Silicon Valley

As it is sometimes difficult in Switzerland to practice high german, in 2010 we decided to organize a conversation group that is free to everyone who wants to practice german and socialize. WhatsApp group for easier contact: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KmMkpiQxs291vTPv2RBNm4

Two very different, complementary topics for our June evening. One on the small, everyday habits that make teams actually collaborate. The other on how a platform and a cultural movement transformed IT in the public sector. Here's what's planned for the evening: 17:30 - 18:00 - Arrival and first drinks 18:00 - 18:45 - Micro Habits for better Teamwork by Dr. Denniz Dönmez 18:45 - 19:30 - From DevOps to Digital Sovereignty: How a Movement Became a Platform by Syrian Hadad 19:30 - 20:30 - Networking, Open Space & More drinks\* **Micro Habits for better Teamwork** Great teamwork is like solving a puzzle, and not like playing poker, it's not about playing against each other, but rather achieving real collaboration. Micro Habits are psychological hacks that create big results in teams. Micro Habits for Better Teamwork span seven behavioral domains, such as taking responsibility, creating psychological safety, and testing our assumptions. Each provides concrete, small, actionable behaviors that lead to major improvements in collaboration. This talk presents practical, everyday tools based on real-world experience that can be applied immediately to make teamwork easier and more effective, without lengthy coaching programs or complex team-development processes. With Micro Habits, teams unlock their full potential step by step. **Dr. Denniz Dönmez** Scientific agilist and co-creator of Micro Habits for better Teamwork. 15 years experience leading teams and consulting market leaders with a background and PhD in agile methods. **From DevOps to Digital Sovereignty: How a Movement Became a Platform** IT in the public sector is anything but simple: long-established landscapes, strict regulatory requirements, complex processes, and often more than 500 business applications that must be operated reliably. For a long time, this meant ordering individual servers, databases, DNS entries, firewall rules, and storage, then assembling everything manually. Every application was unique. Pets instead of cattle. This talk tells the story of how the DevOps idea took hold in exactly this environment — first as a cultural movement, and later as a concrete operating and architectural model. Step by step, individual infrastructure evolved into a platform, manual work into automation, and isolated solutions into standardization. The result: the Aargau Cloud Platform and a dedicated platform engineering team. In an environment shaped by legacy systems, federal structures, and long lifecycle expectations, platform thinking becomes the foundation for digital sovereignty: maintaining control, reducing dependencies, and still staying innovative — without simply handing everything over to others. **Syrian Hadad** Syrian Hadad is a CTO and long-standing technology and platform leader in the public sector. Among other achievements, he built the Aargau Cloud Platform and helped establish DevOps, cloud, and architecture topics strategically within the organization. Together with the IT organization of the Canton of Aargau, he won the 2023 Digital Economy Award (Digital Excellence) for the consistent transformation toward platforms, cloud-native technologies, and modern governance. Many thanks to our **sponsors**: * Catering Sponsor: **DevOpsDays Zürich** https://www.devopsdays.ch/ * Location Sponsor: **Digicomp** https://www.digicomp.ch/ \* contact us min. 3 days prior to the event if you prefer a vegan option.

Let's get together for the next TechTalkThursday to learn new things and share experiences! 17:45 Door opening 18:00 **Intro** – Thomas Hug, CEO & Founder of Nine 18:05 **The Shift From "Hack In" to "Log In": How Overprivileged Non-Human Identities Became the Modern Attack Path** – Jan Brons & Marc Willaredt (Co-Founder & Cyber Security Expert at Kleeo GmbH) 18:30 **How To Navigate Complex Systems Using a Non-Software Toolkit** – Florian Sommerfeldt (Quality Expert at House of Test Switzerland) 19:00 **Zero to SELECT: Providing Databases in 10 Seconds** – Daniel Wilhelm & Marco Streich (Senior Engineer Managed Services at Nine) 19:30 Snacks & Drinks Have we aroused your interest? Then please register! We look forward to meeting you! You can also watch this event's livestream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgsaBKivvXk

