Robotics

Visitors and newcomers are very welcome, please see https://hackmelbourne.com/newcomer-faq/ for more details. COVIDSafe restrictions are also in place, please see https://hackmelbourne.com/covid-19-restrictions/ for the latest. Short walk from Glenferrie train station. Car parking at Hawthorn town hall. Bring a laptop and a project you are working on. There is also a number of group projects that you are welcome to join in. We have starter kits for Arduino, a couple of 3D printers, various tools and equipment available for use. Typically our sessions run from 6:45pm till later in the evening (depending on our members' availability to close) but if you're new please come early.

**Important:** Register at the [external event website](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2026012623)[ ](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2025120823)is required for admission. **Description:** Welcome to the AI meetup in Melbourne, in collaboration with AI Innovation Centre. Join us for deep dive tech talks on AI, GenAI, LLMs and Agentic AI, hands-on experiences with code labs and workshops, and networking with speakers and fellow AI developers, builders, startup founders. **Agenda:** * 5:30pm\~6:00pm: Checkin and networking * 6:00pm\~7:30pm: Tech talks and Q&A * 7:30pm: Open discussion & Mixer **Topics/Speakers:** Check the [event website](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2026012623) for Speakers and Topics. If you have a keen interest in speaking to our community, we invite you to submit topics for consideration: [Submit Topics](https://forms.gle/JkMt91CZRtoJBSFUA) **Sponsors:** We are actively seeking sponsors to support our community. Whether it is by offering venue spaces, providing food/drink, or cash sponsorship. Sponsors will not only speak at the meetups, receive prominent recognition, and but also exposure to our extensive membership base of 5,000+ AI developers in Melbourne and 500K+ worldwide.

The Pet Store Agent Quest is an introductory AWS GameDay challenge focused on Agentic AI development using Amazon Bedrock AgentCore and the Strands framework. This Quest is designed to give attendees hands-on experience building and working with AI agents, utilizing prompt engineering and Amazon Q Developer Pro to assist in solving a series of challenges. Participants will build AI agents for a new Virtual Pet Store, creating specialized agents for pet recommendations, care advice, and customer service while implementing appropriate guardrails for responsible AI responses. AWS GameDay is an interactive, team-based learning opportunity where participants use and expand their AWS skills in a realistic, gamified, risk-free environment. Participants are given an AWS account to share with pre-provisioned infrastructure that they will evolve in response to realistic business and technical requirements designed to challenge them. Teams will be given 1.5 hours to play through the GameDay and there will be an awards ceremony at the end of the event. **A laptop is required to participate.**

Welcome back to an exciting year of .NET meetups. We are excited to host our first event of the year to dive into the Microsoft Agent Framework that has recently reached General Availability. Our friend Rakesh has a hands-on journey planned for us to make the most of the new framework and helping us build an agent powered app (it's not just a simple chatbot)! So feel free to bring your laptop and follow along. **Agenda:** * 5:30pm arrival - Food and drinks provided in-person * 6pm kickoff - Welcome & Introduction and few words from our Sponsors - 10 min * 6:10pm - Session 1 **Session 1: Practical introduction to the Microsoft Agent Framework** by [Rakesh Lakshminarayana](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rakeshl/) With the first Release Candidate of the Microsoft Agent Framework now available, this is an exciting time to start building AI agents using the framework. In this beginner-friendly session, we will explore the foundations of AI agents and the common challenges involved in moving beyond traditional chatbots. We’ll look at where the Microsoft Agent Framework fits in and how it enables you to design agents with structured memory, tool integration, and practical hosting patterns. Through live examples, we will build an agent step by step - giving you a clear understanding of how it works and how to apply these patterns in your own projects. **Hosts:** * [William Liebenberg](https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-liebenberg/) \- Microsoft \.NET MVP \| Consultant at Arinco * [Bron Thulke](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bronthulke/) \- Microsoft \.NET MVP \| CTO / Co\-Founder at YouLi * [Tama Waddell](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tama-waddell/) \- Consultant at Arinco **Sponsors:** We have some amazing sponsors that help make this event possible: * [Arinco](https://arinco.com.au/) \- Venue\, Food and Drinks **Location:** In-Person at Arinco Melbourne. Level 6 / 440 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD 🗣 Apply to speak now: [https://bit.ly/melb-dotnet-cfp](https://bit.ly/melb-dotnet-cfp)

