 9 through 11 dive into the GEAR
241. 7:01program, covering agent foundations,
242. 7:03data grounding, memory, and multi-agent
243. 7:06design, yielding single agent ADK
244. 7:08prototypes,
245. 7:09>> [music]
246. 7:09>> grounded agents with persistent memory,
247. 7:11and security audit logs. Finally, week
248. 7:13[music] 12 focuses on production and
249. 7:15wrap-up, deploying production-ready
250. 7:16agents to Cloud Run or GKE to earn your
251. 7:19official GEAR Digital Developer badge.
252. 7:22>> [music]
253. 7:26>> For those in Cloud Data Analytics, weeks
254. 7:281 through 3 cover foundations, life
255. 7:31cycles, architecture, and data [music]
256. 7:32lakehouses, producing cloud life cycle
257. 7:34diagrams, resume drafts, and analytics
258. 7:37[music] hub integrations. Weeks 4
259. 7:39through 7 tackle data lineage,
260. 7:40governance, optimization, [music]
261. 7:42and ELT pipelines featuring lineage
262. 7:45tracing exercises, partition BigQuery
263. 7:47labs, and ELT pipeline strategies. Weeks
264. 7:508 through 10 focus on UI/UX [music]
265. 7:52wireframing, dashboards, LookML, and Git
266. 7:56resulting in dashboard wireframes,
267. 7:57[music] LookML semantic models, and
268. 7:59interactive cloud dashboards. Weeks 11
269. 8:02and 12 are dedicated to capstone and
270. 8:04defense [music]
271. 8:04where you will clean and transform
272. 8:06multi-source data, build a self-service
273. 8:08capstone [music] dashboard, finalize
274. 8:10your tech resume, and complete mock
275. 8:11interviews. If you are in [music] cloud
276. 8:13computing foundations, weeks 1 through 4
277. 8:15focus on cloud fundamentals, app dev
278. 8:18infrastructure, [music]
279. 8:19and event-driven services aiming to
280. 8:21complete console IAM setups and earn
281. 8:23skill badge one. Weeks 5 and 6 [music]
282. 8:25cover core compute and networking and
283. 8:27secure networking where you will deploy
284. 8:29web servers on VMs, configure load
285. 8:31[music] balancers, and earn skill badges
286. 8:33two and three. Weeks 7 through 9 explore
287. 8:36observability, big data, [music]
288. 8:38ML pipelines, and pre-trained APIs
289. 8:40working through DataProc, BigQuery
290. 8:42[music] analytics, and Vertex AI to earn
291. 8:43skill badge four. Weeks 10 through 12
292. 8:46center on capstone architecture, build,
293. 8:48test, and evaluation delivering draft
294. 8:51[music] IAM and network strategies,
295. 8:53stress testing environments, submitting
296. 8:55code repositories, and earning the
297. 8:57official [music] Google Cloud Foundation
298. 8:58certificate. For our cloud engineering
299. 9:00track scholars, weeks 1 through 4
300. 9:03establish infrastructure foundations and
301. 9:04app dev environments [music]
302. 9:06deploying the cloud marketplace, VPC
303. 9:08networks, cloud functions, and Pub/Sub
304. 9:10to earn skill badges one and two. Weeks
305. 9:126 and 7 [music] tackle scaling,
306. 9:14automation, and cloud network
307. 9:16development through auto scaling
308. 9:17configurations, [music]
309. 9:18infrastructure automation, multiple VPC
310. 9:20connectivity, and BigQuery [music] SQL.
