Start your journey from learner to leader

Turn your passion into impact

You are building a career in a rapidly evolving tech world, and it is your dedication to learning and leading that will set you apart. The Rising Champions program helps you transform your passion for technology into recognition. Join a network of driven professionals committed to continuous growth, sharing knowledge, and making an impact.

Benefits of being a Rising Champion

Become a Rising Champion and build your advocacy portfolio

Start by earning Rising Champions advocacy badges. As a year-round program, you can report your acts of advocacy and progress at your own pace. As you complete and report more activities, you will progress to higher badge levels, building a strong advocacy portfolio that showcases your commitment and impact.

Follow the steps below to earn all your Rising Champion advocacy badges and be in one of the best positions when the selection committee reviews your nomination for IBM Champion status, the highest recognition for advocacy and expertise.

Step 1

Complete two acts of advocacy Getting started is simple! First, join the IBM TechXchange Community, complete two acts of advocacy within the calendar year and apply to earn your IBM Contributor Badge.

Step 2

Complete three additional acts of advocacy (five total) Next, earn your IBM Advocate badge by reporting a total of five acts of advocacy completed within this calendar year.

Step 3

Submit three more acts of advocacy (eight total) The final step in your Rising Champion journey is earning your IBM Influencer badge by reporting a total of eight acts of advocacy completed within this calendar year. Once you have reported all of them, you’ll reach the top tier of Rising Champions.

As nominations open, all Rising Champions should report any additional activities to ensure their submission is up-to-date. We also invite all Rising Champions to submit a nomination to provide additional or updated details or to nominate someone else. Please monitor all the news and events by joining the IBM Champions community.

Get started with acts of advocacy

Ready to start earning badges? There are plenty of ways to get involved, and with so many different types of advocacy, there is something for everyone. Select the kind of advocacy that fits you best, and share your expertise with the world! Wondering what advocacy looks like? Here are a few examples:

• Represent the voice of the customer by writing product reviews

  

  G2 Software

  

  Gartner Peer Insights

  

  TrustRadius

  • One of the fastest and easiest ways for you to earn a Rising Champions badge is by providing product feedback. It only takes two product reviews to earn your IBM Contributor 2025 badge! Simply create an account on any of the Gartner Peer Insights, G2, or TrustRadius review platforms, and share your thoughts on IBM products.

• Post and engage on the IBM TechXchange Community

  • Create original technical content on the IBM TechXchange Community in the form of a blog, a forum comment or answer, or documentation (must be a minimum of 150 words).

• Support and engage with other relevant technical communities

  • Answer questions, build community discourse, or moderate a forum across social or community properties such as LinkedIn, Discord, or StackOverflow, etc.

• Create and publish digital content across multiple platforms

  • Create (or translate) and publish content about IBM solutions (e.g., blog posts, articles, videos, podcasts, case studies, white papers, and books).

• Start, volunteer for, or manage an IBM User Group or meetup

  • Lead, volunteer for, or manage user groups or meetups that focus on IBM technologies.

• Present and co-present at conferences and user group events

  • Present a session on IBM solutions at user groups, webinars, podcasts, or industry events such as IBM TechXchange, THINK, User Groups, or other industry events.

• Bring your great product enhancement to ideas.ibm.com

  • Submit your suggestions to ideas.ibm.com to help improve IBM products and shape future updates and features.

• Provide feedback and product ideas through councils, sponsor-user opportunities, and boards

  • Provide product feedback and/or technical contributions by participating in councils, surveys, and alpha/beta testing opportunities.
  • Join a customer advisory board to share feedback directly with IBM. Collaborate with peers and influence product direction.

• Act as an experienced user for sales, press, and analyst support

  • Provide quotes, testimonials, and references to support sales and marketing.

• Mentor or coach other technology professionals

  • Support others by mentoring or coaching in the tech community. Share your knowledge and help others grow.

• Contribute your code or other technical contributions

  • Contribute code to or provide other support to an IBM-related open-source projects, such as Hyperledger Fabric, Open Mainframe, or a Call for Code project.
  • Support hackathons by mentoring or judging contributions.
  • Create and teach an IBM technology-related course or participate in an academic research project about an IBM solution.
  • Act as a subject matter expert to create IBM certification exams.

Are you doing an activity that you believe should be considered advocacy? Just reach out to our team to discuss at ibmchampions@ibm.com, as this list is not exhaustive.