Are you interested in tech, ux design or user research? In light of Fluxible (Canada’s UX Festival) taking place in KW this week, I’ve decided to dive in and scope out some of the awesome events and meet-ups related to tech that are happening this term!
1. Panel: Lessons From an Innovation Ecosystem
This first event is taking place today at Communitech. If there is still room to sign up, you should definitely attend! This summer I had the pleasure of working at their “Clubhouse” and was blown away by their space and the people. I started attending more internal and external events, which really helped my networking skills. The focus for this meetup is “Design Thinking” but it is sure to be a wide-ranging and entertaining discussion. The speakers are all a part of the hub community and following the panel there will be an Innovation Lab open house. I will be attending this one, so if you decide to check it out come and say hi!
Trust me, Cool S#!T happens there.
2. TechWaterloo Meetup (September 2017)
I have always been told that Shopify events are amazing! I have yet to attend one so hopefully this will be my first! I did however attend OpenText’s “Future Forward” event this past summer, and listened to the Head of Sales from Shopify Plus speak on the topic of Disruption. It was nothing short of awesome and left me wanting to learn more about the company and what they really do. Unfortunately this one is not free. However, for the low price of $12.00/per person, you will have the opportunity to meet other fun, smart and creative people. You can also enjoy TED style presentations, some drinks and of course be able to network your behind off.
You can purchase your tickets now at www.TechWaterloo.org.
3. Three’s a party: how product, engineering, and design can work together
Were you interested in attending the previous mentioned event by Shopify Plus, but you can’t justify spending money on it? Lucky for you, Shopify is hosting another event the following day. In this presentation, you will learn about the trifecta! If you’re in a program that is related to tech, design or engineering, you could learn a lot of helpful things that will be applicable to school and group work. If you want to attend out of pure interest, that’s cool too! I’ve already RSVP’d so if you decide to check it out, I’ll see you there!
4. September 2017: Looking back and looking ahead at UX in Waterloo Region
This event is in honour of uxWaterloo’s kick off meeting that was held 10 years ago. The topic of discussion is what we want the next ten years to look like. You will be able to learn about and discuss the UX community, both from local and global perspectives. You might know KW as a student driven region, with multiple university and college locations that assist in populating the area. This may be true, but something you might not know is that the Waterloo region is very well known for it’s success and growth in the tech and design industries. On the plus side, this meetup is free to attend! All you have to do is sign up and say that you are going. It’s also held in an awesome theatre room at Communitech called the Roddenberry.
If you’re looking for an event to attend in October, you should check this one out. Unitron will be hosting this event for Girl Geek Dinners. The company has been at the forefront of hearing aid technology for the past 53 years. This is a great opportunity to listen to 3-4 keynote speakers shed light on what might be an unknown field to you. They will be sharing insights about their approaches to marketing their products. Whether you’re super interested in hearing aid technology or not, go out and give it a shot. You’ll meet new people and you’ll be sure to learn something along the way.
6. HackerNest Kitchener-Waterloo November Tech Social
Moving forward, if you love networking and tech, this event will be right up your alley. Connect with your local tech community in a fun and relaxed way. The majority of the night will be spent sharing drinks and great conversations with lots of like-minded people. These events are entry by donation, so give whatever you can and have an awesome time! Also, this is the perfect way to get out of that cringey dorm room or stuffy apartment and unwind during midterm season.
These are just a few of the events you could attend this term. If you’ve never used Meetup.com before, you should definitely check it out from time to time. If you’ve never done something like this before, it may seem intimidating at first, but these events are all usually very relaxed. They’re great opportunities to get out and meet others that could be interested in the same things as you!