Learning

**Welcome to DSF Sandbox Sessions!** Top tech talks and masterclasses from the best in the industry. Every month, and completely free. The catch? There isn’t one. Just a monthly dose of epic content to power up your data passion! **Event details** 📆 **Date:** Tuesday 13th January 2026 ⏰ **Time:** 2:00 – 4:00 PM GMT / 09:00 – 11:00 AM EST. 💡 **Topic:** Optimizing EV Charging Stations: A Live Code-Along in Zerve 🗣️ **Speakers:** Greg Michaelson and Jason Hillary Join Greg Michaelson and Jason Hillary for a fully interactive, hands-on code-along where you’ll build an end-to-end optimization project from scratch using Zerve’s new notebook view. You’ll write code with us step by step, ask questions as you go, and learn how to model a synthetic city, generate EV charging demand, define an optimization objective, and use heuristic search to place charging stations efficiently. This session is designed for active participation: follow along, experiment, and get real-time guidance from two experienced PhD data scientists. Everyone who attends gets **free Zerve credits** so you can continue exploring and applying these techniques long after the workshop. **Key takeaways from attending this event:** * How to translate a real-world planning problem into an optimization objective (for example, constructing a weighted distance function and defining constraints like service radius.) * How to implement and iterate on heuristic optimization methods (such as k-medoids–style search) to improve facility placement without relying on packaged solvers. * How to build and visualize an end-to-end optimization workflow in Zerve, including generating synthetic spatial data, evaluating solutions, and comparing baseline vs optimized layouts. Please sign up for Zerve at **[https://www.zerve.ai/?utm_source=dsf-jan26](https://www.zerve.ai/?utm_source=dsf-jan26)** as this is the platform we’ll be using during the code-along. We’ll provide you with additional free credits at the session. Get ready to have some fun! **Registering for the event:** Click the 'Sign up here!' button on the specific event page following the link below. Once you have completed the registration form, you will be emailed a link to join the webinar. You will also receive a reminder link one week, one day and one hour prior to the event. **PLEASE NOTE: Clicking 'attend' on Meetup does not register you for the event. You will need to register for the event on the link provided below to receive a joining link. If you do not, you will not be able to join the event.** **[Click here to sign up for this specific event](https://datasciencefestival.com/session/optimizing-ev-charging-stations-a-live-code-along-in-zerve/)** Please note the time zone when you book this event.

This group is for people who don't feel their German is strong enough for the Deutsch Sprechen Stammtisch. Anyone from complete beginner to native German speaker is welcome. All you need is a willingness to learn and speak German (or as much German as you can) and a willingness to help and be patient with other people who have less German than you have. The aim of this group is to build the confidence as well as ability to speak German in real life situations with others. . There are a limited number of places, so please keep your RSVP up-to-date! Bis dann.

**Tuesday Evening Taught Life Classes** Book a place here **[http://dublinlifedrawing.com/taughtclass](http://dublinlifedrawing.com/taughtclass)** Drawing from the figure has been part of an artist's basic training since ancient times, and for good reason. Drawing from observation teaches you how co-ordinate the eye and hand, and working from the nude model is the most rewarding kind of drawing. A set of taught classes will explain fundamental aspects of drawing the figure, and give tips and show tricks of exploring the materials, methods and approaches to rendering the figure on paper. This class is suitable for everyone- from beginners just starting off on their drawing journey, to more experienced people who want to build up their skills set. Basic techniques are outlined in every class, and then more complex exercises are explored. Drawing exercises take place in an easy, informal setting. Measuring, sighting, and understanding negative space and shading are explored as well as basic anatomy and proportion. Some easels and drawing boards are provided. Basic drawing materials and paper are included in the price (but feel free to bring your own). [-Book Here](http://dublinlifedrawing.com/short-course) Small class sizes with tuition and instruction will help with developing your own drawing methods and style. The teaching exercises are based on fine art practice but will be of great interest to illustrators, designers, and animators. [for more details click here.](http://dublinlifedrawing.com/taughtclass) *Long Story Short:* Life Drawing from the Nude Figure, **Tuesday evenings** 6.30-9PM(ish) 27 Pearse Street Dublin 2 Single Class Price is 40€ **including paper and materials;** Set of Three Classes 99€ Set of Six Classes 190€ Note:You don't have to use Paypal to book - there are cheaper alternatives here: **[http://dublinlifedrawing.com/taughtclass](http://dublinlifedrawing.com/taughtclass)** If you need more information email dublindrawing@gmail.com

