My Journey Through the Google Developer Expert Academy (EMEA)

I recently had the incredible opportunity to participate in the Google Developer Expert (GDE) Academy for the EMEA region, and I’m excited to share my journey. The GDE Academy is a highly focused, 6-week program designed to fast-track potential GDE candidates towards becoming a GDE.

Throughout the program, I attended scheduled training sessions to improve my technical presentations, and public speaking skills, and received personalized, one-on-one coaching from an experienced GDE mentor to prepare for my application.

Program Timeline

The program ran from October 15 to November 26, 2025, and was structured as follows:

Sessions and Speakers

The sessions were led by a fantastic team of speakers and GDEs:

My Experience

The GDE Academy was an intense but incredibly rewarding experience. The personalized mentorship was invaluable, and the workshops helped me refine my skills and build confidence. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of this program and for the connections I’ve made.

I’m proud to announce that I have now graduated from the GDE Academy and am looking forward to the next steps in my GDE journey.

A huge thank you to the program team for their support and guidance:

• Janise Tan (GDE Lead, EMEA)
• Monika Janota (GDE Community Manager, EMEA)
• Eunice Allela (GDE Community Manager, SSA)
• Alaa Shahin (Community Manager, MENAT)

I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned and to continue contributing to the developer community.