Meetups and Events
We run regular meetups on the last thursday of every other month (you can find them listed on meetup.com/techexeter) and we also run other events from time to time!
“Really friendly group – lots of smart and engaging people.”
“… a good group with a fairly diverse mix of people and interests in the industry. It’s the perfect ground for expanding your knowledge from other professionals experiences …”
“Nice blend of tech/non-tech and some interesting conversations and debates. Very worthwhile”
“Good talks and event at @Exeter_Web last night! Look forward to seeing what comes of #TechExeter”
“The ladies are absolutely rocking @Exeter_Web, impressive talk from Rachel from @informatics_lab”
“Brilliant talks at @Exeter_Web this evening on machine learning and webgl”
The meetups are normally informal gatherings which begin with three 10 minute talks, Q&As and then networking afterwards. This super-friendly group includes engineers, designers, software developers, data scientists and many more tech related professions from all walks of life.
The events are great opportunities for peer-learning and meeting other professionals in the field of tech. The informal environment and friendly audience make it a great place to try public speaking and practice presentation skills – we welcome speakers on many different subjects, whether it is their first or one-hundredth talk!
Get involved:
Give a 10 minute lightning talk, run a workshop or speak at our conference
Click to find out how
The NASA International Space Apps Challenge will be held October 7-8, 2023. Registration is now open!
>> SIGN UP >> https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/2023/locations/exeter/
The NASA International Space Apps Challenge is a hackathon for coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, technologists, and innovators around the world to come together and use open data from NASA and its Space Agency Partners to create solutions to challenges we face on Earth and in space.
We can’t wait to see all of your lovely faces back at the UK Met Office HQ in Exeter. This year we’re sponsored by the Joint Centre for Excellence in Environmental Intelligence and TechExeter CIC.
The weekend will be about meeting new people and solving interesting challenges together. Don’t let the ‘Apps’ part put you off, the best teams are often the most diverse teams in terms of age, skills and experience. We have seen great projects made entirely from cardboard!
The two days at the Met Office hosted event include a buffet lunch and dinner for the Saturday and a buffet breakfast and lunch for the Sunday. Snacks and drinks will also be provided throughout the day.
New for this year, we are proud to announce that we are aiming to provide childcare support for those attending the event.
Find out more at https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/2023/locations/exeter
We’ve got a special version of our meetup this September – in lieu of a full on conference, we’ve got a set of awesome talks and a gorgeous venue to socialise in.
Topsham Brewery’s new upstairs space down on Exeter Quayside is ours for the evening, complete with fully stocked bar (card only)with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
AppleBlossom catering will be providing the food, which is included in the price of your ticket.
Doors open at 5pm (so you can come straight from work), and we close upstairs at 10pm but the party can continue on downstairs!
OUR SPEAKERS FOR THE NIGHT
* Andrew Joiner, NHS Clinical Scientist, Bioinformatics – Medical Image Research
Andrew is a Bioinformatics clinical scientist working in the NHS with a specialisation in research trials involving AI for cancer detection. His particular focus right now is helping to facilitate large scale nationwide AI research trials as part of the National Breast Screening Service (NBSS) in the UK.
* Madhuparna Das, University of Exeter, Mathematics – Exploring the Implications of Generative AI Adoption in Higher Education
Madhuparna is an EPSRC doctoral fellow at the department of Mathematics, and founder of ThinkLabs AI.
* Georgie Monaghan, Wholegrain Digital – Let’s talk digital sustainability
Passionate about helping businesses grow in the right way, Georgie brings more than 17 years experience from agency and brand side roles to support organisations make informed, sustainable decisions about their web presence and strategy.
* Kris Sum, Switch Systems / Tech Exeter – Building a haunted house live experience
Kris is director of Switch Systems, a tech consultancy he setup in 2007. This talk looks at building and operating a unique immersive experience, and the technological challenges faced in providing robust systems in an ever-changing film set.
Get your tickets from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mega-meetup-2023-tickets-698352590397
Come join us for free food and drink up at Exeter Science Park – we’ll be outside The Dome, with a selection of games and also (by popular demand) our fun quiz!
No speakers this month, just an opportunity to chat with your peers and meet new people.
We’ve got a tasty dinner coming from The Spanish Shop in the form of Paella, which is generously sponsored by CA Tech Talent. We’ll also have a selection of soft drinks, but feel free to BYOB.
Sign up : https://www.meetup.com/techexeter/events/290018716/
Agile on the Beach is a conference devoted to delivering an environment for businesses and individuals at all stages of their digital transformation and Agile journey to thrive, grow and develop.
With only 50 tickets left, the conference attracts attendees and speakers from all over the globe and includes two full days of talks, learning, workshops, networking and social events. We talk Software Delivery (the track Kris is hosting), Agility In Business, Team Working, Product Design & Management and there are multiple workshops over both days.
More info and tickets at https://agileonthebeach.com/
A quick glimpse of 2022’s event as we ready preparations for this year!
Save the date: October 7-8, 2023.
Join us (for FREE!) at Positive Light Projects on Sidwell Street for a mix of interesting lightning talks and networking, plus FREE PIZZA 🍕🍕🍕 courtesy of CA TechTalent!
Schedule
- 7.00pm: Doors open
- 7.30pm: Introduction and talks start
- Anna Davey-Mittchel: The techno-politics of accountability: simulated humans, AI, and commercialism
- Peter Stephenson: Homelessness in Exeter and the services St Petrock’s provides
- Ross Edwards: Using Unreal Engine to bring together satellite imagery, lidar and gps telemetry data to generate detailed digital portals replicating real world environments
- 9.00pm: Doors close.
