Graph Database Melbourne Meetup, Sept Edition

Join us for an exciting evening of networking and knowledge-sharing at the Graph Database Melbourne Meetup on Sept 21st! Whether you're a seasoned graph database enthusiast or just starting your journey into the world of connected data, this event is the perfect opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals, share insights, and explore the latest advancements in graph database technology.

During this meetup, we'll delve into the power and versatility of graph databases and their applications across various industries. We'll feature engaging talks, hands-on demonstrations, and interactive discussions, all aimed at deepening your understanding and igniting your curiosity about the potential of graph databases.

Venue: DXC Technology, 360 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

The agenda of the evening would be:

- 5pm: doors open
- 5.30pm: announcements and welcome
- 5.40pm: 1st Talk
- 6.10pm: 2nd Talk
- 6:25pm: 3rd Talk
- 6.55pm: Networking
- 7.10pm: doors close

Speakers:
🎤Andrew Conacher, Solution Consultant @ Neo4j Australia
Talk: Enhance LLM Generated Embeddings through Collaborative Filtering over A Knowledge Graph
Summary:
Among many usage patterns of LLMs, e.g. fine-tuning, few-shot learning and etc. Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) has demonstrated its unique advantages. However, RAG comes with its own set of challenges, e.g. retrieval accuracy, domain awareness etc. In this workshop, an approach of enhancing accuracy & relevance of semantic search will be demonstrated, which aims to improve ranking of search results based on LLM generated embeddings, by incorporating collaborative filtering over knowledge graph stored in Neo4j.
Bio:
Andrew Conacher is a 30+ year veteran of the industry. Andrew started out in development with Unisys before working for a series of vendors in the areas of data warehousing, business intelligence and information management. Andrew has consulted as such organisations as NBN, Telstra, ANZ Bank and National Australia Bank.

🎤Richard Tresider, Retired Computer Science University Lecturer, La Trobe University
Talk: Neo4j - the first impressions
Summary & Bio:
Richard Tresider, Retired Computer Science University Lecturer, La Trobe University, Graphs - first impressions. Richard discovered Graphs late in his career and finds the concept fascinating. Richard will talk about how he got stated in graphs and his experiences thus far.

Speakers:
🎤 Ryan Jeffery, Director, Passionate About OSS
Talk: Beyond the Graphs - AI, Augmented Reality and more
Summary:
In this talk, "Beyond the Graph - AI/ML, Augmented Reality and More," Ryan will talk about how graph databases help to underpin modern telecommunications network support systems, which in turn facilitates our modern way of life that relies on comms technologies. He'll then describe how AI/ML techniques are being used on graph data before providing examples of how graph data is utilised by AR/VR technologies that will imminently change ways-of-working in the telco industry and beyond
Bio:
Ryan Jeffery is a 25+ year veteran of the IT and Telecoms industries, where he has been drawn to the insights waiting to be unlocked from operational data and the systems that use them. He's worked with iconic organisations like Telstra, Optus, nbn, Kearney, Infosys Consulting, Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola and many more in Australia and internationally.

Interested to speak at this or future meetups? Fill this form: https://dev.neo4j.com/submit-your-talk

Note: There will be SWAGs giveaways for everyone in the evening.

Don't miss out on this valuable opportunity to expand your graph database knowledge, make meaningful connections, and be part of the vibrant Melbourne graph database community. Register now to secure your spot and join us on Sept 21st for an evening of discovery and inspiration!

Note: Please keep an eye on our meetup page for updates on the final agenda and speaker lineup.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Graph Database Melbourne Meetup!