I’m one of the oragniser of Dev East. A single day, single track software developer conference running on 16th March 2018 at Ipswich Town Football Club.
The Agenda
I want the conference to be inspiring, almost like a TED event. You might not be using bleeding edge technologies on a day-to-day basis, but perhaps it’ll open your mind to what other people are doing with software and make you think differently about how you tackle your next project.
A small committee was put together to shortlist talks on interesting technical subjects, and I’m really pleased with the agenda we’ve selected.
With talks ranging from Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, and the Bloodhound SSC project, and speakers who have worked with NASA, Formula 1 racing teams and the British Antarctic Survey, I think it’ll be an interesting day.
The Hidden Agenda
As well as learning about ‘cool new technology’ I want the event to help build the tech community in Ipswich. It’s a great opportunity to meet other developers and local businesses. For students it’s a chance to build the contacts in the industry to start your career.
I’d like Dev East to be the first of many such events in the area. Hackathons, and workshops are ideas already being talked about.
Sponsorship
I wanted to make the even as low cost as possible. We’re charging £10 + booking fee, and I can provide free tickets if the cost is prohibitive. The ticket price doesn’t cover the cost of food and drinks on the day, never mind the venue hire, lanyards, AV equipment and everything else.
The event couldn’t happen without the support of sponsors.
I’m pleased to say we had an excellent response from sponsors, and quite quickly sold all of the Gold and Silver slots. Thank you for making the event possible!
Also a big thank you to IJYI who organised and paid for a fund raising event which helped build interest from sponsors.
The Venue
We searched across Ipswich to find a suitable venue for the conference. Many venues were able to hold 100 delegates, but I wanted to aim for a larger event.
Ipswich Town Football Club offers a flexible events space with catering and a capacity for up to 250 delegates. It’s also easily accessible from the train station and town centre. It has a large NCP carpark nearby.
Charity
I wanted to include an opportunity for attendees to donate to charities during the event. I’m pleased to say that we’ll have people collecting for a few charities on the day.
The conference is a non-proft venuture organised by volenteers. All money raised will be invested back into the community.
You
If you haven’t bought a ticket yet, please go and get one. Buying them earlier rather than later makes it easier for us organisers.
You can pick on up on eventbrite.
Please help spread the word.