My GDSC Lead Experience: A Complete Guide
I’m writing this blog to inspire students thinking about leading a GDSC, sharing my journey, and offering practical tips. Let’s grow together and empower the next generation of GDSC Leads!
As a Google Developer Student Clubs (GDSC) Lead, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to lead a community of passionate developers, organize impactful events, and foster a culture of learning and collaboration. Through this journey, I’ve learned invaluable lessons that have not only enhanced my technical skills but also shaped my leadership abilities. In this article, I’ll share a comprehensive guide based on my experience as a GDSC Lead, covering everything from getting started to driving meaningful impact within your community.
What is a Google Developer Student Clubs (GDSC)?
Google Developer Student Clubs are university-based community groups for students interested in Google developer technologies. Students from all undergraduate or graduate programs with an interest in growing as a developer are welcome. By joining a GDSC, students grow their knowledge in a peer-to-peer learning environment and build solutions for local businesses and their communities.
For more info visit: https://gdsc.community.dev/
Becoming a GDSC Lead
In Round 1, candidates complete the application, which includes essays, a video submission, and possibly other components depending on the region. The essays often cover topics such as motivations for running a GDSC at their college, leadership experiences, and interests in technology. Additionally, candidates are usually required to submit a brief video showcasing why they are the right fit for the Lead role at their college.
Round 2 typically involves a diagnostic test, where candidates may be assessed on their technical knowledge, problem-solving abilities, or other relevant skills.
Finally, in Round 3, candidates participate in an interview with a representative from the GDSC program team. During this interview, candidates are asked to introduce themselves, discuss their previous projects and leadership experiences, and outline their plans with GDSC. Candidates need to speak confidently and passionately during the interview, ensuring that their responses are concise and directly address the interviewer’s questions.
Back in my freshman year, I somehow ended up getting selected for the GDSC Lead role. Honestly, I wasn’t planning to jump into a leadership gig right out of the gate, but my super senior (the former lead) encouraged me to give it a shot for the experience’s sake. I thought, why not? I sailed through all the rounds pretty smoothly, and in the final interview — I was half-expecting the usual HR-type questions, but nope, they decided to test my coding skills too. I tried to answer as many questions as I could and showed some of the projects I’ve been working on. The interviewer also tested my leadership skills, asked about the goals I had for the club, and how this role could contribute to my career growth and others around me. (They’re all about picking folks who fit in with their mission and are really into tech.) The interview wrapped up in 30 minutes, and later I found out it was supposedly tougher than what others went through. But hey, I wasn’t sweating it (No Expectations). Then, on a usual traffic day, clearing my emails, there it was, bam! That golden selection mail dropped into my inbox.
Identify Your Motivation & Determine Your Purpose
A month ago before this, I read a few books by Swami Vivekananda that emphasized the importance of Vidhya Dhan as a selfless service. These books inspired me a lot to take on this role where I could help others through educational service. I saw it as an opportunity to support my peers in their growth journey alongside my own. My mission in this role is to introduce students to various technologies through events that help them discover their interests and choose their career paths.
Core Team Recruitment
The recruitment process had two key rounds. In Round 1, candidates competing for specific core team roles were given role-specific tasks, like technical challenges or project proposals. It was important to submit tasks on time. Successful candidates moved on to Round 2, which involved interviews to evaluate not only technical skills but also qualities like enthusiasm, teamwork, and communication abilities.
Here’s a tip: They usually suggest selecting only 5 members for the core team. But, I chose to recruit around 25 to provide opportunities for students to lead in their areas of interest. However, managing a large team of seniors and juniors posed challenges. If you’re short on time, it’s recommended to select 5 passionate and helpful students.
I’m sharing the document I prepared for the recruitment drive, where you can find detailed information about the team structure and tasks: https://bit.ly/recruitementdrive
Roles & Responsibilities of the Lead
As a lead, your roles and responsibilities include guiding and supporting club members, fostering a positive and inclusive community, assembling a core team to assist in organizing events and workshops, reporting activities on the event platform consistently, actively participating in program campaigns, and ensuring the club’s goals align with its mission.
Organizing Events & Campaigns
GDSC suggests hosting important events like Compose Camp, Android Study Jams, Google Cloud Campaign, Solution Challenge, Flutter Festival, WOW Fest, and Machine Learning Campaign. These events may vary from year to year. To plan events, brainstorm ideas based on the interests and needs of your community. Consider organizing workshops on emerging technologies, coding challenges, or collaborative projects. Plan early to make sure everything goes smoothly and you have enough resources. Encourage active participation and feedback from attendees. You can also give out badges and certificates for encouragement. During my tenure, I’ve organized over 95 events. You can see all the details in our club’s annual report.
Collaborations, Sponsorships & Outreach
You can collaborate with local startups, other technical communities like MLSA, Geeks for Geeks, GitHub Campus Experts, Google Developer Groups, and industry professionals to provide networking opportunities, mentorship programs, and internship opportunities for club members. To get sponsors, you can contact many Ed-tech companies available. Providing goodies is always a great way to encourage club members. You can expand the club’s influence beyond campus by arranging community-driven initiatives such as coding boot camps, tech talks, and outreach programs for underprivileged youth.
Overcoming Challenges & Struggles
The skills essential for any good leader include Communication Skills, Time Management, Team Management, Empathy, Confidence, Persistence and Conflict Handling. Let me share an example from my time as a lead to illustrate how I handled a challenge. There was a period when my team became inactive and was influenced by preconceived ideas. To solve this issue, I introduced a leaderboard to track everyone’s contributions. By turning their efforts into a game, it motivated them to work more effectively than before. This demonstrates how thinking creatively can help you overcome obstacles.
Throughout my tenure, I’ve cultivated not only industry skills but also good people skills. I’ve learned how to handle club politics, inspire and engage demotivated people, mobilize those with non-cooperative and divergent agendas, manage situations where people follow a herd mentality, deal with destructive criticism, handle toxic people, create opportunities with limited resources, balance academic commitments and extracurricular activities, networking effectively, resolving logistical challenges, negotiating and consistently meeting deadlines. In short, my journey has been about Resilience. These experiences have equipped me with the adaptability and tenacity necessary to thrive in the corporate world.
Building Connections: Networking and Bonds
I’ve had the chance to network with many tech enthusiasts and industry speakers, forming valuable connections through this platform. These interactions have enriched my understanding of the tech landscape and led to the establishment of strong bonds. We had some lasting memories along the way.
Graduation Ceremony
The graduation ceremony at Bengaluru was an absolute blast, filled with joy, celebration, and a bittersweet tinge of farewell that perfectly encapsulated the spirit and accomplishments of our community, uniting leads all over India. We had the privilege of hearing inspiring keynote speeches from industry leaders who shared their insights and experiences, igniting our enthusiasm for the future and being part of a thriving tech ecosystem poised to significantly impact the world. The theme for our year, “Rising Above and Going Beyond,” is an ideal match.
To wrap things up, leading a GDSC has been an incredibly worthwhile experience, helping me grow and connect with fellow developers, and shaping me into a dynamic leader. If you’re considering joining or leading a GDSC, go for it! Special thanks to my parents and mentors for always being my pillar of support.
Feel free to follow us on our social media platforms. Here are the links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gdsc_lbce
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gdsc-lbce/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gdsclbce
