Agile and Scrum

"Atlassian’s recent global research, 96% of organisations reported no tangible benefit from their AI initiatives" https://www.forbes.com.au/news/innovation/why-perspective-not-perception-is-key-in-a-world-of-ai \-\-\-\- We've had SDLC, agile and now AI ... yet projects seem to take longer than ever to complete. What we do know is that the faster we complete project the greater the value we deliver. The real question we need to understand as project managers is 'how do we best leverage AI to accelerate delivery?'. Tonight - we will dive into that question. We will have a presenter sharing what one organisation has done to uplift AI skills across their workforce, implement AI Agents, and benefits that brings. We will then expand to a panel to have a much longer conversation about how we as project managers can use AI to accelerate our delivery across the delivery lifecycle. Our speakers for this evening: **Andrew Mair** Andrew will help us set the scene this evening. He will share insights from leading recent implementations of AI and AI Agents and reflect on their impact on the people, process and policy implications for the organisation. We'll then step into a broader panel conversation where we have a range of panelists tease apart key ideas. * Andrew Mair Andrew is a leader in the technology space and has been leading the creation and adotption of AI initiatives across several different clients. He brings exprerience across Government and commercial roles including expertise in digital strategy and delivery, and is expert at bridging the gaps between business, IT and customers. * Neha Rahaman Neha is a Partner and Head of Delivery at Fabric Group, where she leads large-scale digital transformation and delivery programs for enterprise clients. With extensive experience in building high-performing product teams and modern delivery practices, Neha focuses on helping organisations accelerate outcomes through better operating models, automation, and emerging technologies such as AI. In this panel, she will share practical insights on how AI can enhance delivery efficiency, improve quality, and enable teams to move from traditional project execution to faster, product-led value delivery. * Events like this cannot occur without the support of sponsors. Tonight, we are delighted to welcome a new sponsor to our group - Fabric Group. Fabric Group is a collective of passionate technology professionals focused on delivering bespoke software solutions for our clients. With deep expertise in strategy, design, and software engineering with a distinctive design-thinking approach, to solve complex business challenges and drive measurable outcomes.

**Event Confirmation Form!** ➡️ We kindly request you fill out this **event confirmation form** to confirm your attendance for the event and your dietary requirements - [https://forms.gle/c3M42MHZD8EvYoaf9](https://forms.gle/c3M42MHZD8EvYoaf9) \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- ## **What's On? 👀** **Panel:** AppSec in the age of AI **Speakers:** * Tim Thacker - Co-Founder & CTO @ Nullify * Paul Theriault - Senior Security Architect @ Atlassian * TBC **Abstract:** From automated security coding reviewers to promises of fully automated AppSec engineers, AppSec arguably is one of the happening spaces of cybersecurity when it comes to AI. But what's hype and what's the reality? In this panel we not only explore that question but we also share first hand experiences of organisations evolving their AppSec programs in the age of AI, from the wins and the failures, to the workflows that actually stuck. Our panelists bring perspectives from across the trenches: security engineers embedding AI into code review pipelines, product security teams rethinking what "shift left" means when developers have AI copilots, and leaders navigating the uncomfortable truth that AI can both accelerate your defences and your attackers. Whether you're just beginning to explore AI-powered security tooling or are already knee-deep in the implementation, this panel will cut through the noise and give you a grounded, practitioner-first view of where AI in AppSec stands today and where it's actually headed. ## **!!! New Location** 📍 EY Melbourne 8 Exhibition St Melbourne VIC 3000 ## **Agenda ⏰** * 5:30 - Food is served * 6:15 - Session start * 7:30 - Post-event networking \-\-\- Note: Please complete the event confirmation form: [https://forms.gle/c3M42MHZD8EvYoaf9](https://forms.gle/c3M42MHZD8EvYoaf9)