There is no bar at the venue so it’s BYOB. Light refreshments, pizza and snacks provided by CA TechTalent.
** If you’d like to talk at this or a future event, please get in touch with us!
Speakers
Anna is a techno-political Researcher at the University of Bristol and sits on their Digital Societies Faculty Research Group Leadership team. Anna looks to understand issues of accountability and bias in the development of emerging technologies. Her research investigates the construction and commercialisation of humanoid AI robots, what these tell us about conceptions of womanhood and whiteness, and how this affects global socio-political spaces, policy and regulation, and ideas of citizenship.
Alongside her academic work, Anna is an experienced innovation and funding advisor, currently working with The University of Exeter’s SETsquared and Knowledge Transfer Partnership teams. She has supported leading UK business and academic partners across multiple sectors, aiding them to collaborate and secure millions of pounds in funding.
Starting off as a structural engineer, Peter retrained in my late 20s to work in the church, but ended up volunteering in network of drug rehab centres in Madrid (long story!). This turned into a full time role and, on returning to the UK he started a career providing housing for people at risk of homelessness. After 18 years with YMCA in Exeter, Birmingham and Somerset, Peter became the Director of St Petrock’s in late 2021 in order to return to more grass-roots work with the most disadvantaged.
Ross is lead GIS Developer at UK Hydrographic Office.
FAQ
Q. I’m not a techy person; can I still attend?
A. YES! We welcome those working in tech/digital and those who want to find out more about tech!
We’re back with our first meetup of the year, and it’s bumper-packed with 4 speakers!
We’ll be at Positive Light Projects on Sidwell Street for a mix of interesting lightning talks and networking.
Schedule
- 7.00pm: Doors open
- 7.30pm: Introduction and talks start
- Dr Chico Camargo (University of Exeter): Tech to track misinformation and disinformation
- Dr Freddy Wordingham (DigiLab): Cutting edge data science learning
- Tea/Coffee break
- Joel Freedman (Satellite Applications Catapult): Designers in space
- Tilly Loveland-Perkins (Cineon): Anxiety detection using eye-tracking
- 9.00pm: Doors close.
There is no bar at the venue so it’s BYOB – but there will be tea/coffee available.
** If you’d like to talk at this or a future event, please get in touch with us!
FAQ
Q. I’m not a techy person, can I still attend?
A. YES! We welcome those working in tech/digital, and those who want to find out more about tech!
Register here : https://www.meetup.com/techexeter/events/290018705/
More on our speakers:
Chico Camargo
Chico Camargo is a Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Exeter, a research associate at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, and director of the CC Lab. In his research, he develops new computational methods to study the evolution of information, combining approaches from the natural and social sciences. He is also a science communicator, having already written for Science, HuffPost Brasil, The Conversation, and produced more than 50 videos for YouTube.
Dr Freddy Wordingham
Prior to starting the University of Exeter’s RSE group with Omar Jamil, Freddy worked as the Research Assistant for Tim Harries’ Biophysics Group engineering HPC (high-performance computing) numerical simulations.
Focusing on cancer research, the group uses these simulators to investigate the interaction between light and molecules within the human body.
Freddy also leads software development as the Chief Technical Officer of Databound, a commercial software engineering company based in the southwest of England.
Joel Freedman
Joel is a Design and Innovation Consultant who has worked in the Space Sector for 10 years. He specialises in applying a combination of human centred design and system innovation approaches to explore how cutting-edge technologies can be applied to solve complex social, environmental, and industrial challenges globally.
He is the Head of Innovation Services at the Satellite Applications Catapult – a part-Government funded technology and innovation company focusing on growing the UK space sector, and co-founder of the Designers in Space Community – an international community bringing together space technology innovators with creative design practitioners.
Tilly Loveland-Perkins
Tilly is a Data Scientist and Researcher with a background in machine learning and animal sciences. At Cineon, her expertise is being used to integrate fundamental principles of psychology and neuroscience research to assess an individual’s cognitive and behavioural states. Using eye tracking, Cineon can detect these responses by analysing the spread, randomness, duration, error, or latency of particular eye movements during a task.
Our annual festive get together! 🎅🎄🥂
Join us at Kaleider Studios for some festive fun – we’ll have some seasonal snacks available and feel free to bring a bottle!
No talks for this session, just a last chance to meet up with people before the year is over. Maybe we’ll do some party games? 😁
Sign up : https://www.meetup.com/techexeter/events/289252830/
We had a wondeful time with you all over the weekend, thank you for taking part and for showing us your awesome projects! You all did amazingly well!
🏆 First Place Local Winner : INTO THE VOID
🏆 Runner up: By Jove
Huge congrats to both teams!
📷 We’ve got some photos up at https://www.flickr.com/photos/196651557@N03/albums/72177720302640350 and will be making a short video which will go up on our Youtube page.
We’re back!
We can’t wait to see all of your lovely faces back at the UK Met Office HQ in Exeter. This year we’re sponsored by theJoint Centre for Excellence in Environmental Intelligence, South West Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications and TechExeter CIC.
The weekend will be about meeting new people and solving interesting challenges together. Don’t let the ‘Apps’ part put you off, the best teams are often the most diverse teams in terms of age, skills and experience. We have seen great projects made entirely from cardboard!
SIGN UP HERE : https://2022.spaceappschallenge.org/locations/exeter/event
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: MIDNIGHT MONDAY 26th SEPT
