Instructional Design

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.

Are you a mother estranged from your daughter diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder? icuibu is a unique monthly gathering created just for you. This is not a traditional support group. Instead, icuibu is a space for recognition, not repair, a place where your resilience is seen and celebrated. Here, you don’t have to fear judgement or rejection because of your circumstances. You are invited to show up as your genuine self and be seen by women who understand the complexities of your journey. What to expect: * A welcoming environment where you can simply be. * No pressure to share or explain, just the freedom to exist authentically. * Opportunities to connect with others who “see you” and “be you,” recognising the strength it takes to walk this path. Next meeting: Tuesday 17 February 2026 Where: Bridge Road Brewers 137/141 Nicholson Street Brunswick East Time: 7:00 – 8:00 pm Cycle: The third Tuesday of every month Contact: Di 0417 001 502 If you’re looking for a space to breathe, reflect, and be recognised for your resilience, icuibu welcomes you.

**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)

Hey everyone! We'll be having a 9v9 game **at RMIT Bundoora West Hockey scheduled every Tuesday, from 6:30-7:30 pm**! Joining us is easy! Download the Stranger Soccer app and use the code **WELCOME** to book your first game for free if you're playing with us for the first time. Hop on the app now and get involved with us!

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 via the lifts near Australia Post. Contact organisers on the community Slack (preferred) or Meetup if you need access to the venue after 5:45pm **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.

We added a second 9v9 game **at RMIT Bundoora West Hockey, scheduled every Tuesday, from 7:30-8:30 pm**! Joining us is easy! Download the Stranger Soccer app and use the code **WELCOME** to book your first game for free if you're playing with us for the first time. Hop on the app now and get involved with us!

Come talk maths over a drink or two and maybe a meal. If you have any mathsy puzzles, games or toys, bring 'em along. There'll be a puzzle sheet to solve if you wish, but it's not competitive. No maths background necessary, all welcome. Email melbourne@mathsjam.com to join our mailing list for monthly puzzle sheets. The event is very informal so don't worry if you can't arrive exactly at 7:30pm or have forgotten to RSVP (but please do RSVP if you can!).

Join us for an open outdoor conversation about everyday experiences with services, technology, and public spaces. No talks, no experts; just shared stories and perspectives. **Please reserve your spot for free at [Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/discussion-circles-lets-talk-design-and-experiences-tickets-1982672886977?aff=oddtdtcreator).** **👏 Who should come?** Everyone! **You don’t need a design background** \- curiosity is more than enough\. Feel free to come with friends\, colleagues\, or just bring yourself\. **🗣️ How it works** * Everyone **gets a card with a question** * You can stand or sit in small circles * One person reads the question, anyone can respond and **start a discussion** **📍Location and time** We will meet just outside the **Kere Kere Green Cafe & Visitors Centre** in the large grassy area (to the left of the building when you are facing the building’s entrance). **We'll start at 4pm.** I'll arrive at 3.45pm and will have a sign so you can spot me easily. If you prefer to sit down, please bring a blanket. **👩‍💻 About the Host** This event is organized by [Aria](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aria-cairo/ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/aria-cairo/"), a UX designer and a service design student who loves meeting people and introducing them to the world of design. **🌤️ Weather** In case of heavy rain or temperatures over 35°C, the event will be canceled. **📷 Photos** Photos will be taken during the event for use on social media, and in written articles. By attending, you acknowledge and agree that you may appear in photos that are publicly shared. If you prefer not to be photographed or recorded, please inform the organiser. **ℹ️ Disclaimer** This is a free, informal gathering held in a public space. By attending, you acknowledge that you participate at your own risk. The organiser is not responsible for any injury, loss, damage, or personal belongings during the event. The organiser is not responsible for supervising attendees at any time. The event is not suitable for minors.

