What is Technical Presentation of the Week?
Technical Presentation of the Week is a weekly session that explores industry-relevant technical subjects that are not typically addressed in projects. Subjects are also common in technical interviews and are practiced during technical interview preparation. Activities during these sessions range from individual presentations to group work completing a “new technology canvas” worksheet. Groups have about 20 minutes to complete the worksheet before presenting their subject to the rest of the class.
During these sessions, we discover what the product/subject is, how much it costs, other solutions, common applications and uses, and strengths/pros and weaknesses/cons. Subject examples include vector databases, types of testing (unit, functional, synthesis), types of noSQL databases, different sorting algorithms, and different computer vision APIs available (Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Vision, etc.).
What Are the Benefits of Tech Presentation of the Week for Learners?
Being able to discover different subject areas in a short space of time allows learners to build a broad understanding of the software landscape - from development to deployment, production, and maintenance. It also helps students learn common terminology often not taught in traditional classrooms, but that is expected of engineers as employees.
Learners also develop “soft” skills in addition to learning about technical concepts, subjects, or tools. These include:
- Verbal communication
- Presentation skills
- Active listening
- Teamwork
- Adaptability
- Resourcefulness
- Creativity
- Time management
- Organization
Technical Presentation of the Week offers learners an opportunity to connect with one another and meet their peers, which builds a sense of community. Effective communication skills, relationship building, and collaboration are key components of soft skills essential for the 21st century and tech career.
Why is Tech Presentation of the Week Important?
Tech Presentation of the Week provides exposure to a wide variety of subjects, tools, and concepts across industry that often come up in technical interviews. Through these meetings, learners are first exposed to these concepts, gain familiarity with them, then later, will have to code them in future projects. Examples include: linked lists, dijkstra’s algorithm and other greedy algorithms, load balancers, etc. This is a great segue for learners in the program so there is a level of familiarity of technical concepts before they have to dive into a major project and it doesn’t seem so daunting or overwhelming.
This is especially helpful on some of the larger projects later in the curriculum. It is a great way for learners to identify future projects they may want to work on or explore further or even careers/companies they may want to look into.
On the other hand, it also may identify products/services to avoid!
These weekly Presentations may expose learners to something they never previously considered or would have thought. The subjects covered in the tech presentation of the week are wide and it enables learners to go deep and understand their applications/uses as well as research and brainstorm other solutions.
How Tech Presentation of the Week Helps Prepare Learners for Technical Interviews
Tech Presentation of the Week sets learners up for success in future technical interviews through building upon communication skills and giving them exposure to real world questions and applications of technical applications. It’s an opportunity to turn up, not knowing the subject ahead of time, and by the end of the session, present their work. Practicing this helps learners become comfortable with the unknown and the cadence of interviews.
They also work on their communication skills through articulating strong answers for the worksheets. This is a chance to apply the knowledge of algorithms and tools each week and see their growth firsthand. Another important skill acquired through tech presentation of the week is active listening which is essential in a group setting for quality responses. This skill is super important in technical interviews to have a great connection and to be on the same page with your interviewer.
To learn more about other meetings at Qwasar:
Why We Do Coding Collaboration Sessions