311. 9:23Weeks 8 and 9 focus on containers,
312. 9:25Kubernetes GKE, and Terraform IAC
313. 9:29creating GKE clusters via gcloud and
314. 9:31Kubectl, [music] writing modular
315. 9:33Terraform syntax, and managing remote
316. 9:35state. Weeks 10 through 12 culminate in
317. 9:37the capstone build and ace review, where
318. 9:39you will deploy a [music] multi-region
319. 9:41VPC via Terraform, review Associate
320. 9:43Cloud Engineer exam domains, complete a
321. 9:45live technical defense, and earn your
322. 9:47certificate. For Cloud Cybersecurity
323. 9:49[music] track scholars, weeks 1 through
324. 9:514 build cybersecurity foundations and
325. 9:53identity [music] access, mapping shared
326. 9:55responsibility models, configuring
327. 9:57complex IAM policies, and establishing
328. 10:00baseline security [music] setups. Weeks
329. 10:025 through 7 shift to DevSecOps and
330. 10:04security controls, implementing VPC
331. 10:06service controls, integrating security
332. 10:09into CICD [music] pipelines, and
333. 10:10configuring Cloud Armor and firewalls.
334. 10:13Weeks 8 through 10 focus on risk
335. 10:14management and incident response,
336. 10:16>> [music]
337. 10:16>> performing disaster recovery plan
338. 10:17evaluations, executing threat detection
339. 10:20simulations, and completing IR challenge
340. 10:22labs. Weeks 11 and 12 [music] cover
341. 10:24capstone and portfolio defense,
342. 10:26executing detection and response
343. 10:27capstone tasks, finalizing cloud
344. 10:30security [music] resumes, and conducting
345. 10:31mock technical and behavioral
346. 10:33interviews. For our AI research
347. 10:35foundations [music] track scholars,
348. 10:36weeks 1 through 3 explore small language
349. 10:39models, SLMs, and auto-regressive
350. 10:41pipelines, building [music] raw Python
351. 10:43N-gram models, perplexity evaluations,
352. 10:45and PyTorch [music] Jax data loaders
353. 10:47with dynamic masking. Weeks 4 through 8
354. 10:49focus on transformer architecture,
355. 10:51fine-tuning and model alignment, [music]
356. 10:53developing multi-head attention, LoRA
357. 10:56adapters, RLHF techniques, and safety
358. 10:59toxicity evaluations. Weeks 9 and 10
359. 11:01address GPU acceleration and capstone
360. 11:04formulation through VRAM profiling,
361. 11:06[music] INT8, INT4 quantization, mixed
362. 11:09precision training FP16 BF16, [music]
363. 11:12and peer-reviewed research proposals.
364. 11:14Weeks 11 and 12 complete training,
365. 11:16benchmarking, and [music] defense,
366. 11:18producing final trained model weights, a
367. 11:204-to-6-page AI research paper, and a
368. 11:22published open-source GitHub repository.
369. 11:25>> [music]
370. 11:25>> Starting October 31st and running
371. 11:27through November 29th, the training
372. 11:28wheels come off completely. The MMC
373. 11:30Portfolio Capstone is where you apply
374. 11:32your technical skills to real-world
375. 11:34challenges
376. 11:34>> [music]
377. 11:35>> to build a portfolio that speaks volumes
378. 11:36and makes you an indispensable hire.
379. 11:38Your project must address one of six UN
380. 11:40sustainable development goals: no
381. 11:42poverty, zero hunger, good health and
382. 11:44well-being, quality education, gender
383. 11:46equality, or clean water and sanitation.
384. 11:49Let [music] us discuss commitment and
385. 11:50accountability. Expect to dedicate at
386. 11:52least 20 hours per week to your track
387. 11:54course, keeping in mind that no platform
388. 11:56[music] activity for four consecutive
389. 11:58weeks results in immediate removal.
390. 12:00Furthermore, we enforce a two miss
391. 12:02maximum. You are allowed to miss a
392. 12:03maximum of two weekly track sessions,
393. 12:05>> [music]
394. 12:05>> as attendance is the strongest predictor
395. 12:07of scholar success. A fourth week Google
396. 12:10skills and activity leads to program
397. 12:11removal. If you miss a session, you must
398. 12:14make it up via Workshop Wednesday
399. 12:15[music] at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard
400. 12:17Time. The makeup process requires two
401. 12:19steps. [music] First, register on Luma
402. 12:22and engage by asking a live chat
403. 12:23question or leaving a YouTube replay
404. 12:25[music] comment. Second, posting your
405. 12:27#hubchannel confirming note review,
406. 12:30screenshot, [music] and tag your track
407. 12:31lead. Starting in week one, the dynamic
408. 12:34shifts. You are the leader. Scholars
409. 12:37will be divided into teams, and each
410. 12:38week a different [music] team will
411. 12:39present during the weekly track connect.
