The Google Developer Student Clubs 2023 Solution Challenge mission is to solve for one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals using Google technology.

1. Decode
The Solution
This guide to Google Solution Challenge 2024
Manipal Institute Of Technology, Manipal

2. Table of Contents
1. Overview
2. Solution Challenge Event
3. Timeline
4. Prizes
5. Submission Criteria
6. Speakers
7. Resources
8. FAQ

3. Overview

4. The Google Developer Student Clubs 2023 Solution
Challenge mission is to solve for one of the United Nations’
17 Sustainable Development Goals using Google technology.
Created by the United Nations in 2015 to be achieved by
2030, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed
upon by all 193 United Nations Member States aim to end
poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet.
We invite Leads to join the competition and/or host
workshops to help their club members participate.
Overview

6. The hardest part is getting started.
What if? There were no limits to your
ideas? Technological constraints didn’t exist? You
could have an impact with just the resources
available to you?
Advice from winners Just start moving in a
direction, you’ll learn along the way (don’t over plan!).You don’t
have to solve the world’s problems, just one that’s meaningful
to you. You don’t need the perfectly technical team, just a
group that’s inspired and dedicated.

7. January May June July
Registration is open!
December 1
Submissions Open
January 21
Kickoff Event
January 11
Solution Challenge Demo Day
Winning 3 Announced
June 27
Top 100 Announced
Early April
Judging Round 1
March
Judging Round 2
May
Timeline
February March April
December
Submissions Close
February 22
Top 100 Resubmit
April 29 - May 5
Final 10 Announced
Late May
Learn & Build Phase Demo Day Prep
Mentorship Phase

8. Prizes
Top 100
Receive customized
mentorship from Googlers
and experts to take solutions
to the next level, a branded T-
shirt, and a certificate.
Final 10
Receive additional
mentorship, a swag box, and
the opportunity to showcase
solutions to Googlers and
developers all around the
world at Demo Day live on
YouTube.
Contest Finalists
In addition to the swag box,
each individual from the
additional seven recognized
teams will receive a Cash
Prize per student.
Winnings for each qualifying
team will not exceed $4,000.
Winning 3
In addition to the swag box,
each individual from the
Winning 3 teams will receive a
Cash Prize and a feature on
the Google Developers Blog.
Winnings for each qualifying
team will not
exceed $12,000.

9. Submission Criteria
Project Setup
1. Please clearly describe
the challenge you are
solving for using a
problem statement.
(5 POINTS)
2. What United Nations'
Sustainable Development
goal(s) AND target(s) did
you choose for your
solution? What inspired
you to select these
specific goal(s) AND
target(s)?
(5 POINTS)
Implementation
3. Describe the architecture
that your team chose for
your solution. What are the
high-level components of
your architecture? What is
the responsibility of each
component?
(5 POINTS)
4. Which specific products
and platforms did you
choose to implement these
components and why?
(5 POINTS)
Feedback / Testing / Iteration
5. Feedback from users, testing, & iteration
●Walk us through the steps you took to test
your solution with real users (outside of
your team). Provide three specific
feedback points you received from real
users.
●What did you learn and how did it help
improve your solution? What are three
specific things you implemented and
improved for your solution based on the
feedback from users?
(5 POINTS)
6. Code testing and iteration
●Highlight one challenge you faced while
building your code, including detail on how
you addressed the issue and the technical
decisions and implementations you had to
make.
(5 POINTS)
Success & Completion of Solution
7. How does your solution address the
challenge you are looking to solve for? Describe
the success of your solution using metrics,
goals, and outcomes. What Google
technologies are you using to track usage
analytics? Using relevant (or meaningful)
statistics, concrete data or numerical examples
where possible. Or, where numbers aren’t
possible to use, please describe your project’s
impact using cause and effect.
(5 POINTS)
8. Upload a copy of your demo video
(maximum 2 minutes). Make sure the video
demonstrates a working application and how a
user will interact with the solution. Make sure
the video also makes effective use of the
chosen Google products. Feel free to include
infographics or visual representation of the data
in your demo video.
(5 POINTS)
Scalability
9. What do you see as the
future / next steps for your
project? How would you
expand your solution to
reach a larger audience?
(5 POINTS)
10. Explain how the
technical architecture of
your solution could support
(in its current state or with
minor changes) scaling to a
larger audience.
(5 POINTS)
These are the questions on the submission form that you will be asked to provide responses for.