Please register for this event [here](https://factorhouse.io/events/melbourne-workshop-building-resilient-event-driven-systems-with-kafka-and-flink). **Go beyond theory and build a production-ready event stream** Join us for a practitioner-led, hands-on workshop where you'll design, build, and operate a complete real-time operational system from the ground up. We're teaming up with NetApp Instaclustr and Ververica to run this intensive half-day workshop. **What You'll Build** A resilient, real-time operational backbone powered by a Quarkus API, Kafka Streams, Apache Kafka®, and Apache Flink®. You'll implement a stateful order processing and inventory management system that processes live events in real time, the kind of critical infrastructure that powers payment processing, fleet coordination, inventory systems, and customer-facing applications across industries. **Two Architectural Patterns, One Mission** You'll implement and contrast two powerful approaches to building event-driven systems: **\- Pattern 1: Direct Event Publishing** Build a pipeline where the API writes events directly to Kafka, with a Flink job managing downstream state. Experience the challenges of application-level dual writes in real time. **\- Pattern 2: Change Data Capture \(CDC\)** Refactor for resilience by capturing database changes with CDC. Your API simplifies to database-only writes while Flink handles event publishing, demonstrating how CDC decouples applications from event pipelines and creates more robust data flows. **Operate With Confidence** Integrate **Kpow** and **Flex** to gain deep visibility into your Kafka and Flink data flows. You'll learn how to make your streaming systems more observable, accessible, and operationally efficient, skills that translate directly to production environments. **Who Should Attend** Software and data engineers, platform/SRE teams, and architects adopting streaming and event-driven architectures. Whether you're building payment systems, logistics platforms, or real-time analytics, this workshop gives you practical experience choosing the right patterns for your workloads. **Please note:** Spots are limited and attendees in engineering roles will be prioritised to ensure an optimal hands-on learning environment.

**Product Talk** exists because in modern SaaS companies, the product isn’t “owned” purely by PMs, it’s shaped by everyone. Engineers, designers, data, growth, product marketing, sales, customer teams, founders, if your work changes what customers experience, you’re in the product business. The goal is to get the whole product mix in one room, learn how other functions are approaching the same problems, and leave with ideas and language you can actually use at work the next day. The format is simple: two talks from operators who've been deep in the work, plus time to meet smart people in the product ecosystem. The goal is signal, what’s changing right now, what trends actually matter, and the tradeoffs teams are making to keep shipping. **This event** AI talk is everywhere right now. This session focuses on real-world applications, workflows, constraints, and outcomes. So yes, Product Talk is doing an AI night too, but with Actual Intelligence, and real operators who’ve built real things. * Two speakers, two different worlds, both with outcomes. **[Jared Korinko](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-korinko-76b68851/)** ***(Product @ Google, Google Photos)*** *is shipping for 1B+ users, and will share how he built a revenue-generating side hustle purely with AI, the approach, the tools, and the parts that didn’t work as advertised.* ***[Joel Kenyon](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-kenyon/) (FMR Head of Product, Amused Group)*** *has led the design and delivery of a wagering platform powering 10 brands, and has embedded GenAI into product workflows to accelerate validation and roadmap intelligence. He’ll talk about what AI looks like when it’s part of a real product organisation, with constraints, compliance, and customers who do not care about your tooling.* *If you’re building SaaS as a PM, designer, engineer or even founder, and you want practical signal over AI noise, this one will be worth your time.* **When:** Wed 18th **Doors:** 17:30 **First speaker:** 18:15 **Wrap:** \~19:30 **Where:** Ippon Technologies office, 8/607 Bourke St. Cnr Bourke and King St's. This is an accessible venue. Enter the building via the Bourke St Entrance and use the lifts to come to Level 8. Call Simon on 0459 59 22 01 if you require assistance or are lost.

