Photo by Asyrique Thevendran/The Gazelle

On Sept. 20, the newly-formed Google Students Club at NYU Abu Dhabi hosted their kick-off event, a talk by Malak El Masry, Google’s University Outreach Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. El Masry introduced the Google Student Ambassador Program and gave the audience a peek into the daily life of Google staff in the company’s various offices around the world.

El Masry works in Google’s Egypt office but she works with GSCs and GSAs around the region, both supporting their outreach efforts in their respective universities and coordinating the GSA training program: a three-day intensive training hosted in Jordan every year. According to her, Google has so far launched the GSA Program in nine countries in the region so far, though plans are in the works to expand and reach as many countries as possible in the coming years.

In the UAE, the GSA program is now in its third year, but NYUAD only recently acquired its first GSA when Junior Farah Shammout announced her acceptance into the program over the summer. Shammout is currently studying abroad at NYU New York and was therefore unable to attend the event. However, she followed the event as it was broadcasted live over Hangouts.

Shammout anticipated that NYUAD's GSC will hold a variety of events.

“We are expecting [many more] exciting events like digital marketing sessions, Apps scripting workshops, Youtube advertising training and talks by [other] Googlers,” she said.

El Masry also mentioned that since opportunities in the Google offices in Dubai and Cairo are focused on sales and marketing outreach, employment opportunities in the MENA region are generally in the fields of marketing, sales and business.

“Of course [being a GSA] helps with applying for jobs in Google later on, because when they see that [the students] have had previous experience with the company [and its products], then they know [the students] have passion from a young age,” she added.

Although the GSC is a new initiative on campus, it has already garnered strong interest from the student population, and they have high aims for this semester.

“[We] are dedicated to developing talent on campus, bringing awareness about Google technologies and spreading word about opportunities, competitions and events that can help student get fit for the job market,” said Shammout when asked about how she envisioned the club functioning on campus.

 Correction: Sept. 21st, 2014