Dear members of HaskellerZ I am pleased to invite you to the following guest lecture from the creator of the Elm programming language, Evan Czaplicki. Please note that it is at the OST campus in Rapperswil. Title: **Making Web Apps can be Fun!** **How to use Functional Languages at Work.** Speaker: **Evan Czaplicki** Date & Time: 03.06.2026 17h15-19h00 Place: **OST Campus at Rapperswil \| Lecture Hall 5\.002** Abstract: Typed functional languages have had success in some surprising places. From high frequency trading at Jane Street, teaching physics and engineering at Brilliant, and plenty of businesses in between. We will go through some case studies to build an intuition for why a functional language is likely (or unlikely) to succeed in a given business scenario. From there we will dive into Elm ([https://elm-lang.org](https://elm-lang.org/)), a simple functional language that runs in browsers. If we have time, we will build a little website together. You should come away from this talk with (1) the core knowledge needed to build your own functional front-end and (2) an intuition for when it is a good business idea to do so. You do not need to know functional programming to enjoy this talk. Speaker Bio: Evan is the author of the Elm ([https://elm-lang.org](https://elm-lang.org/) <[https://elm-lang.org/](https://elm-lang.org/)\>\) and Acadia \([https://acadia.engineering](https://acadia.engineering/) <[https://acadia.engineering/](https://acadia.engineering/)\>\) programming languages\. He has been developing compilers and servers in Haskell for nearly 15 years\, and has significant expertise in using low\-level techniques to get the best possible performance out of Haskell programs\. I look forward to seeing you there! Best regards, Farhad Mehta Prof. Dr. Farhad Mehta OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences Department of Computer Science \| Oberseestrasse 10 \| 8640 Rapperswil \| Switzerland \| [www.ost.ch](http://www.ost.ch/)

⚠️ [>>Ticket needed (click here)<< ](https://link.social-circle.ch/y5z5) or **[tickets.social-circle.ch](https://tickets.social-circle.ch/)** 🎉 **Pub Quiz Night** 🎉 Join us for a night full of **mind-bending questions**, **unexpected twists**, and **more laughs than right answers** (probably). Whether you're a trivia wizard or just really good at pretending you know stuff, this night’s for you! Join our whatsapp group for updates on this event: [https://link.social-circle.ch/p2q8](https://link.social-circle.ch/p2q8) 📍 **Location:** BOHO 💰 **Price:** 15.- (includes tasty snacks + a prize for the winning team 🍾) 👥 **How Teams Work:** 🔹 Got a crew? Awesome, bring your squad and show us what you've got! 🔹 Looking to mingle with singles? We’ve got you! → Think 2 girls + 2 guys = the perfect cocktail of brainpower and awkward icebreakers 🔹 Not single? No problem! We’ll still team you up with some brilliant minds and maybe a few terrible guessers for balance 🏆 **What’s in it for you?** Glory, bragging rights, and the sweet, sweet taste of Prosecco-fueled victory. 💬 **Come for the trivia, stay for the chaos.** Spots are limited, so grab your seat before your smarter friend does! 🎟️ ​P.S. Pictures might be taken during the event, if you do not want it please let the organizer know. Tickets are non-refundable. **Want more events like this? Join our WhatsApp community:** [https://link.social-circle.ch/DxeS](https://link.social-circle.ch/DxeS)

Wanna enjoy the spirit of Roland Garros and meet other adult tennis players in Zürich? Join us to watch the 1/4 Finale of Roland Garros and share a drink together 😊🍻

