Arya
Software Engineer / AI & ML
TEDxUniversitasAirlangga
The website link (at least when i’m in charge with it) 👇
I’ve always enjoyed watching TED Talks—one of my favorites is Sal Khan’s discussion on why we should teach for mastery rather than test scores. So when the opportunity arose to work on the TEDxUniversitasAirlangga website, I couldn’t say no.
The catch? I was already juggling 12 classes, co-writing a paper, and leading the Information Systems student body. But hey, what could go wrong? 🤷♂️
Turns out—a lot. 💥
Despite the chaos (and sacrificing sleep 😴), the website was delivered within two months. We did, however, miss one crucial feature: pre-event ticketing. Instead of delaying the launch, we focused on delivering the core experience for the main event.
🔥 Core Features
The goal was simple:
✅ A visually engaging website with smooth animations.
✅ A manual ticketing system without third-party integrations.
✅ A dual-platform setup:
- Main website for event promotion.
- Admin panel for user and ticket management.
🛠 Tech Stack
🔹 Next.js (Full Stack) – Powered both the main website and admin panel.
🔹 PostgreSQL + Prisma – Handled user and ticket data efficiently.
👨💻 My Role: Project Manager & Developer
As both Project Manager & Developer, I:
- Led the project timeline and coordinated the team.
- Built the entire admin panel frontend.
- Developed key sections: Landing Page, Coming Soon Page, Ticket Flow, and a Quiz section.
🚀 Lessons Learned
1️⃣ Next.js Caching:
I ran into caching issues that weren’t Next.js’s fault—it was my lack of understanding of how SSR and ISR behaved in real-world deployments. Debugging those issues was painful 🙂 and i learn my mistake.
2️⃣ Mobile-First Is Not Optional
Most ticket buyers accessed the site via mobile, yet I initially designed it for desktop first. Big mistake. Adapting the UI afterward took more time than if I had planned for mobile from the start.
Final Thoughts
Despite the challenges, working on TEDxUniversitasAirlangga was an invaluable experience. It taught me the importance of balancing project scope, technical decisions, and real-world constraints.
Have thoughts or feedback? Let’s connect! 🚀