Lead, Google Developers Group on Campus @UGM (formerly GDSC / Google Developers Student Clubs @UGM)
Yogyakarta, Indonesia – Aug 2021 to Aug 2022

Leading GDG on Campus UGM from the middle of the pack

I took over as Lead at a point when GDSC UGM was one of many student tech communities competing for the same members and attention. A year later, it was one of the most recognized chapters in the country.

That did not happen because of one single big win. Instead, we treated community building with the same rigor you would apply to a product: we figured out what members actually wanted, then executed on it relentlessly.

• I transformed GDG on Campus @UGM into one of the Top 3 Most Successful Chapters in Indonesia, sending 7 teams to the Google Global Solution Challenge (GGSC) and reporting regularly to Google Indonesia and Google Developers Asia Pacific.
• I doubled the size of the community, organized 15 events across offline and online formats, and arranged deals with 20+ media partners, communities, incubators, and companies.
• I promoted diversity by 40% by engaging more women and non-STEM members to create a more inclusive developer space, while doubling social channel audiences and kickstarting the chapter’s first dedicated YouTube channel.
• I positioned GDSC UGM as the most sought-after student community. We became the fastest-growing chapter and the fastest to get featured at Gelanggang Expo UGM, the university’s annual student clubs exhibition, attracting the highest YouTube viewership during the live broadcast and 500+ registrants. Watch the Gelanggang Expo UGM livestream.
• I shared a keynote session at Devfest Tokopedia 2021, representing the chapter on a national developer stage.

What sending teams to the GGSC actually meant

Sending 7 teams to the Google Global Solution Challenge was the milestone I cared about most. It was not something we could manufacture through events or partnerships alone. It meant members were actually building things worth submitting, which is the whole point of a developer community.

Doubling membership sounds like a straightforward growth metric. However, the harder problem underneath it was making sure the community stayed worth joining as it got bigger. That is where the diversity push mattered most: a developer community that only attracts the same profile of student eventually stops growing on its own.

The moment it became visible

The Gelanggang Expo debut was the moment all of that groundwork became visible externally. We competed for attention at the university’s biggest student organization showcase against clubs with years of institutional history.

For GDG on Campus UGM, coming out as the fastest-growing chapter mattered less than it sounds. The highest livestream viewership was not really about that one event either. It was about a year of consistent activations, partnerships, and, ultimately, actual GGSC submissions finally compounding. This experience with GDG on Campus UGM sits alongside other community work built the same slow way.