Will joining a non-tech club take time away from coding?

One meeting per week (typically one to two hours) is not enough to derail your coding schedule. If your week has three coding sessions and one club meeting, you still have plenty of unstructured time. The time cost is minimal; the skill return is high.

Can I put non-tech clubs on my CV?

Yes, especially if you held a role (secretary, captain, coordinator). It shows employers you can organise, lead, and commit to something beyond coursework. Keep it to one or two lines in a "Leadership and Activities" section.

What if there are no good non-tech clubs at my university?

Start small. A weekly football game with friends is a "sports club" even without a formal structure. A group that practises public speaking in a classroom once a week is a speaking club. You do not need institutional registration to build the habit.

Clubs beyond tech: drama, sports, debate and why they still matter for a tech career | Campus

Clubs beyond tech: drama, sports, debate and why they still matter for a tech career

Non-tech clubs teach communication, teamwork, and leadership: the skills that separate good developers from promotable ones. Debate trains clear argumentation. Drama trains confidence. Sports trains discipline. Employers hire for technical ability but promote for communication. One non-tech club in first year rounds out your profile without taking time from coding.

Why the soft skills gap matters in tech

Technical ability gets you hired. Communication gets you promoted. This pattern repeats at every tech company in Kenya and beyond.

The developer who can explain a technical decision to a non-technical stakeholder gets the client-facing projects. The one who can lead a standup without rambling gets team lead roles. The one who can present a demo confidently gets internal visibility.

These skills do not develop in a coding bootcamp or a GitHub repo. They develop in rooms where you have to speak, listen, and coordinate with others. That is what non-tech clubs offer.

Which clubs build which skills

Debate or public speaking (including Toastmasters): Teaches you to structure an argument, think on your feet, and present ideas under pressure. Directly useful for technical interviews, client presentations, and defending design decisions in a team.

Drama or theatre: Teaches confidence, voice projection, and comfort with attention. Developers who can demo their work without mumbling or apologising stand out in every team.

Sports teams: Teach discipline, consistent practice, handling defeat, and coordinating with others toward a shared goal. The parallels to working on a software team are direct.

Student newspaper or media: Teaches writing clearly and meeting deadlines. Technical writing (documentation, blog posts, READMEs) is a skill gap for many developers. If you can write well, you are more valuable.

Community service or volunteering: Teaches empathy and working with people whose backgrounds differ from yours. In product teams, understanding users who are not like you is a critical skill.

One club is enough

You do not need to join five clubs. One non-tech club, attended consistently, builds real skill. Sporadic attendance across many clubs builds nothing except a long list you cannot talk about in an interview.

Pick based on what you enjoy or what feels like a gap. If you are terrified of public speaking, a debate club addresses that directly. If you lack discipline with routines, a sports team enforces one. If you struggle with writing, a student publication forces you to practise.

Combine this with the advice on making friends: a club gives you a ready-made group of people with shared interests who meet regularly. That solves two problems at once.

Browse the full campus life cluster for more on leadership, planning your four years, and building a well-rounded university experience.

What to do this week

List three non-tech activities available at your university (check the student union noticeboard or ask around).
Attend one non-tech club meeting or session this week.
After the session, decide: will you go back next week? If not, try a different club the following week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will joining a non-tech club take time away from coding?: One meeting per week (typically one to two hours) is not enough to derail your coding schedule. If your week has three coding sessions and one club meeting, you still have plenty of unstructured time. The time cost is minimal; the skill return is high.
Can I put non-tech clubs on my CV?: Yes, especially if you held a role (secretary, captain, coordinator). It shows employers you can organise, lead, and commit to something beyond coursework. Keep it to one or two lines in a "Leadership and Activities" section.
What if there are no good non-tech clubs at my university?: Start small. A weekly football game with friends is a "sports club" even without a formal structure. A group that practises public speaking in a classroom once a week is a speaking club. You do not need institutional registration to build the habit.