The Learning Lab

The latest episode of Udacity's Learning Lab podcast features Dennis Schultz, the Executive Director of the Blacks in Technology Foundation (BiT). He joins the podcast to discuss increasing representation in the tech industry, why corporations should keep diversity top-of-mind, and why BiT partnered with Udacity to offer a new scholarship for underrepresented communities.

Today, we’re here with Sidney Wells — Senior Airman, U.S. Air Force and Udacity student. After receiving his Bachelor’s in Theology from Georgetown University, Sidney joined the U.S. Air Force to start a new career. With both the Full Stack Web Developer and Intermediate Javascript Nanodegrees under his belt, Sidney filled his knowledge gaps and successfully became a software engineer focused on web development in the U.S. Air Force. Sidney shares the numerous benefits he’s enjoyed from his learning experience with Udacity and explains the importance of “knowing your why” when you first get started in your Nanodegree program.

Today, we’ll be chatting with Udacity student and software engineer Linda Chen. While she graduated with a Master’s in Business back in 2019, Linda is now paving herself a different career path — she’s eager to put her web development skills to work. Impressed by the fact that people in the industry actually use Udacity to transition into technical fields, Linda took both the Data Science and Full Stack Web Developer Nanodegrees. Currently, she’s working on crossing the C++ and Data Streaming Nanodegree programs off her list as well. Linda discusses what differentiates Udacity from the competition and what you can expect from your Nanodegree program.

Today, we’re here with Udacity student and now backend blockchain developer Ringaile Valiaugaite. Intrigued by how blockchain technology solves problems, Ringaile enrolled in Udacity’s Blockchain Developer Nanodegree program with the goal of transitioning from her role as a Java Technologies IT consultant to working in blockchain development. Post completing the Blockchain Nanodegree, not only has Ringaile launched a career as a backend developer for blockchain applications, she’s also taken home awards from multiple blockchain hackathons. Ringaile shares what makes the Udacity learning experience so unique and what to do if you’re considering starting your own Udacity learning journey.

In today’s episode, we’ll be exploring the impact digital transformation has on individuals, businesses, and society at large. Digital transformation is changing how we work and live. Quickly. As business and market requirements shift, we all must adapt to keep pace. Lifelong learning is a strategy we can all apply as we transition into an even more digital world. Sanyam Bhutani is a Udacity student and lifelong learner. Listen as he shares his learning journey with us today. Without further ado, meet Sanyam — avid blogger, Hacker Noon journalist, machine learning engineer, and so much more.

Today we’ll be speaking with Udacity student Noha Abuaesh. Four years out of her Master’s program in Computer Science and Engineering, Noha decided she wanted to reenter the workforce. But, considering how quickly things change in the programming world, getting back in the game is a huge feat. Two Nanodegrees later (Intro to Programming and Blockchain Developer), Noha shares the struggles and victories along her road to becoming a blockchain engineer. Plus, how Udacity has helped change her attitude, mindset, and confidence!

Today, we are witnessing rapid advancements in the field of autonomous flight. Drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are being used in remarkable ways all over the world—from helping to fight malaria in Malaysia, to supporting wildlife conservation in Florida. Drones are also being used for site surveying, package delivery, event videography, and even weather forecasting. In this episode, we begin with Adam Bry, CEO of aerial robotics company Skydio, who discusses software, and the future of autonomous flight. Then, we take off into regulation of UAVs, and explore the automated photogrammetry of Drone Deploy. We also look at advances in commercial drone technology, with the host of the Commercial Drones FM podcast, Ian Smith. The skies are alive with innovation, and this is your chance to see what’s in store for the future of flight!

The Drawing Board talks with Albert De Plazaola, Global Strategy Leader at Unispace, and a specialist in design strategy, workplace strategy, and change management. Unispace has helped build workspaces for companies including GE, SAP, Slate Magazine, Virgin, WeWork, Infosys and hundreds more, and in this episode, we pursue a definitive answer to the age-old question: to cubicle, or not to cubicle?

What do you get when you combine transformative, future-facing technologies and cutting-edge technical skills, with a record-shattering pop culture phenomenon? We didn’t know the answer to that question either. But we knew who did! That’s why, for this episode of The Drawing Board, we spoke with James Hollingworth. We could introduce James by saying that he’s an Animation Technical Director for Australian visual effects company Iloura, but that doesn’t really tell you the whole story. He's worked on two of the most iconic Game of Thrones episodes ever: Battle of the Bastards and The Spoils of War.

Back in episode 3, we explored the trend of gamification in apps. Now, we’re diving deeper into how to engage users with the psychology of motivation. Immersyve recently presented to us about Self-Determination Theory, a framework that explains the basic psychological needs behind high quality motivation. Richard Ryan and Scott Rigby of Immersyve sat down with us to discuss their theory and how it’s relevant in our new ever connected mobile world. They explain how the needs of Competence, Autonomy, and Relatedness can nurture motivation. Finally we explore how we can apply the ideas behind Self-Determination Theory to user experiences and life in general.

As artificial intelligence becomes more mainstream through the adoption of gadgets like Amazon Echo and Google Home, how far off are we from the cinematic worlds created in movies like Her, Blade Runner, or The Terminator? How much realism is behind these famous depictions of tech and artificial intelligence? To investigate just how “sci-fi” our world may look like in 30 years, we spoke with Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of Wired magazine, a futurist who served as Steven Spielberg’s adviser in building the world of Minority Report, and a writer with a very optimistic view of how technology will shape the future. We discuss his illustrious career and get more on his compelling take of humans will use and interact with artificial intelligence. Host: Chris Morell Guest: Kevin Kelly

The Drawing Board team hits the Startup Alley show floor at TechCrunch Disrupt 2017 in San Francisco to chat with some of the innovative startups vying for attention. Interviews include the Gi Fly Electric Bike [2:00], FLOWVR meditation app [6:50], Reely, an artificial intelligence for sports service [13:18], and AugmenTV, an augmented reality TV-watching experience [21:00].

Next week we'll be live from the show floor of TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco! Send us your questions and let us know what startups you'd like to hear from: you can check them all out at startupalleysf17.techcrunch.com. Also, hear about some of the future episodes we're working on in this short preview. We'll be back next with with a full episode.

Does “weird” have a place in the world? What about at work? What about in tech? The Drawing Board is going to find out! In this episode, we get some perspective from some VERY interesting people, each of whom believes in embracing the weird, and in fostering cultures of weirdness. Our guests are: Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots at (Google) X; Red Wassenich, progenitor of the phrase “Keep Austin Weird” [1:30]; Kathleen Mullaney, one of Udacity’s first employees [7:55]; and Christa Foley, Culture Advisor and Director of Insights at Zappos [14:50].

Life as a budding entrepreneur isn’t exactly glamorous, and making a business come to life involves a lot of confusing, complicated, and exhausting realities. But when you have the passion to fulfill your dream, that passion can sustain you through all the hard work and long hours. And when you succeed, the results can be both incredible, and incredibly rewarding. In this episode of The Drawing Board, we talk with three passionate women who started their businesses as passion projects: Phuong Mai of P.MAI (2:00), Kate Torgersen of Milk Stork (6:20), and Kim Malek of Salt & Straw (19:00). We discover the paths they took to success, and explore the passions that fuel their work.