10. Judging Criteria
Impact - 25 Points
1. Does the entry establish a clear challenge using their problem statement?
(5 POINTS)
2. Do they explain clearly which UN Sustainable Development goals and
targets they chose for their solution and why? (5 POINTS)
3. Feedback from users, testing & iteration (5 POINTS)
a. Does the team clearly describe three feedback points they
received from real users and the steps they took to test them?
b. Is there evidence of what the team learned and how the solution
was iterated upon based on user feedback?
4. Does the solution address the challenge (and problem statement)
identified by the team? Does the team adequately describe the success of
their solution using metrics, goals, and outcomes, or through cause and
effect? (5 POINTS)
5. Is there evidence of next steps? Does the team display a clear plan for
future extension to a larger audience if they were to continue? (5 POINTS)
Technology - 25 Points
1. Does the team clearly describe the following: architecture, high-level components,
responsibility of each component, specific products and platform they implemented?
Has the team clearly explained what Google technology they used and why? (5 POINTS)
2. Does the solution implement all the technical components needed to solve the
challenge? (5 POINTS)
3. Code testing and iteration (5 POINTS)
a. Does the team highlight one challenge they faced while building their code, how
they addressed the issue, and the technical decisions and implementations
they had to make? Did the team include guidance on running their code?
4. Does the video demonstration show an actual working application (not a mockup) and
how a user will interact with the solution? Does the demo show how the solution makes
effective and appropriate use of the features of the chosen Google technology or
platform? (5 POINTS)
5. Can the solution, in its current form or minor structural changes, support more users and
increased scale? (5 POINTS)
A panel of judges from Google will use the following criteria to evaluate and score all submissions.

11. It’s important to start with creating an effective problem statement.
A good problem statement:
● Presents an opportunity of some significance,
urgency, and priority
● Relates in the simplest terms possible, the process
of concern and impact on the community
● Includes enough data so the audience can understand
the size and scope of the problem, together with
the degree or magnitude of the problem
● Should not be more than one paragraph (as little as
2-3 sentences, as much as 5-6 sentences)
How to structure a problem statement
● Who is experiencing the problem?
○ What segment/s of the community, how many?
● What is the problem?
○ Describe issue being experienced or need going unmet
● Where/when is the problem occurring?
○ Context, situation, or process in which the problem exists
● Why is it a problem? Why is it important to address?
○ Impact to community, region, businesses, organizations
Creating a Problem Statement

12. Speaker Intro

13. VATSAL ADIHYA
• Google Solution Challenge 2023 Top 100 finalists
• Flutter Developer
• Software Developer- Xero Apps
• IIIT Kota, CSE 2024​

14. TANISHQ JAISWAL
• Google Solution Challenge 2022 Top 50 finalists
• Winner HackHarvard'19 & '21
• Microsoft Imagine Cup India Finalist
• SIH'20 Finalist.

15. Apply to Solution
Challenge!
December 2023

16. Apply to Solution Challenge!
Use this QR to fill the form:

17. Apply to Solution Challenge!
Submission Criteria Guidelines*
Project Setup
• Please clearly describe the challenge you are solving for using a
problem statement.
• What United Nations' Sustainable Development goal(s) AND
target(s) did you choose for your solution? What inspired you to
select these specific goal(s) AND target(s)?
Implementation
• Describe the architecture that your team chose for your solution.
What are the high-level components of your architecture? What is
the responsibility of each component? Technical components -
Backend, Frontend, Technologies, Programming languages and
Tools used
• Which specific products and platforms did you choose to
implement these components and why?

18. Apply to Solution Challenge!
Feedback / Testing / Iteration
• Walk us through the steps you took to test your solution with real users
(outside of your team). Provide three specific feedback points you received
from real users. What did you learn and how did it help improve your
solution? What are three specific things you implemented and improved for
your solution based on the feedback from users?
• Highlight one challenge you faced while building your code, including detail
on how you addressed the issue and the technical decisions and
implementations you had to make.
Success and Completion of Solution
• Please describe your project's impact using cause and effect. How does
your solution address the problem you are looking to solve? How were
some of the goals of your solution evidenced? What was the quantifiable
data collected? What tools did you use to help understand your solution's
impact?

19. Apply to Solution Challenge!
Scalability / Next Steps
• What do you see as the future / next steps for your
project? How would you expand your solution to reach a
larger audience?
• Explain how the technical architecture of your solution
could support (in its current state or with minor changes)
scaling to a larger audience.

20. Apply to Solution Challenge!
Demo Video Guidelines
• Please make sure your video is no longer than 2 minutes in duration (judges
will only review the first 2 minutes of a demo video if it is longer)
• Your video must be produced at 1x speed and cannot be adjusted (i.e.
accelerated) to meet demo video duration requirements. Video audio must be
in English to be eligible.
• Start with a short Introduction (15-30 seconds): Solution name, where your
team members are from, a concise problem statement, stating which
Sustainable Develop Goals you’re solving for in this project, and a high-level
overview of your solution
• Then begin demonstrating your solution (show us how your solution works);
Judges will have your written responses from this submission form to
understand the full context of your project, so there is not a need to cover
everything in the video itself, since they will have the supporting materials.

21. Apply to Solution Challenge!
• Most importantly, judges are looking to see an actual demo of
your solution. This should include an actual working prototype
(even if it’s not fully completed). You can describe how the
application/system behaves and show mock-ups or images, but
please make sure the focus of your video features a
demonstration of your solution and how users will interact with
it.
• Note that while the quality of the video production is nice to have,
you are being graded on solving UN Sustainable Development
Goals with a solution that uses Google technologies.
• Please make sure to include how your solution uses the Google
products & platforms you selected for the project and the value it
provides users or target groups.

