We’re thrilled to recognize @hmehta and @Suhani_Chawla from Dublin, Ireland, as our MongoDB User Group Leaders of the Month! Harshit and Suhani have been leading the MUG Dublin for over 3 years, growing it to over 950 active members and creating an exceptional community for MongoDB developers in Dublin, Ireland.
As part of this recognition, we asked them a couple of questions about their journey. Keep reading to learn more about how amazing Harshit and Suhani are.
Tell us about your journey as a MongoDB User Group leader.
Harshit: My journey started from the inside. I spent 3.5 years at MongoDB managing the global User Group Program, watching and helping communities grow worldwide. When I transitioned roles, joining Suhani in leading the Dublin MUG felt like a natural way to stay connected to something I genuinely love. What began as a small gathering has grown into a tight-knit community of developers who show up, share knowledge, and push each other forward. Every event reminds me why developer communities exist: trust built in person scales further than any marketing campaign.
Suhani: My journey began when I attended a MUG Dublin event one evening shortly after moving to Dublin. The event was awesome, and the curiosity in the community was really interesting to see. The MUG Leader at the time was looking for a partner to help organise events, so I jumped in. Shortly after, Harshit joined as a co-leader — and having already worked with him through the MUG program, it was a super easy and fun transition. We started by organizing events in collaboration with other communities, kept growing, and have since moved to running our own events with more than 100 people at the last one!
What has been your most rewarding moment as a MUG leader?
Harshit: Honestly, it’s the quiet moments after an event, a first-time attendee telling you they finally understood Aggregation Pipelines or Vector Search, or a developer saying they landed a role partly because of connections made at a MUG meetup. Those moments don’t show up in metrics. The most rewarding realization was that people were coming back, not for the pizza, but because they felt they belonged somewhere, they learned something interesting, they got solutions to their problems, and they made the best of friends with whom they could interact about technology/MongoDB.
Suhani: When we started out, we mostly collaborated with other communities because our reach was pretty low. Most people would find us through them rather than directly. Fast forward to our last event, where we had about 120 people, most of whom signed up directly through our Meetup. It was really great to see. It felt a little overwhelming, in the best way - like the moment we’d finally “made it!”
Do you have any tips for developers looking to build a community?
Harshit: Start smaller than you think you should, and set the right culture of collaboration before it scales; headcount matters less than culture. A great 15-person event beats a mediocre 100-person one every time. Make every attendee feel seen: learn about them, follow up, celebrate their wins publicly. Be consistent; communities die from inconsistency more than anything else. Never gatekeep. The best communities actively pull people in from the edges. Most importantly, build with your community, not for them. Ask what they want to learn. Let them lead sessions. Give people ownership.
Suhani: Start small — finding a loyal group of people who are genuinely curious and interested in the subject goes a long way. It’s much better than doing a massive event where most people don’t really know MongoDB. Collaborate with other communities too — working with local groups is a great way to expand your reach and find people who might be interested in what you’re building. And take feedback, a lot of it! People want to come to events that are designed for them and add real value, so encourage everyone to fill out feedback forms.
What’s your favorite thing about being part of the MongoDB Community?
Harshit: The genuine curiosity. MongoDB attracts developers who are actually excited about what they’re building, startups, side projects, ambitious ideas, and building with something that threw out the traditional rulebook. That energy is infectious. There’s also a refreshing lack of gatekeeping: whether you’re a senior architect or someone who just ran their first query, you’re welcome at the table. The global network of MUG leaders is something special too; a message to almost any city in the world will get a warm reply. That’s rare.
Suhani: The love and support from the community is obviously number one. But one thing that really sets MUGs apart for me is the incredible support we get from MongoDB itself. It makes our job so much easier; we don’t have to worry about chasing internal support and can just focus entirely on our community and giving them the best experience possible.
Where can developers connect with or learn more about you?
Want to catch Harshit and Suhani at an upcoming event or connect with them? Use any of the channels:
Thank you very much, Harshit and Suhani, for sharing your story with us today and for all the incredible work you’ve done for the MongoDB Community. We can’t wait to see what you both achieve next.