IT-coaching

The MLAI Meetup is a community for AI researchers and professionals which hosts monthly talks on exciting research. Our format is: * 6:00 - 6:20: Socializing * 6:20 - 6:40: Announcements and AI news * 6:40 - 7:40: Talk(s) and Q&A * 7:40 - 8:00 Networking * 8:00: Head to the nearest pub for dinner **THREE amazing talks tonight:** 1. **Chaehan So: “Deep Listening AI: A Psychologist's Blueprint for Building a Virtual Friend”** 2. **Dushan Karovich-Wynne: “aigogo: Packaging AI Agents for Production”** 3. **Adam "Spidey" Purdie & Rohan Nowell: "Meet ABI AI in the real world"** Talk descriptions and speaker bios: **Adam "Spidey" Purdie & Rohan Nowell: "Meet ABI AI in the real world"** **Synopsis:** Andromeda's purpose is to build technology that strengthens connections and preserves purpose in people’s lives. This purpose shapes what we build and how we build it. The soul of the product matters as much as its capabilities, and our values are encoded through everyday decisions. Abi is our friendly humanoid robot who is built for this purpose. Where she most strongly differs from a LLM chatbot is in embodiment, she shares a physical environment with you. This comes with a whole new range of challenges, she doesn’t just need to know what to say to hold a conversation, she now also needs to control her body language through gestures. Spidey and Rohan will go through the purpose of Andromeda, how Abi is driving this and how we incorporate machine learning into her physical communication. **Speaker Bios:** **Adam Purdie Spidey**, Mad Scientist / Engineering Manager. Spidey regular meetup goer is best known for his ambitions to take over the world with an army of robotic spiders - furiously developing the spiders and other cuddly horrors by night, by day Spidey is an Engineering Manager in charge of customer applications and platform automation (SRE/Dev/Sec/Ops) and physical robotics. My team do awesome things and I give them all the direction, certainty and space to do it. **Rohan Nowell** is a Machine Learning Engineer at Andromeda Robotics with over 10 years of experience in robotic and autonomous systems. His broad expertise spans control systems, mechanical engineering, physics modelling, and autonomy, including work on uncrewed defence vehicles and miniature robots from his PhD at Monash University. He is currently focused on the complex challenges of Human-Robot Interaction, specifically optimizing for 'delightfulness' in embodied AI systems. **Dushan Karovich-Wynne: “aigogo: Packaging AI Agents for Production”** **Synopsis:** aigogo ( https://github.com/aupeachmo/aigogo )is an open-source project exploring what it actually takes to package, ship, and run AI agents in real production environments. In this talk, I’ll walk through how to use aigogo to package and distribute a real agent that does useful work. This talk isn’t about a finished framework, but an open exploration of what it takes to package and run AI agents in real production environments. Using aigogo as a concrete example, we’ll look at the practical tradeoffs that show up once AI systems move beyond experimentation and start behaving like deployable services. The session is designed to be collaborative and discussion-driven, drawing on the experiences of engineers and data scientists in the room. The goal is to surface what matters most in practice and to help shape the roadmap for aigogo and similar open-source efforts going forward. **Speaker Bio:** Dushan is the founder of Subrosa AI (www.subrosa.ai), he is building at the intersection of AI, risk mitigation, and governance, with a focus on making AI systems secure, auditable, and trustworthy in production environments. On top of his companies products which address data leakage and governance challenges as well as production-level AI agents, Dushan builds and maintains open-source projects that help people instrument, understand, sandbox and distribute AI agents. Outside of work, he's a lifelong dog lover who has been known to pull over to talk to dogs. **Chaehan So: “Deep Listening AI: A Psychologist's Blueprint for Building a Virtual Friend”** **Abstract:** What if AI could truly listen—not just respond with generic empathy, but recognize when you're avoiding a difficult topic, stuck in a thinking loop, or seeking validation you won't accept? In this talk, psychological-researcher-turned-AI-startup-founder Chaehan So shares what building Virtual Friend revealed about creating AI for deep emotional conversations. You'll discover why common approaches like fine-tuning and RAG fail for psychological applications—and what actually works. Key takeaways: * Why "respond with empathy" prompts don't work (and what to do instead) * How to engineer psychological awareness into AI conversations * The hidden patterns that unfold across a conversation—revealing what someone can't say directly Whether you're building AI products, interested in mental health tech, or curious about the intersection of psychology and AI, you'll leave with practical insights applicable far beyond chatbots. **Speaker Bio:** Dr. Chaehan So bridges psychology and AI to create technology that genuinely understands people. As founder of Virtual Friend, he's building an AI companion specifically designed to support young adults navigating anxiety, loneliness, and life transitions—combining clinical listening techniques with cutting-edge language models. With a Ph.D. in Social Psychology, Dr. So brings psychological research methodology to AI development. His interdisciplinary background spans social psychology (Humboldt University Berlin), engineering (TU Berlin), and management (ESCP France), with previous experience as Assistant Professor of Information & Interaction Design at Yonsei University, South Korea. His mission: making AI that doesn't just talk to you, but truly listens.