Join link: [https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/41790991030013?p=F3QrbogyC5Iyss1AtF](https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/41790991030013?p=F3QrbogyC5Iyss1AtF "Meeting join") **Details** Join us for networking, drinks and a good time catching up with fellow Power BI and Microsoft Fabric enthusiasts **Agenda:** 5:30PM - 6:00PM Welcome and Networking 6:00PM - 7:00PM Speaker Session **Topic:** From Bronze to Gold: A Practical Testing Strategy for Microsoft Fabric **THE SPEAKER -** Mikhail Koptelov **THE SESSION** Testing in Microsoft Fabric requires different strategies depending on where your logic lives. In this talk, we explore how to apply unit and contract testing across the Fabric stack: * Pipeline unit tests for reliable orchestration and data movement * Python notebook testing using both notebook-first and package-first approaches * SQL contract testing to ensure downstream dependencies remain stable By the end, you’ll have a practical blueprint for building robust, testable Fabric workloads from Bronze to Gold. **Pre-requisites**: Basic understanding of Fabric and python **Sponsors:** **Vivanti** A big thank you goes out to our sponsor, Vivanti, for their support of this Meetup; providing the venue as well as drinks for attendees. **Sirius Technology (https://www.siriuspeople.com.au/)** A big thank also to our co-sponsor, Sirius Technology, for their ongoing support of our Meetup and providing us with food for each event. Sirius Technology recruits across all Technology Disciplines from Development (Front and back-end), Testing, Network, and Security, Project Services (PM's, BA's, Project Coordinators) & Data - across all technology stacks. **The Power BI Developer Checklist** You can download Greg's Power BI developer checklist here: [Power BI Report Development Checklist](https://www.dearwatson.net.au/checklist)

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...

Join us for a reformer Pilates session that brings people together through movement. This class focuses on controlled, strength-based exercises performed in a continuous flow, keeping the whole group moving and engaged. You’ll build strength, improve stability, and move with intention alongside others, creating a shared rhythm in the room. It’s a space to challenge your body, feel supported, and enjoy the energy of moving together.

**Web Design Decoded: Tools, Practices, and Proven Processes:** **Semantic HTML** At WebDev Columbus, we are exploring some of the most important topics of professional high-end web design and page building. Primarily focused on site building in the WordPress environment, our group explores tools, tips, and techniques for building the best WordPress sites possible. Additionally, we focus on disciplines and technologies that take website design from visually appealing to optimized spaces for delivering you and/or your client's message effectively and with a nod towards extended reach. Each session combines practical demonstrations with real-world insights, giving you actionable knowledge you can apply immediately. Whether you're a seasoned developer looking to enhance your design skills or a newcomer wanting to understand design best practices, this series offers valuable insights for every skill level. **What to expect:** * Hands-on demonstrations of popular design tools * Best practices for design-to-development workflows * Tips for creating responsive, accessible designs * Real-world problem-solving scenarios * Interactive Q&A sessions * Networking opportunities with fellow developers **Each meetup features:** 60 minutes of focused presentation 30 minutes of live demonstrations 30 minutes for questions and discussion **See you there!** Our casual, collaborative environment encourages learning from both presenters and fellow attendees. Bring your questions, share your experiences, and connect with Central Ohio's web development community! **Stay tuned for specific session topics and dates.**

**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 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** *Spec-Driven Development with GitHub Spec-Kit: From Intent to Implementation* Spec-driven development flips the traditional workflow on its head: instead of code being the source of truth, the specification becomes the backbone of design, collaboration, and delivery. In this session, we’ll explore how GitHub Spec-Kit enables teams to treat specifications as first-class artifacts—living documents that drive architecture, implementation, and verification. You’ll learn how Spec-Kit helps teams clearly express intent using structured, version-controlled specs that live alongside code. We’ll walk through a practical workflow that starts with defining system behavior and constraints, then progressively refines those specs into testable, automatable outcomes. Along the way, we’ll show how specs can reduce ambiguity, improve cross-functional collaboration, and make design decisions explicit before a single line of production code is written. This talk will cover: --What spec-driven development is (and what it isn’t) --How GitHub Spec-Kit fits into modern developer workflows --Using specs to align product, engineering, and AI-assisted development --Real-world examples of turning specs into implementations with confidence Whether you’re building greenfield systems, integrating AI into your stack, or trying to reduce costly rework, spec-driven development offers a scalable way to move faster without sacrificing clarity. Attendees will leave with concrete patterns and a clear mental model for adopting GitHub Spec-Kit in their own projects. **YouTube Link** TBA

