New Technology

We are excited to announce our next **Utrecht JUG** meetup on **June 3rd** hosted by **Keylane**. Join us for an evening full of creativity, innovation, and practical insights from the Java and Spring ecosystem. As always, you can expect inspiring talks, great conversations, food, drinks, and plenty of opportunities to connect with fellow developers. We start the evening with food and drinks before diving into our first session, where **Josh Long** and **James Ward** take the stage with *Bootiful Spring AI*. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming part of modern software development, and this session explores how Spring AI makes integrating AI capabilities into Java applications approachable and powerful. Expect an engaging introduction to modern AI concepts and a practical look at how the Spring ecosystem embraces the next wave of AI engineering. After the break, **Alexander Chatzizacharias** takes Spring Boot far beyond its intended use case. In a talk that combines humor, curiosity, and technical depth, Alexander explores what happens when you use Spring Boot as the foundation for real-time game development. From IoC containers to event listeners, this session offers a fresh and entertaining perspective on the Spring ecosystem and the joy of learning through experimentation. Please join us and RSVP! Because of the limited number of seats, please keep your RSVP up-to-date, so we can welcome someone else if you can't make it. **Timeschedule** 17:00 Doors open 18:00 Food & Drinks 18:45 Bootiful Spring AI by Josh Long & James Ward 19:45 Break 20:00 Let's use Spring Boot to build games, because why not? by Alexander Chatzizacharias 21:00 Drinks **Giveaway** 1 JetBrains licence **Talks** **Let's use Spring Boot to build games, because why not?** If you work on enterprise grade microservices on the JVM, you have undoubtedly heard of Spring Boot. Most developers see it as the reliable backbone of enterprise software. It is stable, predictable, and safe. But what if we took all those conventions and threw them out the window? What if we repurposed the IoC container, event listeners, and bean lifecycles to reveal what Spring Boot was always meant to be? A game development framework! Join Alexander as he attempts to deconstruct and demystify the Spring ecosystem by forcing it to do things it was definitely not designed for. We are not talking about simple text adventures here. We are talking about building complex, real-time games like a Terraria clone or a souls-like RPG, all powered by the same annotations you use for your day job. This session explores what happens when you learn technologies by breaking them. Whether you are a Spring veteran or a newcomer, this talk offers a fresh perspective on the tools you use every day. You will leave with a better understanding of how Spring Boot works under the hood and the inspiration to build something completely unnecessary, just because you can. Come for the absurdity, stay for the laughs, and see what happens when you strip away conventions and best practices in the pursuit of a wild idea. **Bootiful Spring AI** The age of artificial intelligence (because the search for regular intelligence hasn't gone well..) is nearly at hand, and it's everywhere! But is it in your application? It should be. AI is about integration, and here the Java and Spring communities come second to nobody. In this talk, we'll demystify the concepts of modern day Artificial Intelligence and look at its integration with the white hot new Spring AI project, a framework that builds on the richness of Spring Boot to extend them to the wide world of AI engineering. **Speakers** **Alexander Chatzizacharias** Alexander, a 35-year-old Software Engineer at JDriven, holds dual Dutch and Greek nationality. He earned his master’s degree in Game Studies from the University of Amsterdam, where he discovered his passion for gamification and software engineering. Alexander aims to bridge the gap between game development and software engineering, believing that both industries have much to learn from each other. He is dedicated to integrating technologies and methodologies from both fields. Additionally, he enjoys experimenting with new technologies and cutting-edge SDKs. **Josh Long** Josh (@starbuxman) has been the first Spring Developer Advocate since 2010. Josh is a Java Champion, author of seven books (including Reactive Spring), creator of numerous video trainings, open-source contributor, YouTuber, and podcaster. He is a well-known voice in the Spring community and a passionate advocate for Java developers around the world. **James Ward** Professional software developer since 1997, with much of that time spent helping developers build software that doesn't suck. A typed pure functional programming zealot who often compromises on his ideals to just get stuff done. Currently a Developer Advocate for AWS.

Hi all! 🙂 On Wednesdays we welcome you to practice languages! If you want to practice a specific (uncommon) language, please send us a message so we can find some conversation partners for you on our mailing list! We hope to see you in Café Marktzicht! In the last year we had tables for the following languages: * Dutch * English * French * Italian * Spanish * Turkish\* * German\* * Portuguese\* * Danish\* * Norwegian\* * Russian\* * Arabic\* * Chinese\*\* * Japanese\*\* * Indonesian\*\* * * Most likely, but not every week present. \*\* - Rather rare ;-) If your language is not in this list, please let us know! We have a large database of Language Cafe visitors speaking 56 different languages! We might be able to connect you with a person that does speak the language you want to practice. In case you are not in our database yet, please use this form: http://goo.gl/forms/oSCn9Dn8m8

