Leadership

Join us for an Apache Kafka® x Apache Flink® meetup on Wednesday February 25th from 6:00pm in Dublin hosted by Autodesk! **Venue:** Autodesk 1 Windmill Lane, 2nd Floor, Dublin D02 F206 **PLEASE BRING A FORM OF VALID ID AND REGISTER WITH YOUR DETAILS FOR SECURITY PURPOSES/BUILDING ACCESS. THANK YOU!** **Agenda:** * 6:00pm: Doors open * 6:00pm – 6:30pm: Food, Drinks & Networking * 6:30pm - 7:15pm: John Byrne, Sr. Manager, Partner Applied Solutions, Confluent * 7:15pm - 8:00pm: Rishayah Kumar Trivedi, Senior DevOps/SRE Engineer, Autodesk & Douglas Hobson, Principal DevOps/SRE Engineer, Autodesk * 8:00pm - 9:00pm: Additional Q&A and Networking **First Speaker:** John Byrne, Sr. Manager, Partner Applied Solutions, Confluent **Title of Talk:** Flink State: Design Choices You Can’t Undo *(on Confluent Cloud)* **Abstract:** A practical look at how state behaves when running Flink on Confluent Cloud, the early design decisions teams often underestimate (keyed state, TTLs, upgrades, reprocessing), and the kinds of problems that only show up months later. **Bio:** John Byrne is a Sr. Manager, Partner Applied Solutions at Confluent, the company founded by the original creators of Apache Kafka®. With a strong background in data engineering, John previously worked for Slice, Registers of Scotland, and Sopra Steria, where he specialized in event streaming, ETLs, and data governance. Passionate about GIS, mapping, and ETL processes, he has delivered talks at FOSS4G and developed production-grade ETL projects incorporating spatial data and mapping technologies. In his spare time, John enjoys playing golf and coaching his local youth rugby team. **Second Speakers:** Rishayah Kumar Trivedi, Senior DevOps/SRE Engineer, Autodesk & Douglas Hobson, Principal DevOps/SRE Engineer, Autodesk **Title of Talk:** To Production and Platform: Our Kafka Journey, DR Strategy, and Kafka-as-a-Service **Abstract:** In various organisations, multiple teams have historically had to build Kafka the hard way, spending months on security hardening, compliance validation, observability, and disaster recovery, often repeating the same work with inconsistent outcomes. The result is slow onboarding, duplicated effort, and operational silos that don’t scale as more streaming use cases come online. In this talk, we walk through our Kafka production journey on AWS MSK: how we began with a POC, what it really takes to make Kafka production-ready, and the key platform decisions we had to take to standardise the architecture and operations. We’ll then dive into disaster recovery for streaming applications where the hard problems aren’t just infrastructure failover, but event continuity and restoring pipelines under pressure. We’ll share our HA DR approach for Kafka-backed systems, including an active/passive regional strategy, and practical failover/failback considerations to minimise RPO/RTO. Finally, we’ll close with our Kafka-as-a-Service (KaaS) vision for Autodesk teams: self-service, policy-driven deployments and service tiers that let internal teams onboard in hours instead of months so the product teams can focus on building streaming features, while the platform provides consistent guardrails for security, reliability, and recoverability. Attendees will leave with a checklist of production-ready requirements for Kafka, a clear mental model for DR in streaming systems and a set of platform patterns for evolving towards Kafka-as-a-Service. **Bios:** **Rishayah Kumar Trivedi (Senior DevOps/SRE Engineer, Autodesk)** Rishayah is a Senior DevOps/SRE engineer at Autodesk's data streaming and processing platform team with 9+ years of experience building scalable cloud infrastructure and automating enterprise deployments. He holds industry-recognised credentials in AWS, Kubernetes, and DevOps, and has led many initiatives improving reliability, performance, and security through Shift-left approach, IaC and CI/CD best practices. **Douglas Hobson (Principal DevOps/SRE Engineer, Autodesk)** Douglas is an accomplished Principal Devops/SRE engineer in Autodesk's data streaming and processing platform team with extensive experience in cloud architecture, infrastructure automation, and systems reliability. With a proven track record at various firms, he has led global teams in building scalable, secure, and high-performing cloud environments. Skilled in AWS, IaC, and distributed systems, Douglas is recognised for his technical leadership, problem-solving expertise, and commitment to operational excellence. \*\*\* DISCLAIMER We are unable to cater for any attendees under the age of 18. If you would like to speak or host our next event please let us know! [community@confluent.io](http://community@confluent.io/)