**Event posted on facebook & our website too so number of people responding here does not show actual numbers attending.** Let’s have fun exploring the worlds of angels & nature spirits. You might find you garden suddenly blooming or your pockets full of gold! These evenings are open to anyone that wishes to come along; and at which we will be exploring, in a hands-on fashion (in other words, you get to do some of the conjuration – if you wish – or you can just watch) the invocation and evocation of angels, planetary spirits, elementals, daemons, etc. You don’t need to wear magical robes or bring magical tools or weapons but are welcome to do so if you wish. ***Warning for those with sensitive noses. We will be burning incense.*** **Cost:** $20 **When:** Tuesday 17th March - arrive between 6.30 & 7pm if you can. If you're running late, come anyway. We go to at least 9pm. **Where:** 130 Boronia Road, Vermont, Melbourne, 3133 **Contact:** David 03 9873 3736 or [esoteric666@optusnet.com.au](mailto:esoteric666@optusnet.com.au) ***For more details click this link:*** https://esotericbookshop.org/invocation-evocation-magic-workshop/ ***How to find us click this link:*** [https://esotericbookshop.org/contact-us/](https://esotericbookshop.org/contact-us/) For more background information see our website blog on[ ](https://esotericbookshop.org/high-ritual-ceremonial-magick/)***[ceremonial magic](https://esotericbookshop.org/high-ritual-ceremonial-magick/)***

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 **Abed Karim: "My take on using AI to train AI"** **Description:** I’ll show how tools like ChatGPT, Claude Code, Solvit, and similar assistants can help with the actual work: reading a paper, understanding the method, finding or making a dataset, fine-tuning a model for a specific domain, and running and tracking experiments. The idea is simple. We do not need to know every framework or every training detail before we can start testing ideas. These tools make it easier to move faster, try things, and work through research and experimentation with less overhead. As an example, I’ll walk through how I would approach a recent paper, *Experiential Reinforcement Learning*, and use AI tools to break it down, implement the pipeline, run experiments, and look at possible limitations or next steps. **Speaker Bio:** Abed works on dataset design, agentic AI systems, and reinforcement learning for language models. His current work focuses on making LLMs more creative in advertising and media, and he has also contributed to research on cultural effects in LLM mathematical reasoning and creative generation, including the creation of a cultural version of GSM8K. **Javier Candeira: "A No Name Game called Nonaga"** **Talk description:** Nonaga is a 2008 board game by Viktor Bautista i Roca. It's a two-player full-information turn-taking game with a twist: at every turn, each player gets to move a piece *and* also to reconfigure the game board! Javier will introduce the rules and bring sets for people to try them out, as a preview of his future talk introducing a Nonaga-playing Alpha-Zero style engine. Nonaga Instructions: [https://hiperactivo.com/nonaga](https://hiperactivo.com/nonaga) **Speaker Bio:** Javier Candeira is a software engineer, entrepreneur, public speaker, conference organiser, and a lifelong student of way too many topics, including machine learning.

We are a multi-disciplinary group of PhDs and academic staff who write together regularly and help one another to achieve our writing goals through supportive community, focus and a structure that works. We welcome anyone who wants to get some writing done in a collegial, supportive, encouraging environment. You don’t have to be from University of Melbourne (you don’t have to be from university at all!). We use the Pomodoro method, which means we write in timed intervals of silence, then chat and catch up for 5 mins and repeat the cycle. Arrive when you like, leave when you like. The goal is to keep our writing projects progressing and reduce the isolation that can be part of the academic and/or writing life. **Session Outline:** Welcome: 9.00-9.05 (5 mins) Pomodoro 1: 9.05-9.30 (25 mins). Break: 9.30-9.35 (5 mins) Pomodoro 2: 9.35-10.00 (25 mins) Break: 10.00-10.05 (25 mins) Pomodoro 3: 10.05-10.55 (50 mins) Break: 10.55-11.05 (10 mins) Pomodoro 4: 11.05-11.30 (25 mins) **A note about the format** We don’t host critiques or readings. These events are a safe space for writers of all skill levels and genres to work on their craft, so no one will read or critique your writing. For our full event schedule, visit [https://shutupwrite.com](https://www.shutupwrite.com). **Other Important Details:** WiFi name/password: There is free public wifi available at the Melbourne Connect Superfloor (speak to the concierge for details). University of Melbourne staff and students can connect to the university wifi; staff and students from other universities can join Eduroam using their home institution's log in credentials. Travel / Parking info: Public bike parking along Swanston and Grattan Streets. Tram routes 1, 3, 3a, 5, 16. 16, 64, 67, 72 along Swanston Street (Stop 1) and 19 along Royal Parade (Stop 10). The nearest train station is Parkville Metro Station. Bus routes include 200, 207, 250, 251, 401, 402, 403, 505, 546. There is no public parking available at Melbourne Connect, however the area is well serviced by nearby public carparks, including Cardigan House Parking at 96 Grattan Street and the University of Melbourne Eastern Precinct Car Park at 375 Grattan Street. A taxi rank is located on Grattan Street.

