JHB: Become a sought after IT Professional /self-loading Arduino Wi-Fi catapult

Agenda
· Welcome (start 16h30)
· Lightning talk (start 16h35) - 10min
· Session 1 (start 16h50) - 20 min
· Session 2 (start 17h15) - 40min

Title: What Civil Engineering Taught Me About Being a Good Software Developer

A year and a half ago, I was working as a civil engineer and had a scholarship to complete a PhD in chemical and environmental engineering. I left my job as an engineer to turn my passion into a career. While I am really enjoying development, there are a lot of aspects of engineering that I still care about, and from which I have learnt a lot of valuable lessons. I’ve found that being aware of certain things has given me a unique perspective and really helped me grow in my new role.

I will go into detail about my insights into each of these and what they mean for every software developer.

Facilitator: Bhekani Khumalo

I am a Software Developer with a background as a Civil Engineer and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). I'm currently working as a GIS Developer at Esri South Africa. I am very passionate about learning and about finding ways to learn more effectively and efficiently. I really love working with geo-spatial technologies because it offers the opportunity to interact with many kinds of problems from different fields.

Besides software development, engineering and GIS. I am a sketch artist and painter. I am also a co-host of the Just Livin' Life podcast and the Just Livin' Life YouTube channel where my fiancee and I talk about all things to do with relationships.

Session 1
Title: Building a self-loading Arduino-powered Wi-Fi-controlled catapult for office warfare through simulation driven design

Welcome to 2019: You Twitch-stream your ironing, your car thinks it is smarter than you, and catapults have Wi-Fi!

We're going to go through using game-engine physics simulations (because algorithms!) to design and optimize a small self-loading desk catapult design, then CAD'ing it for 3D printing, and finally hooking it up to an Arduino to control from a phone over Wi-Fi.

This isn't your grandfathers catapult! (Unless you give it to him, I guess?)

Facilitator: Matt Cavanagh

Matt Cavanagh is a developer from Durban who hates writing bios in the third person. He started a company called roguecode making Windows apps, but then decided being poor was a better idea so went into game development.

Session 2
Title: How to become the most sought after IT Professionals in South Africa

Vanessa will look at the most in-demand skills – both tech and soft skills, in South Africa at the moment. She will help you get the audience to an understanding the benefits of standing out from their peers on social media as that is where recruitment is happening! Recruiters are hand picking Thought Leaders off Social Media platforms and placing them in exciting new roles!

Facilitator: Vanessa Raath

I am determined to bring the ‘Human Element’ back into today’s Recruitment Process as I believe it has been lacking for too long now! I believe that people are the core building blocks of every business but that doesn’t mean that we can treat every ‘block’ the same. I have over 13 years’ experience in the Recruitment Industry and I have specialised in the IT Applications space for most of this time. Before starting my career in Recruitment, I taught unruly children in London; operated a chairlift in the USA and taught people to Scuba Dive in SE Asia.

I have recently decided to flex my entrepreneurial muscle and I have launched my own Sourcing Training Business. I am passionate about raising the standard of Sourcing in Africa so that we can get up to speed with our global competitors. I also love presenting about Sourcing, career branding and sharing my knowledge, and experience, with others.

My mantra is “Life is too short to work in boring jobs….” The same attitude can be applied to the way I have lived my life and how I tackle each day.

You are most welcome to connect with me on Twitter & Instagram too - @Van_Raa