Happy New Year Legends! With 2026 well under way now, it’s a great time to pause and see if we have everything we need to make 2026 a kick ass year. To do that, we need to know what we want. Susan will be guiding through some reflection time, a chance to consider where you are at and what you most want from the year ahead. Together we will set some intentions and paths forward. If you aren’t sure what you want from the year ahead, or how to get it, or just want to connect & network with some like minded folks this session is for you! **Agenda (time in Melbourne/AEST)** * 5:15pm Networking * 5:45pm Welcome * 5:50pm Main Presentation & Workshop * 6:30pm Come back together & Share * 6:45pm Networking * 7:15pm Close **This will be a HYBRID event.** **Zoom link -** To be posted 1hr before event starts. **In person attendees -** Someone will be in the lobby to let you up to the meet up floor. Contact organisers on the community Slack (preferred) or Meetup if you need access to the venue after the event starts. **Our Speaker** **Susan Brander** Susan is currently the co-founding CTO at Kaleida, a start up that is passionate about building diverse, high performing tech teams that represent the Kaleida-scope of society. She has a strong history of leading teams that balances the need to experiment and learn in an emerging market with reliability expected of customer focused systems. She is also an organiser of Tech Leading Ladies, a community focused on bridging the gender gap in technical leadership.

Tuesday nights just got better! Join us at **600 Little Collins St, Melbourne** for a **free beginners Bachata class** — the smooth, stylish Latin dance that’s taking over Melbourne. No partner, no pressure — just good vibes, great music, and easy-to-follow moves that anyone can learn. 🎶 **Here’s what to expect:** * Step-by-step Bachata basics (no experience needed) * A super chill, welcoming crowd * Music that makes you *feel* like you’re on holiday 📍 **Location:** The Salsa Foundation, 600 Little Collins St, Melbourne 🕕 **Time:** Tuesday 6 PM — arrive a few minutes early to check in 🎟️ **Cost:** Free (bookings required — limited spots!)

**Struggling with study or learning? You’re not alone.** This meetup suits people at all levels of study skill. Too many children, teenagers, and adults find studying difficult—not because they lack ability, but because they were never taught **how to learn**. This meetup introduces the basics of **Study Technology**—a practical, proven approach that shows how learning really works and how to overcome common study barriers. It applies to children, teens (and parents), teachers, and adults alike. You’ll discover simple, effective methods to improve understanding, confidence, and performance—whether at school, work, or online. Teachers and parents often see rapid improvements in both behaviour and results. Yes, it *is* possible to improve study performance—in just **five easy steps**. If you can’t attend in person, online options are available. **Join us and learn how to study effectively—once and for all.** See you at the meetup, **Pam** When learning clicks, confidence follows.

Hello everyone ,let me start by giving you one of my favorite quotes, "Success is an organised activity". Today we are going to be talking about Business Management . Business management at its core involves the actions of planning, organizing , leadership and understanding the difference between good and bad control . We are going to be taking a look at these aspects and see how they fit in to your business. An understanding and mastery of the concepts will give you an edge over others in your industry and set you up on the road to success. If for any reason you can not make it ,contact us on 0449 970 191 and will organize a Free one on one briefing with you I hope to see you there ! Cheers

**Meetups for Rebels of all kinds — to connect, learn and share** This is a Social Networking event with a Fireside Chat with [Phil Cummins](https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-phil-cummins-50531185/), the Founder of a School for tomorrow, The Game Changers Podcast, & CIRCLE 📍 This Event is hosted at Natural Velocity AI Learning Centre, Docklands, 🍕 Free Pizza & drinks will be provided **Agenda:** * 5:45 - 6:30 PM (45 mins) - Get to know each other & Welcome * 6:30 - 7:20 PM (50 mins) - Fireside Chat & Q&A from Audience * 7:20 - 8:15 PM (55 mins) - More Social Networking There’s no dress code, no hard sales pitches, and no pressure — just great people and meaningful conversations 🙂 🌍 Est. 2013 – Rebel Meetups now run globally 🆓 This event is free thanks to our members, our partners, our volunteer hosts, and generous venues. **This event is hosted at [Natural Velocity AI Learning Centre](https://www.linkedin.com/company/natural-velocity/ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/natural-velocity/")** **— a venue generously supporting our community** Notice: We will be capturing content from the event, to post on our socials. **Please only RSVP if you genuinely plan to attend.** We have limited capacity, and every seat matters. If your plans change, kindly update your RSVP in advance. See you there! **Directions Help:** Up the Escalator, between 'Melbourne College of Hair & Beauty' and 'Gap Maps'. As shown in the red dots in the image below: [Directions Map](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fkcpXvzZrEs0kKMPEI_vXbUCz7OEPTzf/view?usp=sharing)