Whether you are new to Lego, or you played with it as a kid, or you are an adult fan our group is about connecting with others, whilst creating with Lego. You can bring your own project or set from home, or you can use your imagination and explore our mystery tubs of Lego. Location is Moorabbin, 3189 All adults welcome. Each week, the group is capped at 10 participants Tea and Coffee or Hot Chocolate available. Supported by Local Charity Family Life

**Chasing Unicorns**: When Job Ads Demand Superhuman Skills, with Gaurav K In this talk, Gaurav will reveal why the “perfect candidate” is a myth and how both employers and job seekers can benefit from a more realistic approach to tech stack and domain knowledge demands in hiring instead of searching for a “unicorn” who fits every requirement. We will also be having a panel discussion after Gaurav's talk **Venue:** Hosted at Inspire9 Coworking Space Richmond https://www.inspire9.com/ **Gaurav Kathuria** is the Founder and Principal Trainer at **Business Analysis Upskill.** Gaurav offers professional training and coaching in Business Analysis, Data Analysis, Business Intelligence, Business Analysis certifications (ECBA, CCBA, CBAP), BABOK, Agile, Scrum, Process Automation, and Product Management. **Jade Bennett** is the Founder of **Middleton Executive**, an embedded hiring and executive search partner to product and technology companies. Jade is also the creator and host of The Product Edge podcast and a career strategist, known for her HIRED framework. **Jodie Marron** is a Senior Principal Consultant at **Frazer Tremble**, specialising in recruiting high-performing PMO, project, transformation, and tech teams across Australia in financial services, professional services, and utilities. She loves bringing people together through industry events and panels. **Andy Kelk** is a Fractional CTO and strategic advisor with over 25 years guiding scale-ups through technical growing pains. In senior roles at REA Group, Marketplacer, Australia Post, Wesfarmers, and others, he has architected platforms handling billions in transactions, scaled engineering teams from 15 to 100+. **John Parshotamdas** is a Lead Business Analyst at the **University of Melbourne**, where he oversees a team of more than 20 Business Analysts within the Digital Products Portfolio. +++ If you would like to volunteer to lead one or several sessions in 2026, please get in touch.

tickets and info: [https://bachatacorazon.com.au/tuesday-night](https://bachatacorazon.com.au/tuesday-night) ### Shake off the workday with a night of pure Bachata bliss! Every Tuesday, 6:15pm - 9pm, we run classes for all levels of dancers, from absolute beginners to advanced. From 9pm, join us for an unforgettable evening at one of Melbourne's most popular socials—our DJs drop all the hottest hits and dancers, from all schools and interstate come together to share their love for Bachata dance - with a sprinkle of Salsa and Kizomba. Don't miss out on this sure-fire recipe to get your week started right! •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• **BACHATA CLASSES TIMELINE:** **6:15 - 6:45pm: FREE class for absolute beginners** to learn the fundamental and the basic of bachata. (Upstairs) **7:00 - 8:00PM Beginners:** Your Latin dance journey starts here! We'll teach you the essential holds, basics steps and turns that will prepare you for the higher classes and kick start your Bachata journey. First-timers welcome! **7:00 - 8:00PM Sensual Bachata (Intermediate level)**: This class builds on your existing understanding of turns, wraps, connection and **(most importantly) frame**; to introduce Bachata sensual whole-body movements. Mastering the techniques in this class will get you ready for any social dance floor anywhere in the world. We recommend at least 8-12 months of regular dancing before attempting this class. Check with an instructor for tips on how to improve your frame so that you will get the most out of this class. **8:00 - 9:00PM Intermediate Social Moves:** This class is perfect for dancers of all levels who have at least 8-12 weeks of experience dancing Bachata. In this class, we focus on teaching you fun social moves that you can use immediately on the dance floor. The moves and combinations taught in this class are perfect for Australia’s social dance scene and will keep you dancing for hours. **8:00 - 9:00PM Advanced Bachata**: In this class we introduce advanced techniques, complex timing, and musicality. This class requires an assessment (or invitation from an instructor). Students in this class should be able to lead and follow controlled whole-body movements learned in the Intermediate Sensual class. It is our expectation that advanced dancers are practicing their dance 3-4 times per week. We recommend advanced dancers continue participating in 7PM Sensual Bachata class regularly to keep fundamentals strong. **Social dancing** **9PM - MIDNIGHT 3 HOURS of SOCIAL DANCING AND PARTY** with the latest modern bachata and of course, SENSUAL bachata music. Perfect mix to practice the moves you learned in class!! •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ALL TICKETS INCLUDE DRINK TOKENS. (All door prices include 1 drink): \- 6:15 Introduction class $FREE \- 1 class \+ social \- $32 \- 2 classes \+ social \- $42 \- 3hrs of party \(social dancing\): $22 (Membership options available from $15 p/week ([https://bachatacorazon.com.au/bachata-melbourne-membership](https://bachatacorazon.com.au/bachata-melbourne-membership)) WALK IN WELCOME No need to bring a partner as partners rotate in class. Join us any week, content will be revisited every few months. WHERE? The Space Dance & Arts Centre 318 Chapel St, Prahran VIC 3181 To RSVP for the classes and get tickets here: [https://bachatacorazon.com.au/tuesday-night](https://bachatacorazon.com.au/tuesday-night) Walk in welcome. For more info regarding the prices or other events, follow us on [Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/BachataCorazonTuesday)and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/bachatacorazontuesday).

