Holly Ade-Simpson Lands Sydney Google Internship

Victoria University student Holly Ade-Simpson will join the cream of global tech wizards this summer as she interns at Google’s Sydney headquarters.

Google was rated this year by professional networking site LinkedIn as the most desirable workplace in the world.

Currently studying electronics and computer engineering in Wellington, the former Nelson College for Girls student will begin the Google STEP internship programme on November 24, working until mid-February on a planned software engineering project, skills-based training, and professional development opportunities.

Mentorship from existing Google employees is also on offer, not to mention the chance to connect with the other talented individuals on her programme.

Ade-Simpson said she indicated in her application that she would prefer to be involved with Google’s browser, Chrome, or its file-sharing programme, Google Drive.

She said the products appealed to her because they were familiar. Chrome was widely used by consumers, and she found Drive “so handy” in her own work.

The application process involved two phone interviews and two technical interviews where she had to perform tasks while speaking with the interviewer.

“They watched me code, which was quite nerve-wracking, but it was fun.”

Ade-Simpson said she had been taking a lot of software development papers but eventually hoped to move into working with the interactions between humans and robots.  She completed an internship with Wellington software company OpenCloud last summer.

Original article by Sarah Dunn, The Nelson Mail, 25 September 2014