Join us for one hour of beach cleaning, socialising, and generally being a good person. It's a perfect time to head down to clean up the beaches that you love. Meeting Spot: Kerferd Rd Pier When: Every third Saturday, 9am - 10am Please arrive 850am for a 9am start! Bags provided. Please bring your own gloves if you like. Feel free to invite neighbours/family/friends/colleagues, etc to join in and lend a hand as we tidy up our beaches and bay!! 3205 Beach Patrol is a group that meets for One Hour each month to clear rubbish from South Melbourne Beach. Totally voluntary, totally optional, totally local. We meet every THIRD Saturday, same place, same time. Beach Patrol is a chain of volunteer community groups each defined by suburb, post code and t-shirt colour. Starting in 2009, by mid-2015 there were 18 groups running, covering over 50 km of beach across the top of Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay with approx. 1500 volunteers signed up to help keep our beaches clean.

Starting the year with exciting topic: * **Topic:** Event Streaming with GCP DataFlow * **Date:** Thursday 19th February 2026 at 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm * **Networking:** 6 pm - 6.30 pm and 7.20 - 8 pm * **Presentation Time**: 6.30 pm - 7.20 pm *(includes welcome, presentation 30 mins & community marketplace)* * **Location:** Fabric Group, Level 9, 446 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 * **Ticket:** Free of cost, however, registrations and RSVP are required! * **Sponsor:** Fabric Group, Thoughtworks **Event Streaming with GCP DataFlow** Learn about real time event streaming using GCP stack! This scalable event consolidation service orchestrates the real-time processing of millions of distributed data points into unified events. Built on GCP Dataflow and Pub/Sub, the architecture ensures high-throughput stream processing and seamless data synthesis for complex, distributed environments. ### **About The Speaker** *Abhishek is a Lead Software Engineer at Fabric Group with over 10 years of industry experience. He has worked extensively on data engineering problems, building ETL solutions and scalable event-driven systems. His interests include infrastructure automation and designing cloud-native solutions on AWS and Google Cloud.*

Hey all, please join us for our February Edition of the Melbourne Data Eng meetup. Join us for an engaging session filled with exciting discussions and networking opportunities. Don't miss out—RSVP to secure your spot. Please reach out if you'd like to host us! 🎉 🏠 Location: Stone & Chalk Melbourne 🍕 Catering: Easygo 😊 💬 Join our Slack Group here: [Data Engineers Slack Channel](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd09iTwpNulQH0b1BdslM1RzgImOGlX4WgOx6_rzvmVANwGmw/viewform) **Schedule:** \- 5\.30pm: Doors Open \- 6\.00pm: Announcements and Welcome \- 6\.10pm: 1st Talk \- 6\.40pm: 2nd Talk \- 7\.10pm: Networking \- 7\.30pm: Doors Close **Speakers:** 🎤 Anirban Roy Chowdhury, SD2 - Data engineering @ Easygo **Talk Title**: Multi tenant/region data engineering **Talk Summary**: Servicing multiple markets and challenges faced in multi-tenant architecture. **Speaker Bio**: Anirban is a versatile data professional with cross-industry expertise. Beginning his career as a software engineer at BlackRock in Delhi, India, he pursued his passion for data by relocating to Australia to earn a Master's in Data Science from Monash University. With experience spanning retail, consultancy, and real estate technology sectors, he specialise in bridging the gap between data insights and business outcomes. His work focuses on empowering organisations to implement data-driven decision-making processes that deliver measurable results. Through his practical approach to data engineering, he helped his teams to transform raw information into strategic assets that drive business growth. 🎤 Muhammad Ali, Sr. Solutions Architect at ClickHouse **Talk Title**: Engineering for Real-Time User-Facing Analytics **Talk Summary**: Building a dashboard for a dozen internal analysts is a solved problem. Building an analytical feature for a million concurrent users is an engineering nightmare. The fundamental laws of data processing change when we move analytics from the "back office" to the "front end”. In this session we will discuss engineering demands for building web facing low latency realtime analytics, and how to accomplish it without breaking the bank. **Speaker Bio**: Architecting the next generation of real-time AI workloads and observability If you'd like to **present** at future meetups, please submit your talk [here](https://dataengbytes.com/forms/meetup-talk)! Remember to bring along some great questions! See you all there...

