Hosting GDG Cloud Study Jam — From Zero to Badges

What Is a Cloud Study Jam?

Google runs Cloud Study Jams globally — structured, self-paced learning tracks through Google Cloud Skills Boost. Students earn skill badges by completing labs in real GCP environments. GDG chapters run the facilitation layer: coordinating registration, tracking progress, keeping participants accountable, and helping when they get stuck.

We ran ours across three weeks.

How It Worked

Week 1 — Orientation and setup — Getting everyone into Google Cloud Skills Boost, claiming free access, picking a learning path. A lot of first-session hand-holding is just setup. We built the leaderboard during this week so progress became visible.

Weeks 2–3 — Independent progress with open support — Participants worked through labs at their own pace. We ran two drop-in Q&A sessions per week where anyone could show up, share their screen, and get unstuck.

The Leaderboard — Built a real-time leaderboard so participants could see where they ranked among peers. It made the whole thing feel like a shared effort rather than solo homework.

What Made It Work

Making progress visible was the single biggest driver of completion rates. When someone sees their name move up the leaderboard after completing a lab, they come back for the next one. Gamification, but the stakes are actual skills and a Google badge.

The drop-in support sessions also mattered more than I expected. A few participants were one stuck moment away from giving up. Having someone to unblock them in 5 minutes kept them in.