South West tech and digital events roundup - March 2017

Bath Machine Learning: Build your own neural network, The Guild Coworking Hub, Bath, 1 March @ 6 – 8pm

Interested in data science and machine learning? Head over to the Bath Machine Learning meetup and work to build your own neural network.

In just a couple of hours and starting from absolutely nothing, you’ll build a fully connected neural network capable of recognising handwritten digits. In the process you’ll discover exactly what’s going on inside the network at every stage, pick up some tips for working with R, and enter a Kaggle competition.

Join the Bath Machine Learning meetup for free to sign-up and attend ‘Build your own neural network’.

Threads South West: Growing your business, Ashfords LLC, Bristol, 1 March @ 6.30 – 8pm

Threads South West is a new meetup aimed at the leaders in tech businesses (managers, heads of department, directors and so on) to come together and collaborate on solving a range of topical issues.

In March, they will explore funding sources and what they typically expect of your business and its operation.

By attending you can pool and explore specific issues that you face within your own operation or industry domain, drawing on the shared experiences of others.

Join Threads South West for free and RSVP to attend the March meetup.

BCS Bristol Branch – Machine Learning and AI, The Engine Shed, Bristol, 1 March @ 7 – 9pm

This talk on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence will examine how the capability of the underlying technology is rapidly increasing and what this could mean for potential applications and the impact on people.

Speakers include Nigel Toon – co-founder and Chairman & CEO of Graphcore Ltd and Professor Jim Smith – Professor of Interactive Artificial Intelligence at the University of the West of England.

Find out more about the BCS Bristol series of talks and register for a place at ‘Machine Learning and AI’.

ForgeRock: UnSummit, 4th Floor – Broad Quay House, Bristol, 2 March @  9am – 5pm

The ForgeRock UnSummit is a one-day gathering of identity relationship management practitioners.

It’s a technical event for identity geeks which will be held at the new ForgeRock Bristol Office just off Queen Square. They’re meeting to facilitate knowledge sharing around the ForgeRock open-source identity platform and the greater identity relationship management community.

Join them for this one-day event that promises to be productive, fun and very hands-on.

Read more about ForgeRock’s UnSummit and register for free here.

Voxxed Days Bristol 2017, The Watershed, Bristol, 2 March, 8:30am – 5.30pm

Voxxed Days Bristol features the latest and future topics in Java and cloud development.

1 day – 24 sessions – 4 tracks

Leading international and local developer experts deliver the best content to keep attendees at the top of their game.

Get your tickets for Voxxed Days Bristol 2017.

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BathSPARK: Coffee & Networking, The Guild Coworking Hub, Bath, 2 March @ 10.30am – 12pm

BathSPARK’s drop-in coffee mornings are a very informal networking forum, where you can come along and meet others who work in tech in the region.

Whether you’ve just moved your business to the area and would like to build your network, or if you’re well established in the region, feel free to pop down, have a coffee courtesy of the lovely people at the Guild Co-working Hub, and a friendly chat.

Join BathSPARK for free to sign-up to attend Coffee and Networking at the Guild Coworking Hub.

Bristol Salesforce Meetup: Lightning talks and open floor, The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer, Bristol, 2 March @ 6 – 9pm

Connect with other developers from the South West of England who are building on the Salesforce.com platform.

This month presents an opportunity for anyone to take part in the lightning talks and share knowledge.

To find out about speaking at the meetup or to RSVP, check out the Bristol Salesforce Meetup page.

Cyber Security Workshop for 13-16 year olds, Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park, Berkeley, 4 March @ 9.30am – 12.30pm

Don’t miss this free cyber workshop. Activities will focus on using digital technologies in real life scenarios, including how they are utilised to fight crime. The session will end with a cyber team challenge.

Register your child for a free place at the Cyber Security Workshop here.

Bristol WordPress People, Famous Royal Navy Volunteer, Bristol, 7 March @ 6.30pm

Bristol WordPress People is a free monthly meetup for interesting talks, expert website help and the opportunity to share knowledge.

This month they have two talks: ‘Building a plugin as a business’ by Jack McConnell and ‘Speeding up WordPress’ by Simon Pollard.

Sign up for free to Bristol WordPress People and RSVP to attend the next meetup.

Flag & Bell, The Bell Inn, Bath, 7 March @ 8pm

The Flag & Bell (F.A.B) is a monthly mini pub crawl for techies and entrepreneurs.

FAB meetings are friendly, fun and rewarding. It’s an opportunity to chat about the latest developments in web, mobile, cloud tech and startups. You’ll learn about new places, people and ideas and make friends and business connections.

RSVP for free to join your fellow techie pub crawlers at the next Flag & Bell meetup.

Wearables for Diagnostics, Leigh Court Business Centre, Bristol, 8 March @ 9.30am – 4.30pm

This workshop will bring together end-user communities, technology providers, researchers, funding agencies and other key stakeholders in the UK’s healthcare wearables industry to network, share knowledge of market opportunities, needs and challenges, discuss state of art wearable sensing technologies and develop new ideas and collaborations.

The event also invites major industry leaders, leading academic experts and end users to share their knowledge and expertise with participants.

Tickets cost £20 and are available on the Wearables for Diagnostics Eventbrite page.