This Meetup was created as a sacred place for those who feel called to explore consciousness, spirituality, personal growth, and the deeper aspects of who we are. We come together every two weeks not for casual socializing, but to connect with depth, presence, and authenticity. Everyone’s perspective is welcome here without judgement. My intention for this gathering is to be conscious and deliberate—like a living container that supports us all in being seen, heard, and understood. This space may not be for everyone—and that’s okay. If you’re looking for light social banter or casual networking, this group may not resonate with you. But if you feel called to walk into a space where people speak from the heart, share with honesty, and lean into spiritual exploration with wonder and sovereignty—then you’re in the right place. We don’t always know where the conversation will flow—but we trust the current. And every time, it brings us to understanding each other from a deeper level. If this resonates then I look forward to sharing this space with you. ***All are welcome and facilities are wheelchair friendly

**Overview** === He's back! For our February event, we are thrilled to welcome a special guest out of semi-retirement: John Ryan. As a former Snowflake employee and current Data Superhero, John has been there since the beginning. In fact, he and I co-hosted Ireland’s first-ever Snowflake event. Since the venue was a converted church, we called it the **"Church of Data."** It was the perfect setting to kick off our Snowflake evangelism. **Abstract** === Moving from on-premises data platforms to cloud isn’t just a technology change — it’s a cost and operating model shift. Many teams underestimate this and end up with performance issues, spiralling spend, or both. This session explains why traditional on-prem thinking breaks down in Snowflake, how Snowflake is designed to scale, and where customers commonly go wrong. Using real lessons from three large Snowflake customers, we’ll walk through: What “scale up” really means in Snowflake (and when not to use it) Three common mistakes that quietly drive cost and poor performance What actually worked in production — not theory, not marketing slides This is a practical, experience-based session aimed at engineers, architects, and technical leaders who want Snowflake to run faster without wasting money.

The next Dub\|Sec meetup will take place in the Dublin Workday offices on February 25\, 2026\. Workday are delighted to be hosting this Infosec event in conjunction with Dub\|Sec and the Women in Cybersecurity Community Association \(WICCA\)\. In order to ensure your place on the evening, please sign up through [this link](https://invites.envoy.com/group-invite/TQWwzJ2WyL5lED4D). We'll be there from 6.00pm. Our first speaker will start at around 7pm. **19:00 - Building a digital beehive: The cluster that wasn't real, but the attacks were** by Arnav Tripathy Kubernetes is everywhere now—and so are attacks against it. Misconfigurations, exposed APIs, and overly permissive RBAC have made clusters a prime target, while most security tools stop at scanning images and YAML instead of showing what attackers do after they get in. This talk introduces KubeDecoy – a lightweight, open-source Kubernetes honeypot built from familiar components: vcluster, Falco, Falcosidekick, and NGINX. The goal is simple: stand up a convincing fake cluster, expose realistic attack surfaces, and quietly observe how real adversaries interact with them. **19:40 - OffSec x AI : The Rise of Autonomous Pen-testing Agents** by Manav Bankatwala. As we are witnessing a shift from static security scanners to "Agentic AI", tools that don't just find signatures, but actively reason, plan, and exploit like a human hacker. This talk will explore the current state of AI in offensive security, using the open-source tool Strix as a live case study. If you would like to speak at any future Dub\|Sec\, please email us at [info@dubsec.ie](http://info@dubsec.ie/)! Join us for some drinks, food and general chat about infosec. Everyone is welcome whether you’re a pro, an amateur or just curious about the field!

Our pre season training is EVERY WEDNESDAY in February from Feb 4 at Strikezone Finglas. We are recuiting players across all our teams, and with teams in every division we have space for all abilities and experience levels. So, if you are looking to try out a new social sport you can join one of our entry level teams, or if you have been playing Softball all your life, we have space on our Prem team competing at the highest level! Come along and give it a try or drop us an email for more info at play@hippetyssoftball.club

About us: The Tibetan Dharma and Meditation Group is part of a Buddhist organisation based in Taiwan, which is centred on one of the greatest living Rinpoches (teachers) in the world at the moment. It aims to introduce people living in Ireland to Buddhist teachings and practices that have been passed to Rinpoche through his masters and their masters going back many, many generations in order to benefit and bring peace to all sentient beings. Location: We hold our meetings in the small hall at Sandyford Community Centre, Lambs Cross, Sandyford, Dublin 18.