Smashing! Try something new Thursday Interactive workshop - Become ultra-confident Whys is Smashing different? Passion!!! 1\. Fast\-paced\, energized and exciting meets 2\. We practice **bold, confident** and **dynamic** leadership! 3. **Everyone talks** multiple times during super-interactive workshops every meet - Plus the chance to speak on the big stage for those that are keen 4. **FAST LEARNING** **Free parking** close-by: O'Connell and Cobden streets **IMPORTANT: Be on time, as doors close when the meet starts** “Proudly Australian" – Free-flowing leadership & teamwork Multicultural Hub, 506 Elizabeth St (Opposite Queen Vic Market) Level 1, Purple Room (End of corridor) More to come...

**Hck4G#0x13 – Trust, But Verify: Testing Cybersecurity Controls with MITRE ATT&CK** доверяй, но проверяй A cybersecurity meetup for the community, by the community. Hck4G is a not-for-profit organisation focused on disrupting the human impact of cybercrime through awareness, intervention, education, victim support and referrers and diversion. Our monthly meetup events aim to create ethical pathways, real-world skills, and building defenders communities who understand context — not just tools. *** **PLEASE REGISTER HERE!!!!** https://shorturl.at/QFPAI **About the Session** How do you know your security controls actually work? This session is designed for: * **GRC professionals** looking to move beyond tick-box compliance and Excel security questionnaires * **Security engineers** who want practical ways to validate control effectiveness * **Security leaders** responsible for assessing the performance and maturity of their organisation's risk posture * Anyone curious about threat-informed defence, MITRE ATT&CK, or how cybersecurity controls are tested in the real world The talk will explore how to apply **threat-informed defence** to test cybersecurity controls in real-world environments. Using the **Information Security Manual (ISM)** and the **MITRE ATT&CK framework**, we’ll walk through threat modelling, control selection and tailoring, and how to evaluate whether your controls genuinely mitigate common adversary tactics. The session will finish with a **hands-on small-group exercise**, where attendees will work together to threat model a scenario, select relevant ATT&CK tactics, and determine how those controls could be tested. *** ### **What You’ll Learn** * Why compliance does not equal security * How threat modelling differs across organisations and environments * How to apply ISM guidance for system hardening and procurement * How to focus on the most relevant MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques * An overview of Atomic Red Team techniques for servers and desktops * How to practically assess and validate control effectiveness You’ll receive a copy of the presentation, including links and resources, so you can start applying a **~~“trust, but verify”~~ "Zero-Trust"** approach in your own organisation. *** ### **🍕 Bonus** Best cyber pizzas in Melbourne, courtesy of **CyLynk**. *** ### **Event Information** **Date:** Wednesday, 18 February 2026 **Time:** 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM (AEST) **Location:** Building 80, 435–457 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 300 **Cost:** Free (registration required) **Catering:** Food and drinks provided *** ### **Livestream Watch Parties** * Ghana (WAT+2) * Nigeria (WAT+1) Livestream links will be shared with registered attendees **24 hours before the event**. *** ### **Speaker – David Dowling** David has 18 years of experience in the IT and cybersecurity industry, beginning his career in Launceston, Tasmania, and working across Seoul, San Francisco, and now Melbourne. He holds the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and SABSA Chartered Foundation (SCF) certifications, along with a range of vendor certifications including Microsoft, Qualys, Netskope, and Splunk. David began his career working for SIEM, WAF, and endpoint vendors before moving into MSSP environments, and has since completed the “circle of life” by working in security accreditation and operations at a vehicle manufacturer in Geelong. This background gives him a unique perspective across vendors, service providers, and in-house security teams. Outside of work, David has teenage kids, a very active poodle named APT p00py who enjoys walkies and being bad at CTFs and serves part-time as an Artillery Forward Observer in the Australian Army Reserves. *** ### **What to Bring** * Laptop with internet access * Minimum 8GB RAM * Curiosity and a willingness to ask questions *** ### **Event Schedule** * **5:30 – 5:40 PM:** Welcome, Intro & Networking * **5:40 – 6:00 PM:** Networking & Cyber pizzas 🍕 * **6:00 – 6:45 PM:** Presentation * **6:45 – 7:00 PM:** Small-group exercise *** ### **Thanks to our Sponsors** [RMIT University](https://www.rmit.edu.au/) \- Worldclass certificates\, degrees\, Masters and Postgraduate programs\. [BridgeLynk.io](http://BridgeLynk.io) \- Attack Informed Cybersecurity Services for NFP\, SMB and Enterprise [CyLynk.com](http://CyLynk.com) \- Job\-Ready cybersecurity training led by expert coaches\.

