About us
The Power BI & Fabric Manchester User Group is a free to attend event that has been going for almost 10 years and our members to meets every month in Manchester on a Thursday evening.
We host a variety of events including talks from expert speakers and hands-on introduction to Power BI. We are a thriving Power BI community including end users & industry experts all who use Power BI – and enjoy using it.
Follow us on Twitter, @PBIMCR.
Follow our Linked-In page and watch past videos here
PBIMCR code of conduct:
The Power BI & Fabric User Manchester Group is committed to fostering a respectful, friendly, and professional environment for all members, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, physical appearance, disability, age, race, or religion.
We have a zero-tolerance policy for any behavior that degrades individuals based on these attributes, as well as any form of harassment or discrimination. It is essential for all members to understand and adhere to these standards, and we encourage everyone to contribute to a safe and welcoming atmosphere.
At our in-person events, we expect attendees to:
- Be friendly and welcoming.
- Listen with purpose and create space for diverse communication preferences.
- To show courtesy and respect to our speakers (i.e. Phones on silent, No getting up mid-talk to get drinks)
- Consider how you can make someone’s experience better.
- Be patient and understanding of varying communication styles.
- Acknowledge that not everyone may be using their native language, which can lead to misinterpretations.
- Communicate thoughtfully, aiming for clarity and productivity.
- Respect differing opinions and seek to understand rather than criticize.
- Make a conscious effort to include those who may differ from you.
- Assume good intent in others' statements and questions.
- Focus on continuous learning by improving your knowledge and engaging with others.
In summary, we ask that all members treat each other with respect, kindness, and empathy. Use inclusive language, communicate thoughtfully, avoid destructive comments, accept constructive criticism gracefully, and create space for others. If you need assistance, please reach out to the organisers.
Upcoming events
2
PBIMCR presents Mastering Human & AI Semantic Layer & Customer-First Analytics'
Robert Walters Group, 12th Floor, Number 1 Spinningfields,, Manchester, GBit's our 1st PBIMCR of 2026 to kickoff our 10th anniversary celebrations...
When: Thursday 29th of January 2026
Time: arrive for 530pm with talks starting from 6pm start prompt
Location: ** Robert Walters Manchester office, No.1 Spinningfields M3 3EB ,.**
Session will not be streamed over MS Teams but uploaded to our YouTube channel in early Feb
Complimentary drinks & pizza provided by our hosts & sponsors Robert Walters
January's PBIMCR will feature .....
Speaker Details -
Talk 1:
Shubhangi Goyal
Title: Customer-First Analytics: Power BI Dashboard for Impact
#### Description
Building a dashboard is easy. Building one that truly serves your customer — that's where the real work (and value) begins.
In this session, we’ll walk through how to build a Power BI dashboard from scratch with a customer-first mindset. From defining the right problem to designing with empathy, this session will cover:
-Understanding your audience’s pain points and priorities
-Translating business questions into measurable KPIs
-Structuring your data model for flexibility and performance
-Designing intuitive visuals and layout for usability
-Gathering feedback and driving dashboard adoption
If you are looking to level up your Power BI game, you’ll leave with practical tools, techniques, and frameworks to turn your dashboards into decision-driving assets.
Talk 2:
Mihaly Kavasi
Talk Title: Master the Human & AI-Friendly Semantic Layer
Transform your organization's data strategy by mastering the essential bridge between IT and Business. This session reveals how to build semantic layers that empower both human users and AI assistants (including Copilot) to extract maximum value from your data assets.
What you'll master:
• Implement optimal responsibility division between IT/BI teams and business users for scalable self-service
• Design semantic layer structures that balance usability, performance, and AI compatibility
• Optimize naming conventions and metadata specifically for Copilot and AI assistant readability
• Leverage advanced model features (field parameters, perspectives, calculation groups) that accelerate report creation
• Apply performance optimization techniques that deliver instant insights even with billions of rows
• Master code-first semantic layer design using TMDL and modern development workflows
• Train AI Coding Agents to efficiently implement these improvements
You'll build semantic layers that slash report development time by 60%, eliminate IT bottlenecks, and position your organization for success in the AI-augmented analytics era.
Takeaways: Semantic layer design checklist, naming convention guide, Copilot optimization templates
Topics Covered: Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, Azure Analysis Services, AI Coding Agents105 attendees
PBIMCR presents Predicting Fantasy Premier League Points with Microsoft Fabric
Slalom, 17 Marble Street, Manchester, GBWhen: Thursday 26th of February 2026
Time: arrive for 530pm with talks starting from 6pm start prompt
Location: Bloc, 17 Marble St, Manchester M2 3AW
Session will not be streamed over MS Teams but uploaded to our YouTube channel in early Feb
Complimentary drinks & pizza provided by our hosts Slalom & sponsors Robert Walters
February's PBIMCR will feature .....
Speaker Details -
Talk 1:
Ben Wolfenden
Title: Predicting Fantasy Premier League Points with Microsoft Fabric: An End-to-End Solution
#### Description
I will showcase a complete end-to-end solution built on Microsoft Fabric to predict Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points. The demo will be a whistle-stop tour of the full data journey: ingesting raw football data, orchestrating pipelines, implementing a medallion architecture, applying machine learning for predictive modelling, designing dimensional models, and visualising insights in Power BI. Learn best practices for building scalable, modern analytics platforms using Fabric Lakehouse, Delta tables, PySpark, machine learning and visualisation.
If you are looking to level up your Power BI game, you’ll leave with practical tools, techniques, and frameworks to turn your dashboards into decision-driving assets.
Talk 2
Jerome Wittersheim
Topic TBC
Topics Covered: Power BI, Microsoft Fabric Lakehouse, Delta tables, PySpark, machine learning and visualisation21 attendees
Past events
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