It's near the end of the year when many developer events are being held all around the globe. The Android developer community here in Kenya was not left out. At the recently concluded droidcon KE, the "largest Android-focused developer conference in Africa", attendees had the opportunity to learn about Android app development, and software engineering best practices and network with local and global talents.

The value of such conferences and meetups in my experience has been the interactions with other passionate developers and getting updates on the current Android developer landscape.

What made this event great

Sessions

The first aspect to consider is the topics. Is the talk related to something you're working on or interested in? This year featured a range of talks, workshops, and panels. Whether you were interested in building communities, Flutter, Kotlin Multiplatform (now stable), TDD, or getting career advice, dcke23 had all of them.

The talks were also interactive and the knowledge sharing made the experience even better.

Speakers

Like past years, local and global speakers were in attendance. Having a global pool of speakers gives you an inside look at how people work and how to get jobs outside the country. It's also a chance to meet your code heroes.

Referrals

If you were in attendance you probably heard about referrals being the fastest way to get a job in the tech space. Recruiters in attendance agreed that they consider referrals and their talent pool first. I completely agree that referrals carry more weight and give you a better chance of getting hired. This is especially true when you want to get your first job.

Community

My Android journey got a huge boost when I joined Android 254. There was always something to learn and people to learn from. I also met other developers who began their Android journey through previous workshops and talks I gave. It was an unexpected but awesome hearing I was able to contribute back to the community.

If you're just starting, join a community around you and interact with your peers. The pay-off might be quick or slow but be consistent in applying what you learn.

Conclusion

By the end of the event, I was inspired and motivated to apply what I learned in projects put on ice for a long time and also at my workplace. I'm also reminded to stay in touch with other devs.

droidcon Kenya remains a must-attend event for me as an Android Engineer.

Thank you to the organizers, speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and attendees for making droidcon Kenya amazing! Usikose droidcon Kenya 2024.

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