It's time for "Listen Up", our favourite conversation game that helps turn strangers into friends! Join us for a drink and some nibbles while we have fun and make friends. For those who haven't played it before, Listen Up™ is a unique conversational board game that tests your listening skills and inspires deeper connections between participants. There are 3 categories of questions you can get asked depending on the round! (1) 🙃 Just for fun: all kinds of fun questions from if you were a candy or crayon what would you be to what's your fave smell in the world? 😋 (2) 😉 Share: Cause sharing is caring! Starting to get into the deeper questions like if you have a bad day would you prefer to be left alone or have someone cheer you up? 😉 (3) 😎 Listen Up!: Aha this is where all the deep questions are! (Juz and Nicole will be coming straight from work and will likely be there early. If you want join us for a bite to eat, send a message and we'll keep an eye out for you.) . . . 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 Welcome to our group! We are a bunch of Melbourne friends who decided to open up our circle to some new awesome people. We have a broad range of interests and will post some of our events here so you can come and join us. Join our Facebook Community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/goodexperiencesgreatpeoplemelbourne . . . 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬: • Let's keep things respectful. Our group has a diverse range of members and we get along great! This is because we accept one another, avoid insensitive comments, try to keep swearing to a minimum, and steer clear of gossip and mindless venting. • Please be punctual. Our hosts will check the Meetup page and post their location upon arrival before redirecting their attention to the people present. If you are late (more than 5 min), don’t expect to be able to reach them as they may not check their phone. Please allow enough time for travel and parking. (On that note, we don't organise carpooling because of various liability issues.) • If you say you're going to come, then please actually come. Many of our events end up waitlisted so if you claim a spot and don't show up, then someone else might miss out. Attendees who don't show up (or cancel their RSVP within 12 hours of the event) will be flagged as "no-shows". Repeat "no-showers" will be banned from the group to make space for more reliable attendees. • We want to keep all our members safe and healthy so if you are unwell, then please stay home. If you need to cancel within the 12 hour "no show" window, please send a courtesy message to the event host. • Please don't come if you are just looking to hit people up for your own agenda. Our members are so much more than followers for your Instagram account, customers for your Herbalife business, or people for your Forex empire. In our community, we are about adding value to one another. If you are just coming with a self-serving agenda, then we aren't your crowd. • And finally, this isn't a great group for people who like wallowing in life's problems. We choose positivity and gratitude, so bring some with you!

What the #%\*@ is impact? In a world where corporations are judged on their social impact nations unite over goals for environmental sustainability and happiness is considered as a rival metric for a country’s GDP– organisations need to measure the impact their organisation has on the real-world, not just their own bottom line. But what even IS impact? Is it important for companies that don’t have social or environmental goals? How do you measure it? This workshop will first introduce the concept of Impact, followed by a dive into how it’s defined and measured around the world in a dozen different domains and ultimately how we might apply it to produce products that pack a punch. **Our facilitator** [JJ Monester](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjmonester/) works as an Associate Product Manager for the non-profit news media company, The Conversation International, a company which democratises knowledge by bridging the gap between academic research and the general public. Having worked on products where providing evidence of Impact to customers is fundamental, he has gone deep into the complex and nuanced world of understanding what frameworks attempt to achieve. Grokking organisational impact is an area of learning JJ could get lost in, and possibly already has :-). As an area that he is spending time on in his day to day, yet still feeling like he’s a beginner, he’s very much looking forward to sharing what’s he learning and getting deeper into the concepts alongside you all. Let’s have fun together. Our wonderful sponsors; [Revity](https://www.linkedin.com/company/revity-group/): Revity helps startups, scaleups and established organisations deliver product-led quality software outcomes. We partner with businesses to build high-performing teams, uplift engineering capability, and deliver product outcomes that last beyond the project.From applied AI and mobile apps to global expansion and customer lifecycle platforms, we focus on practical, scalable solutions that drive business value.At Revity, we don’t just deliver projects, we empower teams to learn by doing, so organisations grow stronger with every engagement. [Amplitude](https://www.linkedin.com/company/amplitude-analytics/): We help companies build better products\. \| We help companies unlock the power of their products\. • Join the team: [http://amplitude.com/careers](http://amplitude.com/careers) • Join the community: [http://community.amplitude.com](http://community.amplitude.com/) • Join our user groups: [https://community.amplitude.com/p/groups](https://community.amplitude.com/p/groups)

Let's go, lesbians! We're celebrating the down under arrival of our sapphic pop star queen Chappell Roan with a night full of themed drag shows and a girly pop dancefloor! [TICKET LINK HERE](https://www.trybooking.com/DJDWH) Come prepared for our Best Dressed competition live on stage and your chance to win a free cocktail! Drag shows by Bettie Rosé, Kat Zowthabag, and Zero. DJ sets by Rosie Rai and Nic Holland. This event is for both sapphics and our allies, all friendly people are welcome! Please note: Pride of our Footscray is located on the first floor of a venue with no elevator and is therefore not accessible by wheelchair. We sincerely apologise for our reduced accessibility.

