Welcome to TechSPARK’s regular events round-up, summarising the upcoming tech-related events in Bristol and Bath!
*Featured Event*
mySociety Meetup, Royal Navy Volunteer (Bristol)
2 July @ 6.30pm
Join mySociety to chat about digital democracy, open data, civic coding and more. With added conversation, drinks and snacks.
George’s Ideas Lab and other Delib digital democracy projects (6:30pm to 7:00pm), by The Delib Team
The team from Delib will chat about what projects are exciting them at the moment in the world of digital democracy, policy crowd-sourcing, public consultation, participative governance and open source.
They’ll focus particularly on a local project they’ve been running with the Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, called George’s Ideas Lab. More information can be found here: http://georgesideaslab.dialogue-…
The Puzzle of Procurement (7:15pm to 7:45pm), by Matt Jukes
Matt will talk about trying to build a government website to Government Digital Service (GDS) standards at the Office for National Statistics without the benefits of their team, while trying not to break procurement rules.
Putting users first: the story of GOV.UK (8:00pm to 8:30pm), by Sarah Prag
Sarah worked, until recently, at the Government Digital Service (GDS), where she was the Product Manager for the launch of GOV.UK.
Sarah will chat about developing and launching GOV.UK, and her latest work exploring what it takes to digitally transform a public service.
Register for the mySociety meetup.
Techie Brekkie: Gaming Trends; Console vs Mobile, Bristol Games Hub
2 July @ 8:15am
Console vs Mobile – Who’s Winning (and does it matter?) Join us at the home of gaming in Bristol, Bristol games Hub, to discuss where this dynamic disruptive industry is going.
Introduction from Dr. Tomas Rawlings, Design & Development Director of Auroch Digital. Thanks to the Games Hub for providing a fantastic venue for this topic, and our kind sponsors Elance, who are providing breakfast! We also have a post-event offer of USD150 to spend on anything Elance.
Buy tickets for Techie Brekkie.
SETsquared Workshop: Accessing University Products, Engine Shed
8 July @ 11am – 1pm
There are many ways in which a small company can interact with a university – whether it’s student projects, placements, graduate employment, research consultancy, KTPs (Knowledge Transfer Partnerships), contract research, licensing university IP, sponsoring EngD or PhD students or something else. In this session, we will endeavour to explain the myriad of opportunities, demonstrate benefits and give you pointers as to how to explore the opportunities.
Whether or not you have any activity in mind – this will be particularly useful to any knowledge-intensive business with a desire to get ahead. You won’t know what opportunities exist until you ask!
Speakers: Frances Frith & Andrew Wray, Research & Enterprise Development, University of Bristol
Get tickets for this months SETsquared workshop.
Scrum User Group: Presentation Practice, Nokia Bristol
8 July @ 7-9pm
This is session designed to help anyone looking for feedback on their presentation skills in front of a friendly audience. All topics welcome, although they will be limed to 15-20 minutes each, depending on the number of submissions.
Join Scrum User Group and RSVP for presentation practice.
South West Data Social, The Watershed
8 July @ 7-10pm
The South West Data social is an evening for those involved in using, learning about or discovering data technologies to meet and network. The night takes place on the first Tuesday of every month in various locations around the South West.
Sign up to the South West Data meetup group.
South West Founders Meetup
9 July @ 7-10pm
South West Founders is a monthly meet-up for people based in the South-West who have been, are, or want to be tech start-up founders. They welcome entrepreneurs and tech investors with open arms, but discourage freelancers, consultants, lawyers and other service providers unless they have a genuine interest in founding or mentoring start-up businesses. They have a strict ‘no selling’ rule at their events.
The format of the meet-up is very casual. Turn up, sign in and get a name badge which will tell everybody who you are and what you’ve come for. The badge also has one other important purpose – it will get you free drinks at the bar.
Join the South West Data meetup group and RSVP.
SETsquared Alumni CEO Forum
10 July @ 9-11am
A safe and secure opportunity for CEOs of growing businesses to share challenges and help peers with their challenges – be they people, strategy, funding or market related.
For Bristol SETsquared Alumni members only.
For further information and to sign up, please visit the SETsquared page on the EventBite website.
Lunchtime Talk: Transmission, The Watershed
11 July @ 1-2pm
Inspired by the spread of infections of disease or ideas through social networks, an award-winning team of artists, scientists, musicians and dancers combine cutting-edge technology and fluid movement to create a sonic and visual world where even the smallest interactions leave behind a trace.
Come and meet the team, including Studio residents Tom Mitchell and Phill Tew as they talk us through the extraordinary research, performance and technology behind the show. More info coming soon.
This Lunchtime Talk is part of Open Studio Friday, which takes place at the Studio every week. You can find out more on the Watershed site.
If you have an upcoming tech event we haven’t mentioned in this list, tell us about it!

Shona Wright
Shona covers all things editorial at TechSPARK. She publishes news articles, interviews and features about our fantastic tech and digital ecosystem, working with startups and scaleups to spread the word about the cool things they're up to.
She also oversees TechSPARK's social media, sharing the latest updates on everything from investment news to green tech meetups and inspirational stories.