A Growth Engine for Europe

After graduating with a degree in Bioinformatics, Lara Martín moved from Spain to Berlin, where she found work as a Mobile Quality Assurance Tester. She soon realised she had a passion for tech, and began teaching herself front-end development. During a meet-up event organised by Women Techmakers in Berlin, she learned basic Android skills and built an app that won the event’s “Best App” award. Her prize was a full scholarship to the Android Basics Nanodegree at Udacity and her first step towards becoming an Android Developer. “The fact that the Android Basics Nanodegree programme was created by Google gave me the confidence that the content would be good,” says Lara. “It was also a bonus that real developers actually evaluated my work and gave me direct feedback. Going back and solving issues was challenging, but also rewarding.” For Lara, the real benefit of the course was seeing how an Android app is built from start to finish, including planning, design and development. “I’m now using my new software development knowledge to build a complex weather app from scratch,” Lara adds. Working in Mobile Quality Assurance, she has also been able to apply her new skills in her daily role. “I am more productive and communicative when it comes to interacting with the Android Developers, which they really appreciate,” she says. “I now participate in development meetings and attend developer events. The Android Basics Nanodegree has really helped me in my current role.” Lara now plans to continue pursuing a career in Android by signing up for the Android Developer Nanodegree programme. She aims to finish her weather app by the end of the year.