Hi Architects, Welcome to our next AWS Melbourne Well-Architected User Group Meetup for 2026, including more exceptional speakers and topics! :-D At each meetup we covered off various pillars in detail, best-practices and insights from industry leaders that specialise in the Well-Architected Framework. And giving away drones, of course. Lots of drones. We’ll be updating throughout the month with more speakers and our speakers so far this month include: * **Andrew Goifeld, Co-founder, Resilera** **“Truly Well-Architected Reliability, the agentic way”** What is the boundary between effort and cost of reliability? Andrew will discuss how in the future, using chatbot with LLM inference will be too expensive. We will demonstrate current and future approaches to reliability on AWS. * **Mystery Speaker** **From hype to disappointment to light at the end of the tunnel; An Agentic AI Journey** In this case study talk, we'll go through all the highs and lows of architecting and building AI Agents using all your favourite tools and what we discovered along the way. This month's menu will include: * Pizzas * Beer: Nastro Azzurro * Wine: Big and red 🤤 NB: Please check in up the stairs from the ground floor to the Mezzanine Level. So come join us at 5:30 for a 6pm **SHARP** start, followed by beer, wine, pizza and friendly networking after our talks :-)

6pm start. $2 gold coin entry per person. Please order dinner at the bar when you arrive and let the staff know you are with the card group in the Dining Room. Meals are served around 7:15pm. Happy Hour drinks are available until 7pm. After a dinner break we shuffle the teams around so you get to meet, and play with new people. Games are played as 4 handed wherever possible, but an occasional 3,5 or 6 handed game is required based on the number of attendees. If you are a beginner or have minimal experience playing 500, please let your host know before starting a game, and feel free to ask them any question. Ahead of the event you might like to download one of the 500 card game apps on your phone to get familiar with the game. There are also some Youtube videos.

Hello everyone! Join us for an Apache Kafka® x Apache Flink® x Apache Iceberg® meetup on **Mar 18th from 5:30PM**, hosted by intelia in Melbourne! The address, agenda, and speaker information can be found below. See you there! **Venue**: intelia L3, 31 Queen St, Melbourne 3000 IMPORTANT: Please note that for security purposes, all attendees are required to sign in at the lobby to get into the building. \*\*\* **Agenda:** * 5:30pm: Doors open * 5:30pm - 6:00pm: Pizza, Drinks, and Networking * 6:00pm - 6:30pm: Olena Kutsenko, Staff Developer Advocate, Confluent * 6:30pm - 7:00pm: Paras Sitoula, Technical Lead, Tabcorp * 7:00pm - 7:30pm: Additional Networking \*\*\* **Speaker:** Olena Kutsenko, Staff Developer Advocate, Confluent **Talk:** Keeping data private in real-time pipelines **Abstract:** We all love real-time data — clicks, payments, rides, messages — but most of it comes with a catch: it contains personal information we're not supposed to leak, such as names, emails, locations, or even small clues that can identify someone. The challenge: how do we keep streaming data useful and safe at the same time? In this talk, we'll explore practical ways to protect privacy in streaming systems using Apache Kafka, Apache Flink, and Apache Iceberg. We'll cover: - simple tricks like masking and tokenizing PII; - why "anonymous" data often isn't anonymous (the re-identification problem); - techniques like bucketing, k-anonymity, and adding noise; - how to balance privacy with data utility (too much hiding makes data useless). Along the way, we'll look at real-world stories: from public data leaks to surprising deanonymization attacks, and show live demos of pipelines that anonymize data before it's written to storage. If you've ever wondered how to build privacy-aware pipelines, this talk will give you practical patterns you can use right away. **Bio:** Olena is a Staff Developer Advocate at Confluent and a recognized expert in data streaming and analytics. With two decades of experience in software engineering, she has built mission-critical applications, led high-performing teams, and driven large-scale technology adoption at industry leaders like Nokia, HERE Technologies, AWS, and Aiven. A passionate advocate for real-time data processing and AI-driven applications, Olena empowers developers and organizations to use the power of streaming data. She is an AWS Community Builder, a dedicated mentor, and a volunteer instructor at a nonprofit tech school, helping to shape the next generation of engineers. As an international speaker and thought leader, Olena regularly presents at top global conferences, sharing deep technical insights and hands-on expertise. Whether through her talks, workshops, or content, she is committed to making complex technologies accessible and inspiring innovation in the developer community. \-\-\-\-\- **Speaker:** Paras Sitoula, Technical Lead, Tabcorp **Talk:** Building an AI Agent on Kafka — Architectural Realities Beyond the Demo **Abstract:** Large Language Models make it deceptively easy to build an “AI agent”: consume an event, call a model, produce a decision. But when this pattern is introduced into a high-throughput streaming system built on Apache Kafka, the architectural assumptions begin to shift. Kafka is optimized for predictable scaling, low latency, and deterministic event processing. LLM-based agents, by contrast, introduce seconds-level latency, per-call cost, rate limits, and non-deterministic outputs. What appears straightforward in a demo can quickly create consumer lag, cost escalation, replay inconsistencies, and new operational failure modes in production. In this session, we will: * Build a simple event-driven AI agent on Kafka * Examine the architectural tension between streaming systems and LLM workloads * Explore the impact of latency, cost-per-event, backpressure, and rate limiting * Discuss how non-determinism affects replay and auditability * Present practical design patterns to isolate and control AI workloads in streaming environments Rather than focusing on prompt engineering, this talk takes a systems-design perspective. It is aimed at engineers and architects who are experimenting with AI in real-time platforms and want to understand the production trade-offs before deploying at scale. **Bio** Paras is a seasoned software/date engineer with significant experience in developing and optimizing realtime scalable systems. At Tabcorp, Paras leads a high-performing team, developing and optimizing real-time transaction monitoring systems utilizing technologies like Apache Kafka and Neo4j. With a robust background in both real-time and batch data processing, Paras has extensive experience across various platforms and tools, including AWS, Databricks, and Spark, which he leverages to deliver high-performance data solutions. \*\*\* If you would like to speak or host our next event please let us know! community@[confluent.io](http://confluent.io/)

