Events roundup - 24 to 30 October

The Idea Machine: Open Office Hours, The Engine Shed
24 October @ 10am -4pm

The Idea Machine is a meetup group aimed at bringing together people at the Seed stage of their startup business.

So what better way to get started than to have a chat about your ideas and get some advice from project manager, developer and entrepreneur James Barlow at the Engine Shed this Friday for Open Office Hours at Bristol business incubator, the Engine Shed.

Find out more Open Office Hours and sign up for free to the Idea Machine Meetup group.

Lunchtime Talk: Oscar Raby, The Watershed
24 October @ 1 -2pm

“In 1973 Oscar Raby’s father witnessed the execution of a group of prisoners captured by the military regime in Chile, the army he was a part of. Raby, a multimedia designer and visual artist, turned to the Oculus Rift Virtual Reality headset to tell his father’s story in Assent. This immersive autobiographical documentary game, developed using the Unity engine, puts the user in his father’s footsteps as he walks to the place where the execution happened.”

Come along to for free to hear about Oscar’s journey in interactive storytelling and the making of the innovative and moving Assent project.

Find out more about Lunchtime Talks at the Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio.

Techie Brekkie: Can ‘Good’ be profitable?, The Guild Coworking Hub
27 October @ 8 -10am

This month’s Techie Brekkie will aim to discuss the increase over recent years of Charitable “For-Profit” businesses, as successful entrepreneurs no longer simply want to make money but are giving more and more back to society. Those at the event will encouraged to share ideas, discuss advantages and disadvantages and challenge traditional views over coffee, bacon sarnies and croissants.

As ever, Techie Brekkie’s are hugely popular events and this one has already sold out! Join the waiting list for this months Techie Brekkie and sign up to BathSPARK to keep up to date with future events!

Smashing Front End Boot Camp, University of Bath Innovation Centre
27 October @ 9am – 5pm

This autumn, the gang at Smashing are running their very first Front End Boot Camp; a brand new format for them, which they think you’re going to love. They understand that taking several days out of the office for a conference is not an option for many, and so for the first time ever, Smashing are offering a super-compact, super-practical one day alternative!

Find out more and book your tickets for the Smashing Front End Boot Camp.

LCSW: Incubation for Business of the Future, The Engine Shed
28 October @ 7:45 -10am

In this Low Carbon South West Business Breakfast, hear from Nick Sturge (SETsquared), Iwona Tempowski (Filwood Green Business Park) and Carolyn Hassan (Maker Lab), and discuss progress by current incubation hubs in the city, the provision of support to fledgling sustainable business and the future plans and opportunities for nurturing innovation in green development.

Tickets cost £14/ £7 (non-member/ member) and include coffee and pastries. Buy your ticket for the Low Carbon South West Business Breakfast.

Games For Good: The Panel, City of Bath College
29 October @ 12.30 -1.30pm

Games are doing much more now than just fun – they are educating, becoming therapy and helping to tackle serious problems. Head over the Games for Good Panel to to find out how Auroch Digital have been turning news into games, how Knowle West Media Centre used games to talk about domestic violence and accessibility expert Ian Hamilton on how technology can be built to open them up to wider audiences.

Buy your tickets for Games for Good: The Panel at just £3 each!

South West Virtual Reality: Oculus Rift, Guild Coworking Hub
29 October @ 2 -3pm

South West Virtual Reality is a group for virtual reality enthusiasts and developers in and around the South West. This month they’re partnering with the Bath Digital Festival to discuss the impact the Oculus Rift and its counterparts have made on the world, look at where the technology is so quickly heading, and talk about what it means for you and your industry.

They’ll also be giving you the chance to see for yourself just how powerful and immersive this technology is by letting you to jump into some incredible virtual worlds.

Register your free tickets to the Virtual Reality: Oculus Rift event.

IGNITE: For Good, Bath Brewhouse
29 October @ 6:15 -9pm

Ignite is a global event where participants are given five minutes to speak about their ideas and personal or professional passions, accompanied by twenty slides.

Each slide is displayed for fifteen seconds, and slides are automatically advanced, meaning talks are fast-paced and engaging. You can read more about Ignite here.

This Ignite event, organised by mySociety as part of the 2014 Bath Digital Festival, will focus on Social Enterprise, Digital for Good, or indeed any stories that people may have around these topics!

Tickets to IGNITE: For Good include a drink and are absolutely free!

Open Rights Group: Film Night, The People’s Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC)
29 October @ 7 -9pm

Open Rights Group (ORG) offer a monthly meetup for anyone interested in digital rights: from copyright, freedom of expression, censorship, parody, privacy, open data and more.

Join them this month for a screening of the film “The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz”. There will be no entry fee, but donations are very welcome to allow the PRSC to continue hosting such events.

Find out more and to sign up to attend the Open Rights Group: Film Night.

Bristol JS: Making a text particle system with canvas, The Hen & Chicken
29 October @ 7pm

Bristol JS is a meetup group offering regular get-togethers for JavaScript users.

This month, in the words of Bristol JS event host, Andrew McGreggor: “I’ll be showing how I made a particle system in HTML5 canvas, which uses letters instead of images. By the end you’ll have an overview of using animations with the canvas element, and why making silly things is a great idea!

Interested in Javascript? Why not become a member of the Bristol JS Meetup Group.

Digital Skills Day, Bath
30 October @ 9am -7pm

Run as part of the Bath Digital Festival, Digital Skills Day is a day of events looking to inform and excite about the job opportunities and careers paths in the digital sector, with something for everyone, whether you’re a student, employee, employer, educator or parent.

Can’t make the whole day? That’s fine! The event is split into smaller events throughout the day from 30 minute talks to 2 hour workshops, so you can register for which ever bits interest you the most!

Check out the Digital Skills Day programme and book free tickets to the events. Be quick though, tickets are selling out fast!

Rules of Engagement : Social Media for Social Enterprise, University of Bath Innovation Centre
30 October @ 8 -10am

How can organisations, charities and service providers use technology to engage with their service users and the wider community? In modern times technology increasingly opens up public service providers to scrutiny by their communities and added transparency to the responsiveness of services.

Want to find out more? Head to the Bath Innovation Centre where two experienced leaders in this field will be addressing this issue over a breakfast meeting.

Find out about the speakers at Rules of Engagement and register for a free ticket.

BAFTA Kids: Behind the Scenes, The Egg (Theatre Royal)
30 October @ 11am -12.45pm

A special family event aimed at 7 to 12 year-olds, the BAFTA Kids will be presented by a celebrity host, showcasing the films, television, games and websites nominated for the BAFTA Children’s Awards.

Tickets for this family friendly event are just £3 each and there will be plenty of opportunity for audience interaction with challenges, prizes and Q&A’s.

Get more information and tickets for the BAFTA Kids: Behind the Scenes.

The Internet of Good Things, The Octagon
30 October @ 1 -6pm

In partnership with TechSPARK, this conference is designed to help businesses across the West Country to develop, grow and launch global Internet of Things (IoT) projects.

Featuring highly experienced, senior executive keynote speakers from multinational tech companies including Microsoft and Intel, you will be able to take part in intimate Q&A sessions and attend extensive panel discussions on prior collated themes. And with 9 expert speakers and 5 sessions, it’s going to be a jam packed and informative afternoon!

Buy your tickets for the Internet of Good Things.

Bristol Ruby User Group (BRUG) meeting, Tobacco Factory
30 October @ 7pm

BRUG is a monthly meetup group for Bristol Ruby developers, offering informal talks and chats over a drink or two.

Become a BRUG member for free.