**If you cannot see your strategy, how do you know it is clear?** Even in creative teams, strategy is discussed, refined, and documented, yet often stays abstract. Ideas live in conversations, slides, and documents, but teams walk away with different understandings. What sounds aligned in theory often falls apart in practice. We process images much faster than text, yet most organizations still rely on bullet points to communicate strategy. The challenge is no longer developing better strategies. It is making them visible so people can actually align around them. In this interactive keynote, **Michelle Geerlings**, Country Director of Switzerland at Flatland, introduces visual thinking as a practical way to cut through complexity and build shared understanding. With a background in Strategic Design from TU Delft and experience across Sweden, Japan, and Kenya, she works at the intersection of design, facilitation, and strategy. Through co-creation and visual facilitation, she helps teams turn abstract ideas into clear, shared visuals. Join us on **June 3** as she shares practical examples of how sketches and simple frameworks help teams align faster and turn ideas into action. **💡 What will you learn?** * Why visual thinking is a skill anyone can learn, and how it changes the way you think * How co-creation builds ownership and engagement across teams * What really matters in visual thinking: structure, hierarchy, metaphor, and systems thinking over aesthetics * Why working visually leads to faster alignment than traditional documents *More about Flatland* [www.flatland.nl](http://www.flatland.nl) *Connect with Michelle* [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellegeerlings/) —— **📍 Where?** [Kulturhaus Helferei](https://maps.app.goo.gl/AJuPTcLTmihXxHyn9), near the Grossmünster in Niederdorf. \> Kirchgasse 13\, 8001 Zürich (Tram-Station Helmhaus) **📅 When?** Wednesday, June 3, 7:00 PM / 19:00 Uhr **⏰ What’s the schedule?** 6:45 PM → Doors open 7:00 PM → Keynote + Q&A 7:45 PM → Networking 🔗 **Discord** Get event reminders and connect with other members on Discord: ➡️ [discord.gg/PAyRBDhKkk](https://discord.gg/PAyRBDhKkk) —— **Who’s Visual Fields?** Visual Fields is a network of designers and creatives built for people to connect, support, and share with fellow experts. We have upcoming events in Zürich, Basel, and Luzern. [Check out upcoming events](https://www.visualfields.ch/) —— **Event policies** We have zero tolerance for discrimination or harassment. Be mindful not to make assumptions about gender, sexual orientation, or identity. Always ask for consent - for physical contact and work critique - and treat everyone and the space with respect. [All policies](https://www.joyed.com/experiences/ep) **Fine print (the friendly kind)** By joining, you agree that photos or videos taken at the event may be used by Visual Fields for promotional and communication purposes. See you there! 😇

**Registration:** Register on the Elevate Tech website to attend: https://www.elevate-tech.ch/event-details-registration/women-in-ai-from-ideation-to-driving-responsible-impact-hosted-by-six **Time and Location:** 04\. Juni 2026\, 17:30 – 21:00 SIX Convention Point, Pfingstweidstrasse 110, 8005 Zürich, Switzerland **About the event:** Join us for an inspiring evening of innovation and empowerment! The event is themed around how to turn AI ideas into real, sustainable, and governed value. It aims to guide the audience through the lifecycle of an AI solution, from the moment an idea emerges to ensuring it remains valuable, reliable, and well-governed in production. Discover how **AI is transforming industries**, as leading women in the field share their expertise and insights. Listen to engaging talks on scaling machine learning and AI-powered data access in an event that will showcase the **women driving change** in the world of AI and data science. In addition to the main event, we will host **speed-mentoring sessions** featuring senior leaders from SIX and UBS, as well as the event speakers. If you'd like to participate in these sessions, please get a mentoring session ticket as well as your event ticket. This event is a collaboration between Elevate Tech and SIX. **Agenda:** * 16:00 – 17:00 Mentoring Sessions with SIX and UBS Senior Leaders * 17:30 Opening (Julinda Gllavata) * 17:35 Welcome to SIX & Introduction to Elevate Tech * 17:40 **Jenny Chang,** Head Innovation Hub, SIX Financial Information. *From Idea to Value: Building the Right AI Solution* * 18:00 **Julinda Gllavata,** UBS: *AI in Production: Monitoring and Sustaining Value* * 18:20 **Dr. Rehana Harasgama**, Attorney-at-Law, Partner at Kellerhals Carrard. *The Architecture of Trust: Governance Frameworks for Responsible AI.* * 18:40 Q&A for everyone * 19:00 Networking Apéro Don’t miss the chance to connect and network! Registration for this event is free, with an optional donation to Elevate Tech. Register on the Elevate Tech website to attend: https://www.elevate-tech.ch/event-details-registration/women-in-ai-from-ideation-to-driving-responsible-impact-hosted-by-six Follow us on LinkedIn to receive event information early! https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevate-tech-ch

Grüezi, A partir de agora vamos ter encontros regularmente, sempre todas as primeiras quintas-feiras do mês. A ideia é se encontrar para beber algo, conhecer as outras pessoas do grupo, aproveitar para organizar outros encontros, etc... Sugestões para os próximos encontros são sempre bem vindas... Vejo vcs lá!

Coders Monthly is a regular gathering of programmers in Zurich interested in honing their craft. It takes place in Zuerich at Cafe Bar Pluesch (https://cafe-pluesch.ch) on the first Thursday of every month. For the members list, some pics and more, see the Coders Only (https://codersonly.org/events/coders-monthly) site. Hope to see you there! PS: Please join our Discord https://discord.gg/jWUZsKQvrz for any last minute announcements.