Smashing! Try something new Thursday Interactive workshop - Become the charismatic leader Serious about improving your leadership - **Why mess, come to the best** Why is Smashing different to other speaking clubs? 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 show 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...

Integral to the modern data scientists toolkit is understanding how to turn data into decisions. A core part of this is thinking about the end stage of your analysis pipeline, and how the communication and visualisation of your results will factor into decision making. But it's not just enough to deliver a solution. Part of successfully supporting end-user decisions comes from co-design. That means thinking about end user needs and how your end-users will engage with your solution. This talk explores both of these issues using fantasy basketball statistics. So come along if you have a love of data and data-driven decision making. Also come along if you are fan of sports analytics or forecasting.

Come chat about Atlassian tools and best practices at the Nationwide Sunny Street Cafe and Breakfast is on Atlassian! Let's get the day started off with breakfast with your ACE Leaders! We're always excited to talk about Atlassian Products, share our knowledge and hand out swag! Come chat with us about new product news and anything you are working on within the Atlassian product stack. This is a great opportunity to come see what we are all about, hear new business news and share with other Atlassian users your questions and experiences. We'd love to see new and old friends come out to chat and learn about Atlassian! Agenda --- Moderators Kimberly Deal - Columbus Atlassian User Group Leader Kevin Stanley - Columbus Atlassian User Group Leader Hosted By Kimberly Deal, Atlassian User Group Leader Kevin Stanley, Chief Everything Greg Sprowls, Agility Lead --- Global Partner Atlassian (http://atlassian.com) Millions of users globally rely on Atlassian products every day for improving software development, project management, collaboration, and code quality. Partner Atlassian --- For over a decade, Atlassian customers have come together to network, share ideas, solve problems, and find new ways to use Atlassian products. Today, more than 15,000 people take part in Atlassian community events in more than 30 countries. --- Complete your event RSVP here: https://ace.atlassian.com/events/details/atlassian-columbus-presents-rise-and-shine-with-atlassian-downtownnationwide-22/.