We'll meet at the spot where Fed Square meets the Princes Bridge over the Yarra (near the pedestrian crossing closest to the river from Flinders St, on the Fed Square side). We'll walk for about 6km along the Yarra River, through the Botanic Gardens and back along the river to Federation Square for a coffee after the walk. This month, we're reading and talking about 'The Emperor of Gladness' by Ocean Vuong The blurb: "**Ocean Vuong returns with an achingly beautiful novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.** One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to alter Hai’s relationship to himself, his family, and a community at the brink. Following the cycles of history, memory, and time, *The Emperor of Gladness* shows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that haunt our collective soul. Hallmarks of Vuong’s writing – formal innovation, syntactic dexterity, and the ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness – are on full display in this story of loss, hope, and how far we would go to possess one of life’s most fleeting mercies: a second chance." Goodreads rating: 3.93 How does a walking bookclub work? Like a normal bookclub, we talk about the book, what else we're reading, have read, or want to read (as well as a few tangents into life outside literature!) but we do it while walking around Melbourne and then over a coffee. We often split into smaller groups as we walk, but we also regroup through the walk. Should I read the book beforehand? The conversation will be more interesting if you do, but you can still come along if you haven't finished it yet! Do I need to bring anything? **Comfy** walking shoes, drinking water, some money for coffee or a bite to eat after if you wish. No need to bring the book unless you want to. No shows No shows (RSVPing yes and not attending) mean the group waits unnecessarily for those who are not coming, thinking you are running a little late. It’s absolutely fine to change your rsvp for any reason up until the walk begins, and you don’t need to leave a comment, send a message or give a reason, but if you don't click that 'change rsvp' button, you may be removed from the group. Membership Fee Did you know that while it is free to attend most events, Meetup charges organisers about $600 a year to organise a group? Members of the Walking Book Club are asked to pay a membership fee of $10 per year (not per event) to help cover this cost. When you join the group, you'll be automatically given a three month trial so you can see what the group is like, without needing to make any payment. If you would like to continue attending events after this, please follow Meetup's instructions to pay the $6.50US/approx $10AUD fee once per year (or contact group organisers if you would prefer to make payment using paypal, payID, cash or bank transfer).