AWS Bath User Group, The Makery, Bath, 8 March @ 7pm

A gathering place and forum for discussion of all things related to Amazon Web Services. Calling architects, developers, engineers, consultants and anybody wanting to learn, share and contribute from peer to peer.

The meetup’s aim is to become an important resource for technical & business professionals who want to stay up to speed with developments in the AWS Cloud and related technologies.

Find out more and join the AWS Bath User Group here.

Digital Gaggle Social Media Conference, Colston Hall, Bristol, 9 March @ 8.30am – 1pm

This extremely popular social media conference is back again, armed with a bunch of speakers all eager to help inspire you when it comes to using social media for your business.

Due to the popularity of Digital Gaggle it’s now sold out, so join the waitlist if you don’t already have a ticket.

HealthTech Women UK: Collaborating for change, DeskLodge, Bristol, 9 March @ 6 – 9pm

After the launch of the South West HTW hub in Bristol last September, HTW will be back in town this March to celebrate International Women’s Day 2017.

The speaker is independent coach and change consultant, Nicola Waterworth, who will lead a fun and informative session on collaboration and effective teamwork for making change.

Find out more and register for your place at the next HealthTech Women UK meetup in Bristol.

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South West Data Social, The Watershed, Bristol, 14 March @ 7 – 10pm

The South West Data social is an informal evening for those involved in using, learning about or discovering data technologies to meet and network.

The social takes place on the second Tuesday of every month at the Watershed.

Join the South West Data meetup group and RSVP to confirm your place.

How will we ever trust computers to drive us safely?, The Engine Shed, Bristol, 16 March @ 9.30am – 12pm

A 2 hour round table discussion on the Smart City challenges and solutions of Computer Automated Vehicle (CAV) technology.

How can we trust a computer to drive us safely? Who becomes liable in the event of an accident? And will CAVs take away the pleasure of the driver experience on the open road?

We know that as we move toward Smart Cities, technology development is inevitable. So how do we keep the consumer at the heart of it? Come along and discuss these questions and more with partners in the Venturer and Flourish projects.

Check out this Venturefest Bristol & Bath event on Eventbrite and register for a free place.

TechSPARK: TechRIDE – a healthier type of networking, Mokoko, Bristol, 17 March @ 8 – 9.30am

With Bristol this year’s European City of Sport, we thought it is about time for us techies, tech-curious, founders and entrepreneurs to get involved, get on the saddle and talk tech.

This time we’ll be meeting at Mokoko on Gaol Ferry Steps at 8am, they’re open from 7.30 if anyone wants to grab an espresso before we head off.

Ride from 8 – 9.30am, followed by cosy coffees and pastries at Mokoko for those who can stick around.

Grab your bike and RSVP for free to TechSPARK’s TechRIDE.

Introducing EPIC and HPC in the Cloud Breakfast Event, CFMS & Bristol and Bath Science Park, Bristol, 21 March @ 8.30 – 10.30am

Delegates will learn about the benefits of HPC in the cloud and the different options, traditional and new, for accessing High-Performance Computing (HPC). The event also includes a demonstration of the EPIC platform from Zenotech.

EPIC provides secure cloud access to a range of HPC resources, from academic supercomputers to cutting-edge cloud services. The business case around using external HPC systems will also be discussed and some of the common security questions answered.

Find out more about the CFMS breakfast event and signup for free.

Bristol Distinguished Address Series: More people in fewer cars, UWE Exhibition & Conference Centre, Bristol, 22 March @ 6 – 8pm

Uber didn’t start out with grand ambitions, but as the company grew in popularity so did its impact. Today, more than 5 million trips are booked through the Uber app every day across more than 450 cities around the world.

In the UK, millions of people use the app in more than 25 towns and cities from Edinburgh to Portsmouth. In this lecture, Fred Jones – Head of Uber’s cities across the UK and Ireland – will talk about how Uber’s looking to use its popularity to impact congestion, pollution and parking, as well as improve access to transport by making private cars a thing of the past.

Register for your free place at the Bristol Distinguished Address Series: More people in fewer cars.

Bristol Product Research Meet: Developing for Amazon Alexa, JUST EAT, Bristol, 22 March @ 8.30pm

The Just Eat product research team are hosting an evening dedicated to developing skills for Amazon Alexa.

Just Eat launched their popular Alexa Skill on launch day, but the journey was an interesting one. Research backed and meticulously considered from the start, the team will be sharing unique insights into what it means to build a well designed and delightful experience using voice.

Find out more about the speakers at the March Bristol Product Research meet and RSVP for a free place.

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TechSPARK Brekkie Meet: Life Sciences & Healthtech sector, Bristol Energy Hub, 29 March @ 8.15 – 9.30am

After the popularity of our first Techie Brekkie specifically focussing on Life Sciences and Health tech, we’ve decided there is a case to make this a monthly thing …. so here it is.

This is for anyone with an interest in Life Sciences; including areas such as health tech, bio-engineering, genetics, bio-sensing, med tech, diagnostics and more. Whether your interest is commercial, as a researcher, healthcare professional or from a support organisation you are welcome to join us for coffee, crosissants and networking.

Join the TechSPARK meetup for free to RSVP to the Brekkie Meet for Life Sciences and Healthtech.