412. 12:41The process follows four steps. Prepare.
413. 12:43Collaborate with your team to build a
414. 12:45presentation based on the week's
415. 12:46specific learning milestones. [music]
416. 12:48Lead. Guide the session with
417. 12:50presentation on the assigned weekly
418. 12:52course. Deliver. [music]
419. 12:53Ensure the content is accurate,
420. 12:55engaging, and helps your peers stay on
421. 12:56track. Beyond slides, you can add Kahoot
422. 12:59and quizzes into your presentation.
423. 13:00[music]
424. 13:01Summarize. Provide a comprehensive
425. 13:02summary of key takeaways and open the
426. 13:04segment up for questions. To maintain
427. 13:07high operational standards in Slack and
428. 13:09keep [music] our inboxes sane, please
429. 13:10follow these rules. First, set your
430. 13:13profile title to region GCLP [music]
431. 13:15core scholar F26. For example, "Amir
432. 13:18GCLP cloud [music] data analytics
433. 13:20scholar F26." Second, execute the thread
434. 13:24strategy. Always [music] start support
435. 13:26posts with the thread emoji, so leads
436. 13:27can filter active discussions. Always
437. 13:30reply inside the thread of the initial
438. 13:31post, [music] rather than creating new
439. 13:33main channel messages, and only tag
440. 13:35track leads in the CC if direct
441. 13:37intervention is [music] required. Third,
442. 13:39adhere to hub engagement rules. Post
443. 13:41what you learned in your designated hub
444. 13:42channel weekly, and thoughtfully respond
445. 13:44to at least five [music] peers. Finally,
446. 13:46when you hit a roadblock, follow our
447. 13:48exact three-step support protocol. Step
448. 13:51one, [music]
449. 13:51self-service FAQ. Check the handbook
450. 13:54FAQs first, where 90% of enrollment,
451. 13:57platform, [music] and schedule questions
452. 13:58are answered. Step two, track lead. If
453. 14:01the FAQ does not solve it, post in your
454. 14:03Slack channel [music] using the thread
455. 14:04strategy and tag your track lead. Step
456. 14:07three, POC escalation. If still
457. 14:09unresolved, submit a formal support
458. 14:11request. Submissions must include
459. 14:13[music] a screenshot of the FAQ section
460. 14:15you consulted to prove a self-service
461. 14:17attempt. As a word of caution, direct
462. 14:19DMs [music] sent to a POC for tier one
463. 14:21issues covered in the FAQ will receive a
464. 14:23simple open book book emoji reply,
465. 14:25>> [music]
466. 14:26>> pointing you back to this protocol.
467. 14:27Respect the process, lean into your
468. 14:29community, and let us have an
469. 14:30extraordinary semester. That brings us
470. 14:33[music] to the end of the onboarding
471. 14:34course. Thank you so much for staying
472. 14:36tuned, for your focus, and for your
473. 14:38commitment to this journey. [music]
474. 14:39Remember that every step you take in
475. 14:40this program is a step toward building
476. 14:42your future and creating real impact.
477. 14:45You have a full community of mentors,
478. 14:47leads, and peers walking right [music]
479. 14:49beside you every single week. We wish
480. 14:51you all the absolute best as you embark
481. 14:53on this journey. Dive into the material,
482. 14:55stay curious,
483. 14:56>> [music]
484. 14:56>> ask questions, and most importantly,
485. 14:58enjoy the process. Happy learning,
486. 15:00everyone.