**Register now to attend! =>** [https://konfhub.com/ksug-au-2026-03-12](https://konfhub.com/ksug-au-2026-03-12) **<=** **Latest promotions** discovered by our community! * Missed **75%** off [LF / CNCF](https://lf.ksug.ai/)? [Get Notified](https://ksug.ai/?notify&ref=meetup) for next BIG drop! * **20%** off [KubeCon Europe](https://ksug.ai/events/?ref=meet) 2026 using code **KSAI20** * Up to **30%** off popular [Books](https://ksug.ai/books/?ref=meet) and [Events](https://ksug.ai/events/?ref=meet) We're excited to welcome you to the upcoming Hands-on workshop — happening in-person at at Amazon ! 🎉 We're actively seeking more awesome AI topic speakers! 👉 [https://speaker.ksug.ai](https://speaker.ksug.ai) **About the event** Learn how to deploy and scale AI applications using Amazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service). This hands-on workshop demonstrates how to build a complete generative AI platform with automated cluster management, hybrid infrastructure, and enterprise-grade observability. **What You'll Learn:** * Leverage EKS Auto Mode for automated Kubernetes cluster management * Architect hybrid node pools for optimal performance and cost efficiency * Implement end-to-end observability and LLM serving with vLLM **Hands-on Lab Experience:** Learn directly from AWS experts who have helped organizations successfully deploy and manage large-scale GenAI infrastructure. Through hands-on labs and real-world examples, you'll learn to master: * EKS cluster setup optimized for NVIDIA GPU workloads * Efficient model serving and scaling using vLLM * Distributed inference architecture implementation with Ray * Comprehensive monitoring and observability using Prometheus and Grafana * Best practices for production GenAI deployments on Kubernetes. **Who Should Attend:** Whether you're looking to deploy your first language model or scale existing GenAI workloads, this workshop will provide you with best practices and hands-on experience using industry-leading tools and frameworks. **Requirements:** * Bring your laptop and power adapter * AWS account access will be provided * Basic familiarity with cloud infrastructure concepts * Basic Kubernetes concepts Through guided exercises, you'll gain practical experience deploying and managing enterprise AI applications on AWS infrastructure. **Full Agenda** **Introduction - AI Platform on Kubernetes** 09:30 - 09:45 GMT+11 Nikola Cuca & Hantzley Tauckoor Explore the fundamentals of running AI/ML workloads on Kubernetes and understand why container orchestration is crucial for GenAI deployments. Learn key concepts and benefits of running AI platforms on Amazon EKS. **Hosting inference workloads on Amazon EKS** 09:45 - 10:30 GMT+11 Frank Fan Deep dive into designing scalable AI architectures that combine cloud and on-premises resources using Amazon EKS, focusing on inferencing. **Hands-on: Explore environment, vLLM model loading, scaling vLLM** 10:30 - 12:00 GMT+11 Frank, Don & Parikshit Hand-on labs on inferencing on EKS using vLLM **Lunch Break** 12:00 - 13:00 GMT+11 **Voice of customers & panel discussion** 13:00 - 14:00 GMT+11 Panel Hear from existing customers who implemented similar architectures in their production environment. **Introduction to monitoring and observability** 14:00 - 14:15 GMT+11 Melchi & Parikshit Explore observsability stack for AI on EKS **Hands-on: Observing LLM Inference workloads** 14:15 - 15:45 GMT+11 Don, Frank & Melchi Hand-on labs on observsability stack for AI on EKS **Quiz & Wrap-up** 15:45 - 16:00 GMT+11 Nikola & Hantzley Interactive knowledge check covering key concepts learned throughout the workshop. Review of best practices, Q&A session, and discussion of next steps for implementing GenAI workloads on EKS. **[Register here](https://konfhub.com/ksug-au-2026-03-12) to secure your spot!** See you all there! **Location:** Amazon MEL12, Level 13.304 [555 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Kbi13GZqj2zDqDz2A) 👉 Join our [Discord](https://discord.com/invite/Rp9WzYyKua) and [WhatsApp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/D9a9IDiCS7U4cqQ0Sh60cz?mode=gi_t) for latest update! 🔖 𝐎𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬: ☸ 30% OFF **[Kubernetes](https://lf.ksug.ai/)** Certs - Code: **30K8SUG** ☸ 37% OFF **[KodeKloud](https://ksug.ai/kk/?ref=meet)** Plans - Code: **K8SUGKK** 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐖𝐞 𝐃𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬: ✅ Learn 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 ⚡ ✅ Certify 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 💰 ✅ Grow 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 💪 𝟐𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎+ follow **[KSUG.AI](https://ksug.ai/?ref=meet)** 🔥 [linktr.ee/ksug.ai](https://linktr.ee/ksug.ai) *By registering, you consent to the management of your personal information in accordance with KSUG.AI Meetup's [Privacy Policy](https://k8sug.ai/privacy). Additionally, you agree that our sponsors may contact you.* **[KSUG.AI](https://ksug.ai/?ref=meet)** is an independent community and not affiliated with or endorsed by CNCF. Kubernetes, K8s, Kubestronaut are registered trademarks of The Linux Foundation.