Join other experienced and aspiring agile coaches and professionals to: * develop and practice your coaching skills in a peer-to-peer environment * share current successes and challenges in your work environment and get support from each other * learn from each other, build better relationships and experiment with new ideas

Discover Kiro, AWS’s innovative development environment that adapts to your workflow. Whether you prefer specification-driven development or a more intuitive, vibe-based approach, Kiro empowers you to build applications your way. In this session, speakers will explore Kiro’s core functionality and its evolution through re:Invent 2025, along with demonstrations of prompts used to create APIs, hooks, and steering documents. In the latter part of the session, watch as we build a complete example from scratch, showcasing Kiro’s agentic AI workflow in action for spec-driven development and vibe coding. What You'll Learn - Core Kiro concepts and development philosophy Feature evolution: pre and post re:Invent 2025 Practical examples: API creation, hooks, and steering docs Live coding demonstration with real-time problem solving Who Should Attend - Developers, solutions architects, and technical leaders interested in modern AWS development tools and AI-assisted coding workflows. **Speakers Bio:** Matthew Jorat: Matthew Jorat is a Customer Solutions Manager at AWS with nearly three decades of expertise in AI, cloud transformation, migration, modernization, IT, technology, and business. His career spans infrastructure engineer, solutions architect, security auditor, customer success director, support and services director, and operations officer. He was an early adopter of AWS services as a customer, and his current role at AWS uniquely blends his technical and business skills as he partners with executive teams to translate strategic priorities into measurable business outcomes through cloud adoption, AI implementation, and operational excellence. Matt leads end-to-end AI initiatives for enterprise customers, identifying high-impact use cases and maintaining relentless focus on measurable ROI. He holds eight AWS certifications and serves as Adjunct Professor at Franklin University teaching cloud computing and AWS architecture. His expertise encompasses GenAI, agentic AI systems, migration, modernization, and optimization strategies that drive transformation at scale. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjorat/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjorat/) Girish Bhatia: Girish Bhatia is a seasoned technology delivery leader with deep expertise in cross-domain program management. He holds multiple AWS certifications, including AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, AWS Certified Developer – Associate, and AWS Generative AI Practitioner, and is also an AWS Community Builder. Girish brings over two decades of experience in the information technology industry. Throughout his career, Girish has led major technology-driven business transformation from modernizing on-premises applications to driving large-scale cloud migrations. His work includes API-based integration platforms, data-center and mainframe modernization, and enterprise cloud adoption initiatives. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Girish works at a tech-forward fintech company. He is passionate about AWS serverless architectures, Generative AI and emerging cloud technologies. An avid learner and builder, he continues to explore and apply the latest innovations in AWS to help organizations accelerate their digital transformation. https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/[https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/) **THANK YOU** *Franklin University* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Franklin University*, please visit their website: https://www.franklin.edu/ **DIRECTIONS** Franklin University Fisher Hall 300 E. Main St, Columbus, OH 43215 Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jxjBA2hUmS5qrvhq8 Parking is FREE! Please park in Lot C in front of Fisher Hall. See attached map. NOTE: Map the address only. When mapping with Google Maps it may use the Fisher Hall at OSU, which is NOT correct. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com

**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** Web Forms gave .NET developers a powerful abstraction for building reusable UI controls long before design systems were a thing. Web Components finally bring that same idea to the browser natively. This session explores how the Web Forms mindset translates into Custom Elements, Shadow DOM, and HTML templates. We’ll examine how Web Components enable design systems that work across frameworks, how they differ from server‑driven controls, and why they’re becoming a foundational layer for modern UI. Whether you’re maintaining legacy apps or building greenfield projects, you’ll leave with a practical understanding of how to apply familiar patterns in a modern, standards‑based way. **YouTube Link** TBA

Want to be a speaker? submit your talk to our Call for Presenters!!! https://sessionize.com/cbus-hug-2026/

Builders, creators, architects, admins, consultants - come one, come all. This one's for you. We're bringing a little friendly competition to the Columbus ServiceNow community while highlighting the cool things people have built on the platform. Five presenters will take the stage to showcase something they've built, solved, designed, or imagined on the ServiceNow platform - and a panel of judges (plus YOU, our amazing audience) will score them live. So basically, America's Got Talent but make it ServiceNow's Got Talent. Bring a notepad if you'd like 'cause you'll definitely be learning something new. Each presenter gets 10 minutes max to wow the crowd with: • A demo • A real-world business solution • A bold idea • A UX transformation • Or a creative use of the platform Judging Criteria: 🏆 Business Value 🚀 Innovation ✨ User Experience This event is about celebrating ideas, sharing knowledge, and showing how ServiceNow can drive both business impact and meaningful user value. Come learn. Come support. Come get inspired. Refreshments and bites will be provided. And maybe next time… you’ll be on stage.