**Disrupt Dublin returns on 26 February 2026, bringing sharp ideas and real conversations about the future of work.** Expect big bold ideas, brilliant conversations, and a room full of people who do not just talk about change, they build it. **[REGISTER THROUGH EVENTBRITE HERE](https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/disrupt-dublin-returns-february-26-2026-tickets-1976595846385)** What happens when you mix TED, Ignite, and a truth serum that removes all corporate gloss? You get Disrupt Dublin, a rapid-fire, idea-packed, community-powered evening. Speakers have five minutes. Twenty slides that automatically advance. Straightforward insights that challenge how we design work, lead teams, and shape talent in 2026 and beyond. If TED talks finally cut to the point and said what everyone is really thinking, this would be it. ### Why Attend **Get Energised** Ten big ideas delivered in a single evening. Hear from HR leaders, founders, researchers, and workplace innovators redefining the world of work. **Stay Ahead of the Curve** Discover how organisations are rewriting playbooks on culture, AI, talent, leadership, skills, and employee experience. **Expand Your Circle** This is the first Disrupt summit in Dublin since the Pandemic! Join us to celebrate the relaunch and rub shoulders (gently) with forward-thinkers from HR, Talent, Tech, People Ops, L&D, Consulting, and Leadership. These are the conversations that spark partnerships, job offers, and fresh opportunities. ### Agenda for 26 February 2026 5:00 to 6:00 Registration and Networking Drinks, canapés, and first connections. 6:00 to 6:15 Welcome and Opening Remarks Settle in. Things are about to get lively. 6:15 to 7:00 Lightning Talks Round One Fast, fearless five-minute sessions from inspiring voices in the workplace space. 7:00 to 7:15 Break Refresh. Decompress. Debate. 7:15 to 8:00 Lightning Talks Round Two More ideas. More energy. More “I am stealing that for Monday.” 8:00 to 8:30 Wrap Up and Final Networking Because the best conversations usually happen after the talks end. ### Speakers Speakers will be announced soon. ### Ready to Disrupt Dublin? If you are hungry for fresh thinking, curious about new possibilities, or tired of the same old workplace conversations, this event is for you. Join us for an evening that sparks action, connection, and meaningful change across the world of work.

Come join me in cleaning up litter in Kilbogget Park in South Dublin. I will supply a cart, bags/buckets, litter grabbers, and occasionally a dog (for morale). Feel free to bring your own equipment if you have it. Here's the plan: 1. Meet near the Kilbogget Grove Bus Stop, 3131 at 10:00. I'll be standing in the area with a cart and dog, so should be easy to spot. 2. Collect litter along the path illustrated in the link below in the description. Note we will be going into the trees along the way. 3. Circle back to the starting point when finished. Note that we will walk in wet grass/mud on occasion and will be handling litter, so best to wear appropriate clothes, footwear and gloves. Please check weather before attending to ensure you're dressed for it. Feel free to drop in or out at whatever time suits you. I'm typically out for an hour or two or until the area I'm focused on has been cleaned. There is a tesco and cafe near by, so feel free to leave the group for a break or coffee whenever suits. Feel free to message me with any questions. See below for the general route we will be walking. https://www.komoot.com/tour/2727861167?share_token=aQ1oUamALxNplVIO7RFwQJDgnztQrCIACzngMnETOazQ8jwx04&ref=wtd

Dublin Dataviz is delighted to welcome Andy Kirk as our first speaker of 2026! Andy is the founder of [Visualising Data](https://visualisingdata.com/) and works with [clients around the world](https://visualisingdata.com/clients) as a data visualisation design consultant and prolific [trainer](https://www.visualisingdata.com/training/). He is a a four-times published [author](https://www.visualisingdata.com/book/) and host of the ‘[Explore Explain](https://www.visualisingdata.com/podcast/)’ video and podcast series. In his talk, **The 7 Hats of Data Visualisation (Revisited!),** Andy will showcase the value and richness of data visualisation as a key literacy in this contemporary digital age. We all have a stake in this, whether that is through our roles as creators, consumers or coordinators, but it can appear to be a substantial challenge to fully embrace the multi-disciplinarity of this subject, whether as individuals or more generally across organisations. Framed as the ‘7 hats’ of data visualisation, Andy will look back over his 15+ years of experience developing an expertise in this subject to present his view of the major competency ‘ingredients' that make up the all-round talent recipe of a visualiser today. He will differentiate the knowledge required from skills necessary to demonstrate, the attitudinal maturity from the technical intelligence. He will also advise on some of the strategies that will help you continue to develop and refine your data visualisation literacy. Join us for what's going to be an amazing evening, with pints in Arthurs pub surely to follow.

