Wednesday 20th May, 7pm – 8pm
We’re back online on Zoom for another community hangout. Pop in, say hi, and pour yourself a well deserved drink!
Join us on zoom with meeting ID 812-5569-7236 – the password to the meeting will be listed in the Slack channel (join our slack at https://techexeter.uk/slack)
Join us on Wednesday 6th May from 7pm for our first community hangout on Zoom!
Details here (or in our SLACK channel)
We hope you are all staying safe ❤
We’re keeping our calendar and slack channels updated with virtual events from ourselves and our South West neighbours. Most physical in-person events have been cancelled or postponed, so be sure to check here / subscribe to our iCal or twitter account for latest updates.
To let us know of online workshops, livestreams or other activities that aren’t currently listed, please contact us
by Brittany Willis
Hi, I’m Brittany. I’m a final year English student at University of Exeter and I have been interning at TechExeter since January. This is my final week and I wanted to look back on all the interesting projects I’ve been able to help out with.
My first project was to help organise the February 5th Meetup on Design. This included contacting speakers Kris recommended and co-ordinating their ‘meet the speaker’ blog posts for our website. One thing that I was happy to see was the effort the team put into making sure there is female representation at every event.
At the event, I helped set up. This was TechExeter’s first time hosting an event at MAKETANK and we got to bring out the comfy sofas. I’m not exactly a tech person myself. I wanted this internship for more experience in event organisation. So it was interesting listening to beginner-level talks about how tech impacts their work.
The next project I helped co-ordinate was the Exeter College Coffee Morning. I liked working on this project because it was only 3-4 years ago that these talks were given to me. The aim was to promote Tech and gaming opportunities in the south west. I again contacted potential speakers, ensuring a female presence as well. I created a form for other members to fill out who wanted to attend and network.
I also designed and ordered merch to be used at this event and future events. The notebook is made from recycled cardboard and features a calendar and our sponsors on the inside. The pencils are half for TechExeter and half for Digital Exeter. The lanyards were another thing I prepared for all professionals to wear so that students knew who they were talking to.
In my final month, I have been helping to coordinate the upcoming 2020 GAME>PLAY festival. While it is uncertain if this will go ahead on the date planned, I am confident the ideas we have already generated will be implemented in a great way at some point this year.
An email went out recently to all interested people, where I called out for volunteers, exhibitors and possible sponsors. In an effort to increase what we could offer, I also applied to various grants, writing proposals and creating budgets for confirmed venues and exhibitors. I’ve been able to scroll through pictures from last year’s amazing event, from shows, to games and even feedback forms written by people of all ages. I can’t wait to attend the 2020 festival, where I can get involved in exhibitions I never knew existed before this internship.
In the last week, because of recent events with COVID, I have been working at home, updating the website and designing new business cards.
My time working for TechExeter was a great experience for me. I was able to develop my photoshop skills and see the behind the scenes of Event Organisation. I always felt very welcomed and really enjoyed my time here.
A big Thank You to the whole DigitalExeter and TechExeter team!
Brittany
Unfortunately, due to recent events with COVID, this meetup has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date.
We are back at Exeter Phoenix with 3 lightning talks around the theme of ‘Digital Ethics’, discussions, and friendly networking!
7.00 – Networking and chat
7.20 – Introductions
7.30 – Three talks by:
* Laura Higgins, Director of Community Safety and Digital Civility at Roblox
* Ben Travers, Head of IP & IT at Stephens Scown
* Tariq Rashid, Founder of Digital Dynamics
9.00 – CLOSE
If you’d like to talk at a future event, please get in touch with us!
FAQ
Q. I’m not a tech person, can I still attend?
A. YES! We welcome those working in tech, and those who want to find out more about tech!
Join us at Exeter College, where we are engaging Exeter College students about the industry and making them aware of opportunities here in the South West. There will be three industry speakers presenting information about their job and their experience within their industry:
1. Jordan Peters, Independent Game Developer
2. Jacob Tomlinson from NVIDIA
3. Becky Lees from Greymatter
It is a chance for you to meet, interact and network with the college students (all specialising in IT or gaming), both before the presentations and afterwards during an hour networking session at the college café.
Unfortunately, due to recent events with COVID, this meetup has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date.
Tariq Rashid was originally trained as a physicist, and later gained a masters in machine learning and data mining. He’s worked in technology for 20 years, including almost a decade in central government, leading on the modernisation of technology and security. Tariq is passionate about open source, developing communities, and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers. He led the London Python meetup, and now runs a children’s CoderDojo Cornwall and the Data Science Cornwall community, as well as the London based Algorithmic Art group which has grown to over 4,500 members. He also writes books on machine learning and creative computing, one of which has been translated into 6 languages. He is currently developing Digital Dynamics, a new business specialising in independent risk assessment of client’s use of machine learning and data, with a focus on safe and ethical use of AI.
Name: Tariq Rashid
Job role: Founder of Digital Dynamics
LinkedIn: Tariq Rashid
Twitter: Tariq Rashid and Digital Dynamics
What motivates you to do what you do?
I believe that so many exciting and beautiful ideas in computing, mathematics and science could be enjoyed by so many more people, especially children, if only the subjects were made more accessible. I also feel we’re at cross-roads, where technology can enable a greener, more just and sustainable future, or it can be the tool for deepening inequality, surveillance and oppression. That’s why we need more people to understand technology and their rights in a technology future.
How do you start your mornings?
Home-ground coffee. Or natural earl grey tea. Always black.
What is your talk about?
Tariq will introduce what AI and machine learning are, and explain why we need to think about them more carefully than traditional computer systems. He’ll provide an overview of the emerging assessment frameworks, and explore selected examples of AI use which pose ethical questions.
You’ll come away from this talk with an intuitive understanding of why AI and machine learning are different, an overview of the risk areas, and a good idea of the things we need to get right to ensure our use of AI is safe, ethical and can gain the trust of our users, customers and regulators.
What is the best resource for people who want to dive in deeper?
Join a community formed around the subject you’re interested in. In a community you can be inspired by others, receive valuable advice, get help on specific problems, share the load of learning, find friends and business partners, and showcase your own achievements.
What is the biggest challenge in the field at the moment?
Growing inequality and undemocratic power in the hands of a few powerful tech businesses. The challenge is getting the public to understand technology so they can understand the risks and demand reform before it is too late. Too many people aren’t aware of pervasive surveillance and the drugs-like trade in their personal data, and the power this gives to those who have it.
Thanks Tariq for your answers! If you want to find out more, come along to our meetup:
NEED TO INSERT MEETUP LINK
Join us at MAKETANK, who are our wonderful meetup hosts for February.
Lightning Talks (around the theme of ‘DESIGN’), chat, news and good times await!
7.00pm Welcome
7.20pm Talks Start
* Milly Brown from Plymouth College of Art
* Frazer Anderson from Exclusiv 3D
* John Cowen from Funeral Guide about organising SCSS components for big projects. You can find him on Twitter and on his Website.
* Daniel Whiston from UFI VocTech Trust
— break —
9.00 close
There is no bar at MAKETANK so it’s BYOB – we’ll provide a selection of tea/coffee + soft drinks.
If you’d like to talk at future events, please get in touch with us!
FAQ
Q. I’m not a tech person, can I still attend?
A. YES! We welcome those working in tech, and those who want to find out more about tech!
** Please note, there is no accessible toilet at this location (the toilet is 2 flights of stairs away, sorry!)