I'm really excited to announce our next Meet Up event. It will take place at Core studio in Rennweg Rennweg 12, 8001 Zurich. The is dedicated to everyone who likes the idea of exercising with the music, dancing and learning a bit of ballet. Find out how to set up the a great posture, learn about body conditioning as well as mind & body connection. Unlike at most general adult ballet classes we will show you how exercise with the precision and focus, getting great results. A great class for those that are just starting with ballet, or those who are conscious about using their body precisely and targeting correct muscle groups in order to achieve greater results. The class is structured as a unique combination of ballet exercises, Pilates, stretching and motivation. Open to all levels. You will need to bring a smile, some water and wear comfortable exercise cloths. The class will be 60 minutes which should be more than enough to get those muscles warmed up and you posturised ready for the next session. There's a small cost to cover the venue and facilities - CHF 40.- For more details about the training provider please see: https://www.balletbodysculpture.com/ballet-body-sculpture-classes-in-zurich

I'm really excited to announce our next Meet Up event. It will take place at Core studio in Rennweg Rennweg 12, 8001 Zurich. The is dedicated to everyone who likes the idea of exercising with the music, dancing and learning a bit of ballet. Find out how to set up the a great posture, learn about body conditioning as well as mind & body connection. Unlike at most general adult ballet classes we will show you how exercise with the precision and focus, getting great results. A great class for those who already have little knowledge of ballet or other forms of dance. Our classic Ballet Body Sculpture workout class, including mat exercises, ballet barre, and centre practice. Designed to sculpt and tone a perfect ballet body, as well as stretch, lengthen, and align all muscles for a great posture. You will need to bring a smile, some water and wear comfortable exercise cloths. The class will be 60 minutes which should be more than enough to get those muscles warmed up and you posturised ready for the next session. There's a small cost to cover the venue and facilities - CHF 40.- For more details about the training provider please see: https://www.balletbodysculpture.com/ballet-body-sculpture-classes-in-zurich

‼️ **IMPORTANT:** Meetup RSVPs don't count. Registration is on Luma only — **grab your spot here:** [https://luma.com/99z48ev4](https://luma.com/99z48ev4) What does it actually take to build with AI right now? 🎯 Three practitioners. A panel. Drinks after. We're back on the 4th of June at the Zalando Office in Prime Tower for an evening of high-signal talks from people who are shipping with AI — not theorizing. **On stage:** * **Ania Szostek** — Product Lead, Zalando - *Building AI-First, Not AI-Added: Lessons from Zalando Assistant* * **Cinzia Bonetta** — Founder & CEO, MaiQ *Vibe Coding Makes You Faster. But How Do You Ensure Quality?* * **Oliver Förg** — Product Owner AI Solutions Digital Commerce, Migros - *Building Chatbots in Minutes: How Migros Made GenAI Fast, Secure and Enterprise‑Ready* **Then: a panel.** The three speakers, three moderators and your questions. The conversations that usually happen in the hallway — but on stage. **Afterwards: apéro.** Drinks, snacks, and the people you actually came to meet. *** **Who shows up at GenAI 360:** product people, business strategists, decision-makers, engineers, founders, researchers, and the AI-curious from across Zurich. If you want to know what's working before it shows up on LinkedIn, this is the place to be. 😉 📍 **Location:** Zalando Office, Zurich **📆 Date:** Thursday, 4th of June 2026 🕕 **Time:** 18:00–21:00 🎟️ **Capacity is limited** — Meetup RSVPs won't get you in - register on Luma to **get your spot:** [https://luma.com/99z48ev4](https://luma.com/99z48ev4)

**Founders Running Club** (FRC) brings founders, investors, tech, creative people and startup enthusiasts together for weekly easy runs and networking. We like to be comfortable when we run and finish with coffee and conversations. Choose your pace or follow a pacer—pets, friends, family, are welcome. 🗓️ Launched in San Francisco, July 16, 2022 🌍 Now in 35+ cities 📅 Running + Networking events + Community **Join the community** [http://foundersrc.com/chats](http://foundersrc.com/chats) **Stay updated**: Instagram [http://instagram.com/foundersrc/](http://instagram.com/foundersrc/) Podcast [http://podcast.foundersrc.com/](http://podcast.foundersrc.com/) LinkedIn [http://linkedin.com/company/foundersrc/](http://linkedin.com/company/foundersrc/) Strava [http://strava.com/clubs/foundersRC](http://strava.com/clubs/foundersRC) Website [http://foundersrc.com/](http://foundersrc.com/)