Is the recession really coming — or is it just ghosting us? Is it slowly creeping in, or will it never fully arrive? And where is the drop in housing prices we’ve all been waiting for? In this session, we’ll explore these questions and more as we try to make sense of the post-COVID economic landscape: uncertainty, resilience, inflation fatigue, and what might actually lie ahead. This event will be co-hosted by Cillian, who will help guide the discussion and bring expert perspective to a topic that affects all of us, whether we like it or not. Looking forward to having you join us for what promises to be a thoughtful and lively conversation.

We present a hands-on Demo from the Google Cloud Professional Architecture Exam Learning Path Location: 1 O'Connell Street Lower, North City, Dublin, D01 TX31

## Overview Networking event for aspiring school leaders interested in building their own high-quality K-12 public school in their community. **About the Event:** Aspiring school founders in the Columbus, OH, area are invited to join us for this special in-person networking event where you will be able to ask questions, learn more about the BES Fellowship and make sure you are prepared for the application process and beyond. In addition to meeting like-minded leaders who are also committed to transforming education and bringing a high-quality K-12 option to their community, you’ll have the opportunity to meet our team and gain special insights from Dr. Chaundria Smith, BES Senior Director of Fellowship Coaching, who works closely to support BES Fellows. During this event, you can also learn more about the various regions across Ohio we are prioritizing for the BES Fellowship to ensure that new schools will respond to the needs of their community. **About the BES Fellowship:** Leaders in the BES Fellowship embark on a multi-year process to design, found, and lead an excellent K-12 public school that reflects and responds to community needs. We are currently accepting applications to the 2026 BES Fellowship. The extended deadline is March 30, and the 2026 Cohort will begin August 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all spots are filled. Learn more at [bes.org/fellowship](http://bes.org/fellowship "http://bes.org/fellowship").

Calling all founders, CEOs, lawyers, doctors, and entrepreneurs to join our special *Founder Edition* of Sip & Read meetup event. Let's sip on fine wine and discuss our first book **The 5AM Club- Own Your Morning Elevate Your Life, by Robin Sharma**. We will pair this book with our favorite wine at **Wine on High** and engage in thought-provoking discussions on startup businesses and entrepreneurship, and network with like-minded individuals in a cozy book club setting. Come prepared to discuss this month's book. At the end of each book club meeting, we will take next book and venue suggestions from the participants for the next meeting. Whether you are a book lover, women entrepreneur, or a content creator, this event is perfect for sharing ideas and insights with other funders and founders in the entrepreneurial world. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to connect, learn, and grow together. Sign up now to reserve your spot! *Fun fact! This meetup was established in 2015 and had over 1,000 members. I had to shut down operations while attending law school, but we're back!!*

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

This is a free, in-person meeting on the subject of betrayals, losses and how to get over them so you can build lasting relationships. Burdened by a stressful relationship? Unhealthy relationships can trigger feelings of anger, despair or self-doubt. They can create dwindling spirals of fights and seeking to make-up, or trying to “pin the blame” on someone or something. If you don’t find the RIGHT reasons, or select the correct sources of the problem, the problem can just get worse and worse. Whether in love or personal ties, with friends or at work, our life really IS affected by the quality of our relationships. Good ones can promote pleasure and survival while less optimum ones can lead to annoyance, anger, self-doubt, stress, or even affect our health and ability to survive well. Whether you are suffering from a divorce, or a painful break-up, don’t know who to trust (or who to CHOOSE) as a partner, friend, boss or employee - the anxiety of relationship troubles can really make a mess of things. Maybe you’ve suffered a betrayal, or are dealing with hostility or criticalness or invalidation. Dwindling relationships can involve destructive behavior, where we hurt those we love, or start succumbing to self-destructive thoughts, attitudes or behaviors that spiral out of control and affect much more than our immediate relationship. Past losses in love or life can affect how we act or react to new people and situations and hold us back from even starting to create new, possibly great relationships! How can one get back onto a saner course of action? Come to our Meetup, where we can introduce you to some of the knowledge, tools and techniques of the breakthroughs in the field of the mind that we can apply to this ever important area of life: human relationships! Break free from self imposed limitations Here we will discuss: • How to “erase” the trauma of past hurts and betrayals so that one isn’t always repeating past mistakes. • Why and how do the negative emotions of others affect you? • Why is my partner withdrawing and what can I do about it? • Why do we sometimes feel compelled to hurt the ones we love? • Fights & arguments - what's really behind them? • What underlies “corrosive criticism” or the need to invalidate self or others? • How one can stably change one’s outlook on life so they can affect positive change? • Where do compulsive destructive behaviors come from and what can be done about them? • How to form closer bonds & keep growing the relationships with the people you care about? • How to enhance one’s own ability to survive and create positive healthy relationships whether in love, family & friendships or in work, business or one’s career? Relationships can be hard and life itself IS challenging. Why not arm yourself with the knowledge and breakthroughs that have been made about the mind, mental reactions & interpersonal relationships, so that one has better awareness and control over themselves and life in general. Learn where painful experiences are “stored” and how they can unknowingly affect us. You will also find out how one can “erase” those past painful experiences so that one is free to move forward without being tripped up by the past. Learn too, about what can lead some people to become “toxic” personalities and how to identify those traits in others so you won’t be tripped up trusting the wrong person. Our free Meet-ups occur in a safe environment where one can learn, without fear of judgment or criticism, and without the recommendation of harmful mental techniques or therapies, just how YOU can get yourself onto a happier & more successful path: in love & in life. We look forward to having you join us! This class is sponsored by the Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Center of Central Ohio.

