Beyond Journalism: How the UK Experience Built My Leadership Path

By Teguh Wicaksono, Creative Marketing Officer at Vidio, Alumnus of Goldsmiths, University of London

30 July 2025 - 11:06

Teguh Wicaksono graduated in 2014 with a Master’s in Digital Journalism from Goldsmiths, University of London. His education in the UK later shaped his career, taking him from journalism to leadership roles in top tech companies, including TikTok, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.

After graduating, he returned to Asia and realised that the tech industry was growing and would soon take over, prompting him to shift gears from journalism to tech. Currently, he is back in Jakarta working as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Vidio, an Indonesian streaming platform.

Read on to learn how studying in the UK helped him build a career in tech.

“You are no one in London. There are hundreds of layers above you, and that feeling of being small is a good muscle to train. It makes you punch above your weight and hustle, and I loved that hustle.”

When I first arrived in London, I remember feeling like I was just this tiny speck in a massive city full of talent and opportunity. That feeling pushed me to hustle harder and think bigger. It wasn’t always easy, but it shaped how I approach challenges and opportunities to this day. Living in London taught me how to adapt. I learned to feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations, and that mindset helps bring me to where I am today.

Before I went to the UK, I was working as a journalist in Jakarta. I did about three years at National Geographic Indonesia as a travel editor, and also spent some time at The Jakarta Post as a travel journalist. I was really passionate about storytelling and exploring different places. During that period, I also started getting interested in social media and digital platforms, which eventually led me to pursue Digital Journalism.

I had decent journalism experiences, but I also had a high curiosity around social media at that point, and how digital media was changing the industry. That curiosity helped shape my decision to transition into tech roles.

The Digital Journalism course was intense and can be quite difficult to follow as the context is different from Indonesia.

“Studying journalism is very theoretical, but being a journalist is street-smart. If you zoom out, the ongoing experience always moves faster than what is actually written in the book.”

That is why when I was studying there, I felt like my learnings came from beyond my studies.

Beyond talking about journalism, studying in the UK has taught me to do more critical thinking. And that is something that I still apply with all my work and projects. Because even though I moved to tech, I'm still doing content-related and marketing-related activities. So, the skills I learned in my Master’s still apply to my current work.

Not only that, I got to see the world differently and push myself beyond my comfort zone. That experience continues to guide me, both personally and professionally. One of the reasons why I wanted to go to the UK is also because I am a fan of music and popular culture. I grew up listening to probably 90% of my dad's CDs, which were mainly UK bands. So, I grew up listening to a lot of UK music influence. When I first arrived in London, I even got to interview Paul McCartney from The Beatles.

The most rewarding experience of studying in London is to be able to experience the music and culture there. I don’t want to undermine the academic side, that was the reason I was there in the first place. But the cultural experiences, I feel like that is irreplaceable.

Many students apply to the UK to study but just stay in their dorms, they spend their weekend with their Indonesian friends and they go to the Asian grocery store, “they don't really actively try to contextualise it in the UK.

Keeping in contact with other UK alumni can also be helpful. I made many connections through music while living there. And now, that connection has helped me a lot with some of the music projects I do with my partner, including a club, a festival, and an archiving project.

If you’re thinking of studying in the UK, my advice is simple: “Just go out of your classes and go enjoy the full experience. If it is uncomfortable, keep doing it, it will give you something in time.”