Happy New Year everyone and welcome back to a new season of Socrates Cafe. We are going to weave together a triad of topics over these next three months that offer a story of life. For this first month we are going to look at the matter of ‘soul’ and discuss if there is an immaterial aspect of being human. Then in February we will move on from the nature of being human to discuss the presence of evil and what might be wrong with us and with our world. Finally, the third event in March will be a conversation on hope. Is there any way out of this mess in which we find ourselves? Each will be separate enough to discuss alone, but attending the series as a whole will add depth to each one. So to start off we are going to have a conversation about the soul. What makes us, us, as human beings? What makes me, me, as an individual? What are we made of? Are we more than animated matter? Is there an immaterial aspect to our nature that might survive the death of our bodies? When might a soul come into existence if there is one? You are invited to come along for this facilitated conversation this upcoming Tuesday evening at Third Space Smithfield. **NOTE: we ask for a 3 Euro donation** to cover costs payable on the night by coin or Revolut. Socrates Cafe: a space where ideas and dialogue can flourish.

Join us for a fun-filled evening Dance class - **Tango** **for Beginners.** Whether you have two left feet or have never danced before, this course will have something for you. We will guide you through the basic steps and techniques of tango, helping you discover the elegance and passion of this captivating dance form. In these classes our experienced instructors will break down the tango moves and build them up gradually, ensuring that you get a solid foundation. You will learn the fundamental techniques, including posture, embrace, and footwork, and gain confidence in leading or following your partner. Throughout these lessons we will focus on partner connection and musicality, allowing you to express yourself and create beautiful movements on the dance floor. **No partner or previous dance experience is necessary.** Just come with comfortable clothing and shoes, and be prepared to immerse yourself in the enchanting world of tango. Join us to experience the joy and freedom of this beautiful dance and **meet a room of new friends along the way** **\>\>\>[CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE](https://tangofiesta.ie/student-booking-form/)<<<** ***Let's dance the night away at Tango Fiesta Dublin!*** **CLASS FEES:** *We offer a 6 week Pass for just €99 or you can pay as you go for €20 per class* *For more info visit Tangofiesta.ie*

Join us for some casual games @ Corrigans. All levels welcome!

**From Chile to Ireland after 16 amazing years.** **100 people at our first Dublin event — and we’re just getting started.** **Latin energy every Tuesday. "2026 con todo… sino pa’ qué?"** [Participate to win Discounts or Free entry](https://forms.gle/wKXom67Aq9aK55UGA) The best way to connect, meet people, play, sing, dance, and have fun while learning. Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ First, we start with relaxed conversations, no music, so you can really talk and connect. 2️⃣ Then the energy rises! Contests, prizes, karaoke like a party with friends. 🤔 Coming alone? Don’t worry we’ll introduce you to people and break the ice for you! 🤔 Not confident in your language level? Relax — everyone’s learning too. 🤔 Afraid of awkward silences? We’ve got icebreakers and games to keep the vibe flowing. The main languages we practice are **English, Spanish, and Portuguese**. For other languages, please contact the organizer. ### 💶 Price 🎟️ **€5 entry** 🍺 **€10 entry including a pint** *(If you don’t win free entry or a discount.)*

Join us for an exciting meetup at the Dublin Turkish Speaking Club where we will have engaging conversations in Turkish, and enjoy fun activities that promote language practice and cultural exchange. Whether you are a beginner or fluent in Turkish, this is the perfect opportunity to practice your language skills in a relaxed and friendly environment. Come and connect with like-minded individuals who share a passion for the Turkish language and culture. Let's have a great time together while immersing ourselves in the beauty of Turkish traditions and creativity!

Enchiridion Join us for an engaging discussion of Enchiridion, the timeless Stoic handbook attributed to Epictetus. In this session, we’ll explore its practical teachings on resilience, virtue, and inner freedom, and reflect on how these ancient insights apply to modern life. Whether you’re new to Stoicism or revisiting its core ideas, this event offers a welcoming space for thoughtful conversation and personal reflection