⚠️ **Important: This is an ONLINE webinar.** To attend, you **must register using the Zoom link below**. 👉 **Register here to receive the webinar access link:** [https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_skhcBgLATRGj4GbKehajyg](https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_skhcBgLATRGj4GbKehajyg) *** ## **Event Overview** Many businesses are currently exploring AI. But most are **starting in the wrong place**. The instinct is usually to automate the most visible frustration. However, when we map a business properly, the **highest ROI AI opportunity is often somewhere else entirely**. In this live **AI Audit Masterclass**, we will show you how to systematically identify where AI can create the greatest business value. This session is designed specifically for **SME owners, founders, and operations leaders** who want to approach AI strategically rather than experimenting with random tools. *** ## **What You’ll Learn** In this practical 45-minute session we will cover: • How to map the **30–50 core processes inside your business** • How to identify genuine **operational bottlenecks** • How to rank AI opportunities by **ease of implementation and ROI** • Why **discovery quality determines implementation success** • A **live walkthrough of an SME AI audit example** This is **not a “cool AI demo” session**. Instead, we focus on a **business-first framework** that helps organisations think clearly before investing time and money into automation. *** ## **Who This Is For** This webinar is ideal for: • SME owners exploring AI adoption • Founders building more efficient operations • Operations and strategy leaders • Businesses wanting **clear ROI from AI investments** No technical background is required. *** ## **Event Details** 📅 **Date:** Wednesday, 11 March 2026 ⏰ **Time:** 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM (AEDT) 📍 **Location:** Online Webinar (Zoom) *** ## **Hosts** **Andrew Lai** Managing Director, SMEC AI Australia’s federally mandated AI adoption centre supporting SMEs. **Ahmed Alassafi** AI strategist and automation specialist helping businesses implement practical AI systems. *** ## **How to Join** ⚠️ **Meetup RSVP alone will NOT give you access to the webinar.** You **must register via Zoom** to receive the joining link. 👉 **Register here:** [https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_skhcBgLATRGj4GbKehajyg](https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_skhcBgLATRGj4GbKehajyg)

**Social Pickleball - All Levels Welcome!** \*\* [Instagram: @rmit_pickleball](https://www.instagram.com/rmit_pickleball/) [WhatsApp: RMIT Pickleball Club](https://chat.whatsapp.com/G7VE0NcThWWIgLnnJBVQBq)\*\* \*\* Paddles and balls provided! Beginner friendly - simply show up and we’ll teach you the basics \*\* Grab a paddle, play pickleball, and meet new people! \*\* Who is it for?\*\* * Members of public and RMIT students * Complete beginners * Intermediate players * Advanced players (up to DUPR 4.5 expected) **✅ How to join?** 1. **Become a club member** [at the RMIT Store](https://store.rmit.edu.au/pages/club/pickleball) (one-off payment) 2. **RSVP** on Meetup to join the session 3. When marked as **“Going”**, pay for the session: **\- Payment link** is in the **comment section below** (posted 1-3 days before) \- Use your RMIT Store account with a club membership \(from step 1\) 4. Can’t attend? Update your RSVP to “Not Going” **⏳ Priority on waitlist** 1. Clear Meetup profile with name and photo 2. RMIT students 3. Regular attendees \*\* On the day\*\* * New players, please **introduce yourself to the host** * New players wanting a **rules intro**, please arrive on-time and ask a host * Have your **emailed ticket receipt ready** \- it will be checked on the day \*\* Cancellations and Refunds\*\* * No refunds for change of mind, non-attendance, or no-shows * Refunds only if the event is cancelled (weather or court availability) * Credit for a later session may be offered by agreement in case of event cancellation * Pay only when we share the payment link in Meetup - using old links is at your own risk Whether you are new to pickleball or a regular player, this is a great way to get some games in and connect with the community. Come solo or bring a friend - everyone is welcome! \*\* Spots are limited, so RSVP early! \*\*

**Social Pickleball - All Levels Welcome!** ** [Instagram: @rmit_pickleball](https://www.instagram.com/rmit_pickleball/) [WhatsApp: RMIT Pickleball Club](https://chat.whatsapp.com/G7VE0NcThWWIgLnnJBVQBq)** ** Paddles and balls provided! Beginner friendly - simply show up and we’ll teach you the basics ** Grab a paddle, play pickleball, and meet new people! ** Who is it for?** * Members of public and RMIT students * Complete beginners * Intermediate players * Advanced players (up to DUPR 4.5 expected) **✅ How to join?** 1. **Become a club member** [at the RMIT Store](https://store.rmit.edu.au/pages/club/pickleball) (one-off payment) 2. **RSVP** on Meetup to join the session 3. When marked as **“Going”**, pay for the session: **\- Payment link** is in the **comment section below** (posted 1-3 days before) \- Use your RMIT Store account with a club membership \(from step 1\) 4. Can’t attend? Update your RSVP to “Not Going” **⏳ Priority on waitlist** 1. Clear Meetup profile with name and photo 2. RMIT students 3. Regular attendees ** On the day** * New players, please **introduce yourself to the host** * New players wanting a **rules intro**, please arrive on-time and ask a host * Have your **emailed ticket receipt ready** \- it will be checked on the day ** Cancellations and Refunds** * No refunds for change of mind, non-attendance, or no-shows * Refunds only if the event is cancelled (weather or court availability) * Credit for a later session may be offered by agreement in case of event cancellation * Pay only when we share the payment link in Meetup - using old links is at your own risk Whether you are new to pickleball or a regular player, this is a great way to get some games in and connect with the community. Come solo or bring a friend - everyone is welcome! ** Spots are limited, so RSVP early! **