Have a small business? Ever wish you could just ask some questions around how to grow your business, get more customers or just know what the freak you are doing with sales? Now is your chance!! Every month we are hosting the "Ask an Expert" at the Columbus Metro Library, Main campus. I will be there to answer your Sales related questions. Drop-in for sales coaching designed to help small business owners, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals sharpen their sales approach. Whether you have questions on how to refine your pitch, are looking to close deals more quickly, or are working on building better client relationships, Smashing Your Sales Goals Coaches are here to help. Drop-in to get expert insights, actionable strategies and real-time solutions to grow your business and generate higher profits. Drop-In Sales Coaching is FREE + OPEN to the public. No appointment needed. First come, first served. EPIC Learning created. Accelerate Columbus supported.

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 **Abstract** TBD **YouTube Link** TBA

NFT's are here to stay folks! This is a group for like minded people interested in understanding, leveraging, using, creating for, profiting from, trading too i suppose, NFT's.. everything around them, complexity, fear and exploits, best practices and more. **PLUS** This group will talk AI ART tools, techniques, artists, video, audio, prototypes and more in the AI assisted production space- ART specifically, but we can get into any aspect of some of the cooler things happening in AI in general.

Join us for a vibrant gathering that honors the heart and hustle of local entrepreneurs. It Takes a Village is more than an event it’s a movement to uplift and spotlight small business owners who pour passion into their craft and creativity into our community. From authors and bakers to jewelry makers, t-shirt designers, candle crafters, and beyond. This is your chance to meet the makers, support their work and celebrate the spirit of collaboration. **_Expect_** * Local vendors showcasing handmade goods * Live demos and storytelling from featured creators * Food, music, and community vibes * Opportunities to shop, connect and be inspired * Celebrate the power of small businesses and we all rise

Christians in Tech is a community at the intersection of faith and technology. Our meetups are designed to spark meaningful conversations, promote knowledge sharing, and encourage growth—both in your career and your spiritual walk with God. Whether you're an experienced professional or just starting your tech journey, CIT welcomes you. Our Website [https://linktr.ee/citcbus](https://linktr.ee/citcbus) Sponsors and Partners * Improving (Venue Sponsor) * Bethel World Prayer Center (Fiscal Sponsor) * Fruits & Roots (Coffee Partner)

How to Be a Better Communicator Communication is everything in life You are only as successful as your ability to communicate. \- What if you could confidently talk to anyone? \- What if you had the ability to calmly control every conversation? \- What if you could close that sale\, ask for that date\, make new friends\, repair problematic relationships\, get that raise\, or effortlessly express any idea with confidence? You can! The secret to success relies on your ability or inability to effectively communicate. Attend a free seminar and gain a better ability to communicate. Hosted by the Church of Scientology of Central Ohio 1266 Dublin Road, Columbus, OH 43215 For more information, contact Rhiannon, the Event Host at 614-221-5024

**\*\*\*\* More details and sign up at: https://aifalliance.org/summit-2026/ \*\*\*\*** **What is AI Freedom Alliance?** AI Freedom Alliance promotes the responsible growth of AI guided by practical, commonsense ethics. Our nonprofit is built by professionals from a wide range of industries and is made up entirely of small- and mediumbusiness representatives—never large tech companies. We provide a counterbalance to big corporate influence, focusing instead on how AI can benefit businesses and the world at large. **What’s Happening?** ***The inaugural AI Freedom Alliance Summit.*** This full-day event will explore how we can ensure AI is adopted responsibly through shared ethical standards that empower humanity. The summit will feature interactive and educational sessions led by thought leaders, technologists, policymakers, and advocates who are passionate about making AI fair, transparent, and beneficial for everyone. **Why Attend?** Learn about the legal and technical challenges with implementing AI solutions within your organization. Build better solutions while protecting your organization from legal and compliance risks. And learn how to think strategically about AI as a differentiation tool for your business. This summit is highly recommended for C-Suite leaders to learn as well as interact with each other and our sponsors.