QA or the Highway is a one-day, affordable, regional, professional conference featuring real-world experience and thought leadership in the QA and testing industry. This is a ticketed event please register here: https://www.qaorthehwy.com/ Featured Keynote Speakers: **Matthew-Hope Eland** **(Wizard at Leading EDJE)** \- An AI Specialist and Wizard at Leading EDJE who is known to teach software engineering\, AI\, and data science concepts in the most ridiculous ways possible\. Matt has used machine learning to settle debates over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie\, reinforcement learning to drive the behavior of digital squirrels\, data analytics to suggest improvements to his favorite TV show\, and AI agents to play board games and create an AI agent with the personality of a dog\. Matt is the author of "Data Science in \.NET with Polyglot Notebooks" and "Refactoring with C\#" as well as several LinkedIn Learning courses\. Matt helps organize the Central Ohio \.NET Developer Group\, runs several blogs and a YouTube channel\, has a Master’s of Science in Data Analytics\, and is a current Microsoft MVP in AI and \.NET\. **Tatyana Arbouzova** **(CEO at Innovate QA)** \- Tatyana Arbouzova is an engineering and business leader with a strong background in Quality Engineering across multiple industries\, including Big Tech\, Healthcare\, and Entertainment\. She has held leadership roles at world\-class companies such as Microsoft\, VMware\, Disney\, and The Pokémon Company International\, where she focused on building quality\-driven cultures and scaling teams to deliver high\-impact products\. With decades of experience\, Tatyana has helped organizations transform their quality practices so teams can deliver software efficiently\, confidently\, and with measurable business outcomes\. Today\, Tatyana advises software companies on adopting AI to optimize quality practices and improve how software is delivered at scale\. She is also a passionate community builder and the founder of Innovate QA\, a thriving Seattle\-based community and conference for quality professionals\.

# **Saturday, June 20, 2026** **Beginners’ Session 1:30 to 2:00 PM** **Dancing 2:00 to 4:30 PM** **Band: Gem City Revelers** **Caller: David Mould** **You are invited to join us for dinner at Olive and Lime (in the church’s back parking lot) after the dance.** **Location: First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Road, Columbus, OH 43214.** **Cost is $10 for adults, $5 ages 12-25.** **New to dancing? A beginners’ session, from 1:30 to 2:00 PM, will get you started. You will learn some basic figures that will be repeated in the afternoon’s dances. All dances will be taught and no partner is needed. Dancing is from 2:00 to 4:30 PM.** **Please bring your own refillable water bottle.** **All Soles Dance upcoming dance dates are, as follows:** **July 25, 2026–Summer Potluck and Dance** **No August Dance** **September 26, 2026** **October 17, 2026** **November 21, 2026** **December 19, 2026** **Visit our website at: https://firstuucolumbus.org/connection/all-soles/**

Topic to be announced. **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

Hey Everyone! Let's meet at Belle's Bread Bakery and Cafe. There is lots of free parking and easy access to the cafe and many shops and restaurants as well. This is a great way to meet new and old friends while chatting about life and practicing English language speaking skills. All are welcome and encouraged to join us anytime between 11am and 1pm. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

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.

The Alliance is part of the Greater Central Ohio Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. We are an all-voices chorus dedicated to providing an inclusive environment for all those who love to sing, regardless of their race, gender identity, sexual orientation or musical background. The Alliance is the first and only all-voices barbershop chorus in Central Ohio. **Who:** Anyone with a passion for singing at a high level. Previous barbershop chorus/quartet experience not required. **When:** The Alliance rehearses weekly on Thursdays from 7pm-10pm. **Where:** Lord Of Life Lutheran Church: 2480 W Dublin Granville Rd, Columbus, OH 43235 To become a full member of The Alliance, we welcome you to start by visiting us for a few rehearsals to experience the group and sing with us! Then, you may begin the 2-part audition process for membership: the assessement, and audition. We strive to make our auditions as stress-free as possible to help you let your best singing self shine.

We are bringing Microsoft Build sessions to Columbus Ohio! The Central Ohio Azure Meetup and Central Ohio .NET Developer's Group (CONDG) are coming together to bring some of the labs and breakouts from Microsoft Build to your backyard. In this free, 1 day event, you are going to Build stuff with us! And yes, there will be free food. So please RSVP for a head count!