### 🌸 What is Heartfulness Meditation? Heartfulness Meditation is a simple and natural way to relax the mind, reduce stress, and connect with your inner self by bringing awareness to the heart ❤️. No prior experience is needed—just sit comfortably, close your eyes, and tune in to the calm within. *** ### 🌟 Why join us? 🧘‍♀️ Let go of stress & tension 🎯 Improve focus & inner balance 🌿 Experience peace and clarity 💛 Connect with like-minded people ☕ Enjoy tea, coffee, and light snacks after the session 📍 **Venue:** Wisdom Centre 🕊 Sophia Housing Street, 25 Cork Street, Dublin 8 **Eircode:** D08 YD91 📅 **When:** Sundays, ⏰ 9:45 AM – 11:30 AM *** ### 🕰️ Schedule: 🔸 **9:45 AM** – Arrive & settle in silence 🔸 **10:00 AM** – Guided relaxation & Heartfulness meditation 🧘‍♂️ 🔸 **10:35 AM** – Reflection & sharing 💬 🔸 **10:50 AM** – Tea, coffee & light breakfast 🍵🥐 🔸 **11:30 AM** – Close *** ### 🌱 New to meditation? Everyone is welcome—whether you’re completely new or already practice meditation. 😊 Feel free to reach out to **Akarsh** at 📧 **ie.secretary@heartfulness.org** or drop us a message on Meetup if you’d like to let us know you’re coming. We’d love to have you join us! 💛

Join us to **practise and improve your target language with native speakers on Thursday downstairs in River Bar** (Burgh Quay, Dublin 2) from **6.30pm to 8.30pm**. **Our system:** **• You sit opposite a native speaker of the language you're learning** **• You speak 5mins English, 5mins other language, then change table** This ensures everyone gets an equal opportunity to practise the language they're learning. Our team seats people, controls the time, organises the table changes etc. What to expect: • Relaxed easy going atmosphere • Professional and quality service • Great networking opportunities • All levels welcome from absolute beginner to fully fluent • A big mix of ages with attendees at each event from 18 to 70+ years old • Topic cards on the tables to help start conversations Wide range of languages: We usually have **native speakers of English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese** and more depending on who shows up. **Admission fee €7** (€6 for student card holders). **No pre-registration required, just show up**. Loyalty card system: Come to 5 events and the 6th is free. Over 150,000 people have attended our language exchange events since 2012 to practise and improve their target language - you can too! Everyone is welcome! For more news and info check: Website: [www.languageexchangeireland.com](http://www.languageexchangeireland.com/) FB: [www.facebook.com/languageexchangeireland](http://www.facebook.com/languageexchangeireland) Instagram: [www.instagram.com/languageexchangeireland](http://www.instagram.com/languageexchangeireland) NOTE: The MeetUp attendance does not reflect actual attendance. There are usually around 100 people at each event.

## LIFE DRAWING An untaught life drawing class in the flesh with a model at 27 Pearse Street Dublin 2 (The Ireland Institute) every Friday evening 6.30-9-00PM Room will be open from about 6.20PM €26 (Buy Four Classes for €84-save €20) We draw from about 6.45-9-00PM with a break half way through. BOOK HERE: https://dublin-drawing.sumupstore.com/product/next-available-untaught-class **If you've prepaid for some classes send a quick email to dublindrawing@gmail.com** Materials: We have drawing boards and clips and some charcoal and paper. If you have your own materials bring them- they will be better quality. Places are limited so book as soon as you can. TLDR: Friday Evening LIFE DRAWING UNTAUGHT **6.30-9.00PM** Room open from about 6.20PM **27 Pearse Street Dublin 2** (The Ireland Institute) BOOK HERE: https://dublin-drawing.sumupstore.com/product/next-available-untaught-class

A New Year, A New Voice: Dublin Debaters Returns! We are thrilled to announce that **Dublin Debaters** is officially back for its first session of the year on **Wednesday, 14th January**. ### Why Join Us? Dublin Debaters isn't just a club; it’s a community dedicated to the art of communication. Whether you are a seasoned orator or someone who feels a wave of nerves at the mere thought of a microphone, our doors are open. We focus on three core pillars: **Public Speaking:** Learn to command a room, manage anxiety, and deliver your message with poise and impact. **Critical Thinking:** In an era of information overload, we help you strip away the noise, analyze arguments objectively, and see multiple sides of every issue. **Debating Skills:** Master the ability to construct persuasive arguments and think on your feet during high-pressure exchanges. ### Embrace the "New Year, New You" The start of a new year is the perfect catalyst for stepping out of your comfort zone. True self-improvement comes from challenging your perspectives and honing the skills that will serve you in your career, your education, and your personal life. Join us on the **14th of January** to kickstart your journey toward becoming a more confident, analytical, and articulate version of yourself. No prior experience is necessary—just an open mind and a desire to grow. Attendance is €3 payable on the night