22. Apply to Solution Challenge!
Video Production Tips
• Remember the main focus of your demo video is to show a demo
of your solution (video production quality is nice to have, but not
required)
• You can film the demo using your phone camera - the recording
doesn't need to be done with a professional camera/setup
• Record your demo in landscape mode as this will be posted on
YouTube
• You can use a voice over in the background describing all the
features & functionalities of your solution while you are demoing
them; please make sure to minimize the background noise/music
to ensure judges can hear the speaker clearly

23. Apply to Solution Challenge!
Posting the video
• Please name the video title as "(Your Solution Name) -
GDSC Solution Challenge 2024"
• Make sure it is hosted on YouTube (feel free to mark the
video as unlisted if you’d like to keep it private)
• If you mark as unlisted, please make sure to share a link
that allows us to view the video during the judging
process

24. Apply to Solution Challenge!
GitHub Guidelines
• You’ll need to share your GitHub project link in the submission form
• Be sure to include guidance on how to run your code in your GitHub README
file
• Please make your GitHub project publicly available during the judging process
(January 21, 2024 - June 27, 2024) *note that your project may be disqualified
if the judges are unable to view the codebase for my project. For more
information, review the terms and conditions.
Generative AI Guidelines
• Can include generative AI, but must clarify where this is the case (doing so
within the code is sufficient) and comply with the requirements in Section 5 of
the terms and conditions.
• Can include other open-source projects but must clarify where this is the case
(doing so within the code is sufficient).

25. Resources

26. Timeline Checklist
❏ Step 1: Join a Google Developer Student Club (anytime!)
❏ Step 2: Start hosting info sessions, hackathons, and design days (November-December)
❏ Step 3: Form a team (December)
❏ Step 4: Select United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (December)
❏ Step 5: Identify a Solution (December)
❏ Step 6: Learn & build (January)
❏ Design the front-end interface
❏ Design the back-end technology
❏ Step 7: Test your solution (January - February)
❏ Step 8: Iterate (January - February)
❏ Step 9: Record a demo video and submit project between January 21 and February 22nd
❏ Step 10: Top 100 solutions announced (Early April)
❏ Step 11: Top 100 mentoring (April)
❏ Step 12: Top 10 finalists announced (Late May)
❏ Step 13: Top 3 winners announced live on YouTube (June 27)
❏ Step 14: Celebrate all the 2023 Solution Challenge participants!
Design & Build
Submissions &
Judging
December - February
February - June
🏆
🛠
🙇
🏾
♀️
Getting Started
November -
December

27. FAQ
Can my solution solve a problem outside of
the scope of the 17 Sustainable Developer
Goals?
For Solution Challenge 2024, we require your
submitted solution to solve for at least one or
more of the 17 SDGs. When you have submitted
your solution, please review all the 17 SDGs to
understand which SDG your solution is focused
on and what SDG targets you are looking to
solve for.
How many teams can be created per GDSC
chapter?
There is no limit to the number of teams that can
be created per chapter, but each person can only
be a part of one team
Can I still participate in the Solution
Challenge if there is no Google Developer
Student Club at my university?
Yes, as a student you can still participate as
long as you team up with at least one
student member at an existing GDSC
university. We recommend that you reach out
to the GDSC lead for guidance on how to join
or form a team with their community.
Can one student or team submit
with multiple submissions if they’ve
contributed to both projects?
Terms and Conditions state “LIMIT ONE (1)
ENTRY PER PERSON,” so each student can only
be a part of one submission.

28. FAQ
How many people can join a Solution Challenge
team?
1-4 people per team
Can a person be a part of more than one team?
No
Do all team members have to be a part of
GDSC?
At least one member of each team must be a
GDSC member. We do encourage other team
members to join, but they are not required to do so.
Can team members be a part of different
universities?
Yes, team members can form from different
universities. Remember that at least one team
member needs to be a GDSC member. Encourage
any team members to join a GDSC chapter.
Can a project created during a hackathon or
other project planning event be submitted for
the Solution Challenge?
Yes, but the project must have been started no
earlier than February 2023 and the project cannot
have been submitted for any previous Solution
Challenge in years prior.
How many Google technologies can be used
in each project?
Each project must utilize at least one Google
technology, and we encourage using more than
one.
Can we choose to focus on more than one
UN Sustainable Development Goal?
Yes, each project must focus on at least one
UN Sustainable Development Goal, and several
may be used.

29. FAQ
Submitting a project
Is it required that everyone on my team
complete the Registration Form to submit
a project through the Submission Form?
It is not required, but we encourage everyone
to register. This helps us understand how to
best support and allows us the ability to
communicate with registrants about
Solution Challenge updates.
How many people need to fill out the
Submission Form?
One representative from each team (has to
be a GDSC member) should fill out the
form.
How do we know if our project is
complete enough to submit?
Judges will be looking for a working
prototype that has been tested with real
users. If you don’t have enough
time to complete everything you hoped you
would have, submit what you have so far.