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

We’re still working to get more people into these Meetups, but our goal is to give PlayYourCourt members a few social tennis outings each week in addition to your practice sessions and Challenge League matches. These Meetups are co-ed, super laid back, and all skill levels are welcome. Post your skill level and a suggested court in the comments section so we can round up as many players as we can for some tennis fun! Also, if you’re looking to meet new practice partners or play some matches and you aren’t already in the PlayYourCourt Community, you can go here to see what we’re all about and sign up: https://www.playyourcourt.com/tennis-community/columbus-oh/meetup/ If you love tennis, we’d love to have you! Be sure and watch the quick video that explains how everything works. Happy hitting! - Scott

Join the Columbus AI community for our quarterly gathering — a casual, community-focused evening where everyone has a chance to share, learn, and connect. These open mic–style events give anyone in the community up to **5 minutes** to present a project, share a tool, pose a question, or offer a perspective on the evolving AI space. No slides required — just a welcoming space to exchange ideas and keep the local AI conversation moving. If you’d like to take the stage, message **Chris (the organizer)** with a **title and short description** of what you’d like to share. Whether you’re deep in the field or just getting curious, come connect with others building and exploring AI in Columbus. Sponsored by [Transform Labs](https://www.transformlabs.com/services)

Why are we unhappy? Where does emotional pain come from? Studies show that people who suffer from long-term emotional pain have painful experiences in their lives that were never fully resolved in their mind. In other words, there were issues in the past that were not completely dealt with. This can include abuse in childhood, breakups, divorce, death of a loved one, to name a few. How do you know whether you have gotten over something painful? Here is an easy test: Do you still have attention on what had happened to you? For instance, do you still find yourself thinking about something painful that you went through? If you are, then you are not over it. In fact, in severe cases, people find themselves playing a "tape" in their mind over and over again. So how do you heal from your past? How do you stop the "tape" playing in your mind? In this meeting, you will learn a technique to help you with that. Come join us! Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there. This group is created by the Dianetics and Scientology life improvement center.

MCKS PRANIC HEALING® Level I In PRANIC HEALING® Level 1, you learn the basics of working with your energy aura, including learning to "scan," or feel the energy, to "sweep," or clean away congested energy, and to "energize," or supplement areas in your aura that have a pranic deficiency. PRANIC HEALING® has been taught to doctors, nurses, massage therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, shiatsu practitioners, and many others in the healing field. It has allowed them to heal confidently and consistently in the shortest learning time possible. These professionals find PRANIC HEALING® very effective and easy to apply. Other topics covered in PRANIC HEALING® Level 1: Energetic anatomy: You will learn to work with the network of chakras, meridians and auras to accelerate the healing processes of your body. Preventive healing: You will learn to remove the negative energetic patterns of a disease to prevent it from fully manifesting as a physical ailment. Self-Pranic healing: You will learn to apply these healing techniques to accelerate your own healing. Step-by-step techniques for ailments related to your: respiratory system, e.g., asthma,; circulatory system, e.g., heart ailments; gastrointestinal system, e.g., irritable bowel syndrome; musculoskeletal system, e.g., arthritis and back pain; reproductive system, e.g., menstrual problems. You'll also learn how to address common problems as migraines and sinusitis. Additionally, you'll learn to apply distant healing to loved ones who are not present in the room with you. All PRANIC HEALING® courses are "experiential," which means that you learn by actually performing the techniques and exercises in class - on yourself and those around you. During class, all the principles will be explained thoroughly and you will practice the techniques exhaustively so you will be confident in your ability to produce positive results when you finish the course. This is Day 2 of 2 Attendance at day one is required to attend day 2. The Course text book is Choa Kok Sui, "Miracles through Pranic Healing" Please bring this with you to class. PRANIC HEALING® Level 1 is a prerequisite to all other GMCKS courses. For those interested to review the class...Review fee is only $75!! LOOK AT THIS!! Review for FREE when you bring a new student to class with you.