Casual coffee meetup for people curious about AI and the future. Not a professional networking event — just a few people meeting at a café to chat about AI, ideas, and what’s happening in the world. We will meet at Mr Tulk at 11am. If attending please grab a drink at least as a courtesy for the cafe. We’ll do quick introductions and then see where the conversation goes. Limit of 6 people total so please cancel early if you can't make it.

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

Bring your Raspberry Pi, Arduino, microcontroller, or any other electronic project and join fellow electronics makers for a night of creativity and collaboration! This session is open forum to share your current projects—whether complete or in progress, it’s all interesting! Whether you’re deep into embedded systems, exploring new ideas, or just getting started, you’ll find a welcoming space to collaborate, share, and get inspired. **New to electronics or curious about tinkering?** You’re absolutely welcome. If you’re a beginner and want to experiment, I’ll have a couple of starter kits available so you can try things out—whether that’s blinking your first LED, putting something on a display, or experimenting with simple sensors. No pressure and no experience required—just an interest in learning and building. While we continue to pursue a more permanent venue for this Meetup, we’ll be using public library facilities based on availability. This session will be at the Worthington Park Library in the Olentangy Meeting Room.

We will show a variety of methods for building agents that run in Microsoft Foundry. This covers the different types of agents: Prompt, Multi, and Hosted, as well as the development lifecycle using evals and traces.

Drake Lundstrom is presenting: Code Anywhere by Talking to your Phone Abstract: Have you heard the trend of people deploying code anywhere from checkout lines to doctors' offices? In this talk, you will learn how to talk to your phone and have an app on Azure to show your friend 5 minutes later. The basic DevOps tools you already know, plus a little bit of AI magic, are all you need! If you want to follow along, the demo will be in Azure with GitHub Actions and GitHub Copilot, and you can have it set up on your phone by the end of the session. Just come in with an Azure account and a GitHub repo. Join us for pizza, drinks, and networking @ Improving's office. Doors open at 5:45.

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

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

This month, we are in-person at GameArena!!! We will also be joined by students and their games from [Shawnee State](https://www.shawnee.edu/game-design-programs)! \-\-\- Join us for our our monthly COGG Prototype and Play event @GameArena! Come to play and showcase your games. We're back in the upper levels of the catwalk mezzanine area. It'll be packed with lots of camaraderie playing your game(s) and other's games on the 2nd floor as well as the 1st floor in the gaming room below the mezzanine. Light snacks and water provided but you can buy food and drinks at the bar (alcoholic drink ID required). [https://www.game-arena.co/menu](https://www.game-arena.co/menu) **Attendees:** Don't have a game to show? Not a problem! All are welcomed and invited from all ages and backgrounds. The more we can have to play test our games the better! **Developers:** Do you have a game that you would like to get critical feedback on? Would you like an excuse to work on a game with other talented artists, programmers, musicians, designers, and writers? Digital, table-top, non-experienced developers, and the like are welcomed! We'll provide signage for your game to help others learn more about your work. Wifi, outlets, tables, and seats (though standing tables also) are available. Come to the Prototype and Play workshop to collaborate and meet local game developers for an evening of epic and raw game play fun! Play works-in-progress, show off your own game, work with others to add polish to a game, or even lend your talents to other fellow developers. Can use South Garage at the Gateway with a $5 voucher on your way out. 75 E 11th Ave, Columbus, OH 43201 [https://maps.app.goo.gl/UwgveUYG37Jy7RtS9](https://maps.app.goo.gl/UwgveUYG37Jy7RtS9) If you have any questions or comments, as always, feel free to reach out to us at [info@thecogg.com!](http://info@thecogg.com!/)