My DevRel Uni Cohort 5 Journey:
My journey began when I contacted Patrick Skinner in January 2024. I had just been appointed as Head of DevRel for Women in DeFi, an organization for women. Unfamiliar with the role of a DevRel, I sought advice from seasoned professionals to help me get started.
Patrick was one of the DevRels who agreed to an interview. Following our conversation, he introduced me to DevRel Uni and suggested that I join the waitlist for the upcoming cohort scheduled to start in a few months.
Thus began my experience with DevRel Uni.
My acceptance into Devrel Uni.
I received my acceptance email early on the 14th of May. I was so excited because I knew what it meant to me.
I knew this would help me gain the knowledge I needed to be a good leader as a DevRel and prepare me for excellence.
What I learned from DevRel Uni.
It was an intense live program that ran continuously for six weeks. Each week, we had different mentors, and there was always a take-home assignment and challenge.
Week one
The first session was led by BIANCA BUZEA @buzea200 who is Founder of DevRel Uni and Head of DevRel at LUKSO.
She gave us strategic insights into developer relations. She provided a brief introduction about herself and talked about her journey as a DevRel. At the end of the session, we kicked off a #14daysDevRelChallenge where we were required to make a post each day about new things we learned.
Week two
The second session was led by Steph Orpilla @Oceans . Developer Relations Lead at Nillion | Builder Wallet OTP.
This session was on the topic of ‘Bootstrapping DevRel from Scratch.’ During this session, She talked about the three types of DevRel, which are community, content, and product-based DevRels.
Steph’s main focus was on content. One takeaway for me was when she talked about the developer’s hat when creating technical content.
Week three
The third session was anchored by Patrick Collins. Co-founder | Cyfrin | Solodity | CodeHawks | Updraft .
The topic was focused on Getting 1M Views on a YouTube Video and He gave important DevRel tips. How it’s good for DevRels to set good OKRs and also the need for us web3 devs to focus on onboarding web2 devs into the space.
He also talked about how creating video content is necessary and gave tips on how to get 1 million views on YouTube and on how to make a really good video. This is a link to his lectures .
Week four
It was led by Austin Griffith @austingriffith Founder of Buidl Guidl and Nifty.ink. The session focused on how one can accelerate dApp development.
This approach can be applied during technical workshops. A simple dApp can be quickly scaffolded, which can significantly advance one’s DevRel journey and progress.
Week Five
This session was on Content, Personal Branding, and Social Media. The session was led by a new mentor called NADER DABIT . @dabit3, Director of DevRel at Eigen Labs.
One key point he made that really caught my attention was when he discussed different ways on how developers can build bridges. These are:
- Teaching / speaking at meetups and conferences.
- Answering questions on stack overflow.
- Mentoring new developers.
- Open sourcing your work.
- Blogging / videos about what you’ve learned.
- Building communities focused on public goods.
- Sharing ideas and opportunities on social media.
A good DevRel is good at programming, communication, writing, speaking, content creation, social media, and many other things…
Week six
This session was focused on Documentation Strategy. It was led by MICHIEL MULDERS . @michiel_mulders , Developer Advocate & Documentation Strategist | Hedera .
Michiel gave us different tools used for documentation and elements to look out for when documenting.
One important thing to implement is a documentation search feature, which is essential for a developer’s learning journey while using a docs.
Tasks assigned to us.
Each week presented a new challenge for each of us. We were tasked with handling different assignments. Here is a brief overview:
- In the first week, we started a 30days DevRel challenge aimed at keeping us active and engaged in the space.
- We were tasked with strategic insights Strategic insights, which includes developing a Q3 strategy for a developer community of our choice.
- We provided feedback Burger to a random protocol.
- We created a technical article to educate a developer community about the features of a protocol.
- We were grouped into teams to work on hands-on-workshop with presentation and come up with innovative strategies to promote it.
- During the fifth week, we focused on building a personal brand and forging meaningful connections by Finding a DevRel professional and requesting for an interview
How DevRel Uni impacted me.
DevRel Uni has transformed me in many ways. I am now more confident with the camera and also in speaking at events.
I have built meaningful connections with my fellow DevRels, and learned multiple ways on how to collaborate.
I am currently taking significant steps to add value to the ecosystem by supporting developers who are just starting out with valuable content and provide access to free trainings, while also investing in my own growth to achieve optimal success.
Are you interested in being a DevRel?. Follow DevRel Uni closely on all socials, sign up for their next cohort, and be prepared for a life-changing opportunity.
Important resources.
This is a compiled list of valuable resources that was made available to us during our training.
- So what exactly is Dev Rel? By Jim Bennett.
- Building High Impact Developer Communities by NADER DABIT .
- How to build your personal brand at work By Nahia Orduna.
- Tips on Documentation by MICHIEL MULDERS
- The Documentation System
- Posthug . AIM to help developers build successful products.
- Web3 Resources .