Join us and work remotely together with like-minded UX folks. This is a last minute opportunity to get out at one of our favorites, [Junto](https://thejuntohotel.com/)! Plenty of seating is available in addition to a connected coffee shop and restaurant. I will be there 10-12 for sure, maybe longer. Feel free to come and go anytime during the day, and don't forget your charger and headphones!

Attend a free seminar on how to have successful and lasting relationships. At this seminar you will learn: How to spot and handle negative and toxic relationships. How to get through the "rough patches" in a relationship. How to choose the right people to work with. The three things that make or break any relationship. How to make a good relationship great. All are welcome. Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there. Hosted by the Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Center of Central Ohio.

Join us as we get together to get together to help those in need at this CMG Gives Back event! For this event, we’ll help prepare food, serve meals, assist residents, wash dishes and clean surfaces at Fath Mission – Grant Kitchen. We have a great little community of Movie Group friends so rather than see a movie this time, we’ll help “Create a better world” by helping serve those in need. Here are complete details and our plan for this event: FAITH MISSION – GRANT KITCHEN: The Faith Mission kitchen and dining room serves residents 3 meals a day, every day of the year. Our group will help prepare food, serve meals, assist residents in the dining room, wash dishes, and clean surfaces. PLAN: We will be preparing / serving / cleaning for BRUNCH from 10:30am to 12:30pm and have space for a total of 7 volunteers. Please arrive at 10:15am and wear closed-toe shoes and long pants. LOCATION: Faith Mission – Grant Kitchen is located at 245 N. Grant Ave. Enter the kitchen at Dock 1, indicated in the attached map. On-site and street parking are available in the surrounding area. Below are some links / attachments with additional info/details: \* LSS Volunteer Guidelines: Uploaded to photos. \* Parking Map Info: Uploaded to photos. \* LSS Faith Mission Orientation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp46_6ay6iA \* Link with Additional Details / Info: https://lss.vomo.org/opportunity/faith-mission-grant-kitchen-2025 IMPORTANT REMINDER: Our group will be providing the all of the volunteers on this day so a firm RSVP count is essential. Please only sign up if you are certain you’ll be able to attend. If something unavoidable comes up, please update your RSVP no later than one week prior to the event. With very few exceptions, no shows or cancelations within 1 week of the event will not be eligible for future CMG Gives Back events. I appreciate your understanding as we try to ensure the agencies have the volunteers needed to provide the essential services they provide to the vulnerable population they serve. THANK YOU: This CMG Gives Back event provides an opportunity for YOU to get involved in helping others! Benefits go well beyond the help we give to others. Volunteering provides a wide range of personal benefits, including positive effects on mental and physical health, reduced stress/depression/anxiety, increased happiness and improved purpose, life-satisfaction and personal well-being! Plus, the opportunity to get involved, connect with others and help those in need. PARTNER AGENCY: This event is hosted by Lutheran Social Services (LSS), which serves thousands of people in need each day in 27 Ohio counties by addressing the four core societal issues of food, shelter, safety and healing. LSS offers food through the LSS Food Pantries, housing and supportive services through LSS Faith Mission and LSS Faith Mission of Fairfield County homeless shelters, domestic violence services through LSS CHOICES for Victims of Domestic Violence, senior living and health care, affordable housing communities, and other services that uplift families and strengthen communities. Look forward to seeing you there, Dan