To meet regulatory standards like Solvency II and LDTI, reinsurance firms must simulate how thousands of insurance policies perform under thousands of potential economic futures. In data terms, this creates a **"Cartesian explosion"**—multiplying two manageable datasets creates a result set of billions of rows. This massive computational workload frequently overwhelms traditional on-premise infrastructure. In this session, [Zsolt Revay](https://www.linkedin.com/in/zsoltrevay/) and [Thomas Mager](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-mager-71916716/) detail the engineering behind **"Overlay,"** the internal data application PartnerRe built to solve this scaling challenge. Overlay’s architecture decouples business logic from compute power. We use **Datavirtuality** as a semantic orchestration layer, while leveraging **Snowflake** strictly as a heavy calculation engine. By using an aggressive **SQL push-down strategy**, we treat the database as a compute cluster. This allows us to process that Cartesian explosion of policy data and stochastic scenarios right where the data lives—without moving it across the network. **Key Technical Discussion Points:** * **Optimisation:** Handling massive joins via parallel processing and strategic table materialisation. * **Performance:** Using Elastic Virtual Warehouses to achieve linear scaling, reducing processing time from **hours to minutes**. * **Economics:** Using Auto-Suspend and Resource Monitors to keep this massive compute power cost-effective. Attendees will learn how to architect a solution that balances the auditability required by regulators with the on-demand agility required by actuaries. **Event Details** 📍 **14th January \| Clayton Hotel** **18:00** \| Food & Drinks 🍽️🥂 **18:30** \| Scaling Reinsurance Compliance: The Engineering Behind PartnerRe’s "Overlay" **19:15** \| Drinks & Networking 🍻 Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with fellow data professionals and gain valuable insights into efficient Snowflake use, Gen AI applications, and proving the value of solid data modeling! See you there! Speakers: [Zsolt Revay](https://www.linkedin.com/in/zsoltrevay/) \- Head of Data Engineering [Thomas Mager](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-mager-71916716/) \- Head Data and Analytics Platforms

As we step into a new year, many of us are carrying lessons, practices, and questions shaped by the year behind us. The Next Chapter: Looking Back, Leaning Forward is a warm, facilitated vision circle designed to help us pause together, reflect on what truly worked, and imagine what we want to carry forward into what comes next. This is not a talk or presentation. It’s a small, participatory gathering focused on shared reflection, sense-making, and connection. **Together, we’ll explore:** * What supported you over the past year — in your work, leadership, or life * What you’re ready to leave behind * What you want next January’s version of yourself to be saying To support reflection in different ways, we’ll also have optional art materials available for anyone who would like to create a simple artifact for their year — a visual or tactile reminder of what they’re carrying forward. We’ll provide basic art supplies such as colored pencils, markers, paint pens, and small canvases. If you enjoy working with collage or other media, you’re warmly invited to bring magazines, stickers, or your favorite creative materials to use or share. Participation in the creative portion is completely optional. You don’t need a plan, goals, or polished answers. Curiosity, honesty, and listening are more than enough. The intention is for everyone to leave feeling grounded, refreshed, and inspired — with a clearer sense of what matters to them and how we can support one another as a community. Space is intentionally limited to keep the experience intimate. ⸻ **What to Expect** * A small, welcoming circle (not a large meetup) * Structured conversation so everyone has space to speak * Reflection, listening, and lived experience — not advice-giving * Optional creative reflection using simple art materials * A calm, supportive environment ⸻ **Who This Is For** Women and underrepresented folks working in or around agile, product, technology, leadership, or organizational change — especially those looking for thoughtful conversation and community beyond frameworks and buzzwords. ⸻ **Good to Know** * No preparation required * Participation is invitational; listening is always welcome * Creative activities are optional — you can simply listen and reflect * You’re welcome to bring your own collage or craft materials if you’d like * Location details will be shared with registered attendees

## Learn Infrastructure-as-Code (the FUN Way) — Through Minecraft 🎮☁️ **Joint Meetup: Azure CBUS × Columbus HashiCorp User Group** What if learning Terraform and Infrastructure-as-Code didn’t feel like a whitepaper… but more like a game? Join us for a joint Azure CBUS and Columbus HashiCorp User Group meetup where **Mark Tinderholt** \(Principal Architect\, Microsoft Azure \| HashiCorp Ambassador \| “The Azure Terraformer”\) shows how **Minecraft** can be used as a surprisingly powerful way to understand real-world Infrastructure-as-Code concepts. In this session, Mark will demonstrate how Terraform and Azure can be used to provision, configure, and manage Minecraft servers—while teaching the same patterns you’d use for production cloud infrastructure. ### What we’ll cover * Infrastructure-as-Code fundamentals using **Terraform** * Provisioning real infrastructure on **Azure** * Applying **IaC best practices** (immutability, repeatability, versioning) * How playful environments like Minecraft make complex concepts *click* * Why learning through experimentation beats click-ops every time ### Who should attend * Developers, platform engineers, and cloud engineers * Terraform users (new or experienced) * Anyone curious about Infrastructure-as-Code but tired of boring examples * Minecraft fans who want to see it used in a totally unexpected way No prior Minecraft experience required—just curiosity and a willingness to learn infrastructure the fun way. Come for the blocks, stay for the Terraform. 🧱➡️📐 Want to be a speaker? submit your talk to our Call for Presenters!!! https://sessionize.com/cbus-hug-2026/

**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** GitHub Copilot is rapidly changing how developers write, understand, and maintain code. Powered by generative AI and deeply integrated into modern development environments, Copilot acts as an intelligent coding assistant, helping developers move faster while maintaining quality and focus. In this session, we’ll explore what GitHub Copilot is, how it works, and where it fits into a real-world developer workflow. We’ll break down what Copilot can (and cannot) do, where it can be used, and how licensing differs for individuals and organizations. Most importantly, this talk goes beyond theory with a live, hands-on demo showcasing Copilot inside the IDE and on GitHub, demonstrating how it can assist with code generation, refactoring, learning new APIs, and accelerating day-to-day development tasks. Designed for developers, technical leads, and engineering managers, this session provides a practical introduction to AI-assisted development, highlights best practices for getting value from Copilot, and closes with guidance on how to continue learning and evolving alongside this rapidly advancing tool. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how GitHub Copilot can enhance productivity, improve developer experience, and fit into modern software teams today, not someday. **YouTube Link** TBA

If you enjoy knitting, crocheting, working with yarn, this is the group for you. Meet new friends, bring your projects, learn from others.
We normally meet a few times a month during the week from 6-8pm. We will occasionally meet on weekends during daytime hours.

Come out to Improving for our monthly iOS and Mac meetings. This Month's Presentation: **Use AI to convert an old game into an iOS App** **John Endres** How I decided to learn AI tools in Xcode (Claude and ChatGPT) John is a long time iOS Developer. What is Cocoaheads (http://cocoaheads.org/)? CocoaHeads is a group devoted to discussion of Apple Computer's Cocoa Framework for programming on MacOS X and iOS (including the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch). During monthly meetings, members present on their projects and offer tutorials on various programming topics. What is BuckeyeCocoa (http://buckeyecocoa.org/)? BuckeyeCocoa is a group of Objective-C/Swift developers/enthusiasts. We host monthly Cocoaheads and near-weekly NSCoder meetings in Columbus, Ohio. The meetings are free to attend. Presentations! Presenters welcome! We are always in need of people willing to present material. Any Swift and/or Objective-C related topic is welcome. Times can be 5 minutes (i.e. lightning talks) to a maximum of 2 hours. Interested? Contact info is on the BuckeyeCocoa website. To volunteer for a presentation contact us at @BuckeyeCocoa on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter! @BuckeyeCocoa (https://twitter.com/#!/Buckeyecocoa/) For more information: http://buckeyecocoa.org/

## Learn Infrastructure-as-Code (the FUN Way) — Through Minecraft 🎮☁️ **Joint Meetup: Azure CBUS × Columbus HashiCorp User Group × DevOps Columbus** What if learning Terraform and Infrastructure-as-Code didn’t feel like a whitepaper… but more like a game? Join us for a joint Azure CBUS, Columbus HashiCorp User Group, and DevOps Columbus meetup where **Mark Tinderholt** \(Principal Architect\, Microsoft Azure \| HashiCorp Ambassador \| “The Azure Terraformer”\) shows how **Minecraft** can be used as a surprisingly powerful way to understand real-world Infrastructure-as-Code concepts. In this session, Mark will demonstrate how Terraform and Azure can be used to provision, configure, and manage Minecraft servers—while teaching the same patterns you’d use for production cloud infrastructure. ### What we’ll cover * Infrastructure-as-Code fundamentals using **Terraform** * Provisioning real infrastructure on **Azure** * Applying **IaC best practices** (immutability, repeatability, versioning) * How playful environments like Minecraft make complex concepts *click* * Why learning through experimentation beats click-ops every time ### Who should attend * Developers, platform engineers, and cloud engineers * Terraform users (new or experienced) * Anyone curious about Infrastructure-as-Code but tired of boring examples * Minecraft fans who want to see it used in a totally unexpected way No prior Minecraft experience required—just curiosity and a willingness to learn infrastructure the fun way. Come for the blocks, stay for the Terraform. 🧱➡️📐 Want to be a speaker? submit your talk to our Call for Presenters!!! https://sessionize.com/azure-cbus-2026/