Are you an **expat** in **Utrecht** and do you want to **learn how to swim?** Look no further! Dive into **personalized swimming lessons** with **Your Personal Swim Coach**. Whether you’re a beginner looking to learn the basics or an advanced swimmer seeking to refine your technique, our expert coaches offer **tailored sessions** that fit your needs. **De Kwakel** is a great pool close to the city center, has free parking, and is easy to reach by bus. It's an **amazing learning environment!** **Don't wait any longer:** **[Sign up for a Try Out Lesson!](https://www.your-personal-swim-coach.nl/product/try-out-adult-swimming-lesson/)** Want to learn more first? Go to our **[website](https://www.your-personal-swim-coach.nl/)** or **[schedule a call!](https://calendly.com/ypsc/new-meeting)**

\# This meetup is around a third\-party organizer\, Focus Filmtheater\. You can either purchase your ticket online or right before the session\. **Seats are numbered**. # **Title**: Treat Her Like a Lady **Language**: Dutch **Subtitles**: English **Length**: 110 min **Director**: Paloma Aguilera Valdebenito **More info**: https://www.focusarnhem.nl/agenda/english-subs-treat-her-like-a-lady/ **Ticket link**: https://www.focusarnhem.nl/tickets/144301/ **Synopsis:** When single mother Sandra (radiant performance from Nienke Plas) is evicted from her apartment due to fraud, she convinces her daughters that their emergency shelter is a holiday hotel. Sandra is just about keeping it together. Living with her two daughters and partner in a modest but colourful Amsterdam apartment, she makes ends (mostly) meet through cleaning jobs and welfare payments. But when she’s faced with a rapidly mounting series of hurdles – unpaid bills, an accusation of fraud, the revelation that her partner has been cheating – Sandra must draw upon all her determination and creativity to keep her daughters out of social care. An effervescent second feature from Dutch filmmaker and writer Paloma Aguilera Valdebenito (Out of Love, IFFR 2016), this jewel of a film offers poignant criticism of a broken social system with all the vibrancy and optimism of a musical. Nienke Plas is masterful in her central performance as the matriarch, whose fortitude, boldness and charisma bring to mind the best of Almodóvar’s heroines. Featuring a gorgeously saturated colour palette and a fabulous needle-drop soundtrack, Treat Her Like a Lady demonstrates how warmth and resilience can transform the most desperate situations into fresh opportunities for laughter and light. **How it works**: I will be at Focus around 18:30, where we can meet before the movie starts. You can message me to find us. Screening starts at 19:00. After the movie, we can have a drink together. Hope to see you soon!

Food connects us, comforts us, and tells stories about who we are. ❤️ Join the Being Well Kitchen's Healthy and Tasty Planet Cooking Club, a project of The Being Well Collective, for a special evening: "Comfort Food for Wellbeing"! This unique event blends intimate storytelling with joyful communal cooking. We'll begin with a sharing circle ice breaker (Bring your own comfort food ingredient), then everyone will join our cooks to help in the kitchen; Together, we'll prepare delicious, tasty, Healthy, and Sustainable comfort food sides and desserts, learning and laughing along the way. 🥣🥖🥗 After nourishing our bodies, we will nourish our minds and spirits with stories, exploring personal stories of how food has been a source of comfort, resilience, and support for wellbeing and mental health. We will end the evening with a short concluding remark from a nutrition and mental health expert. We will prepare free main dishes for everyone. This event is part of the Mental Health Week activities. The event is in partnership with Missie Mentaal and the Alles is Gezondheid team. Thanks for our partner nutrition chef and wellbeing coach Margaux Raynaud for volunteering her time. https://missiementaal.com/ https://margauxraynaud.com/ **Why join?** ✅ Connect deeply with others in your community. ✅ Share your own experiences (only if you feel comfortable!). ✅ Discover the powerful link between food, mood, and mental wellness. ✅ Enjoy a delicious, comforting meal made together. **Event Details:** * **Date:** Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026 * **Time:** 18:00 - 22:00 * **Location:** De Speler Buurcentrum, Thorbeckelaan 18, 3551 BR Utrecht * **Registration:** Event is free - register in the Google form below. Bring in your comfort food/ingredient. We will need the icebreaker, and for cooking :) **Spaces are limited, sign up soon!** * **Agenda:** * 18:00 Walk in and welcome * 18:15 Ice breaker (Remember to bring your comfort ingredient) * 18:30 Improvisation cooking sides and desserts together in groups (Remember to bring your comfort ingredient) * 20:00 Eating together and sharing personal food stories * 21:30 Concluding remarks from expert on food and mental health: Margaux Raynaud * 21:45 Closing and cleaning Come fill your cup (and your bowl!) with connection and comfort. We can't wait to share this experience with you! Fill the form to secure your place! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHgO5iL9FGcMRGEXz-LhLU2SrB8De8-2gM_fZ4UcUgxCsW5A/viewform?usp=publish-editor **#ComfortFoodWellbeing #Utrecht #FoodAndMood #MentalWellness #CommunityKitchen #StorytellingEvent #BeingWellCollective #CookingTogether #HealthyTastyPlanet #WellbeingEvent #UtrechtCommunity #ShareYourStory**

# **Agentic AI in Practice: Real Stories, Real Results** AI agents are moving from hype to real-world use, but what does that actually look like in practice? Join us for our next Brighton AI meetup on **Wednesday 3rd June, 6pm to 8pm**, where we’ll be exploring how people are using agentic AI in real life, not just in theory. This session will focus on practical examples, useful lessons and honest reflections from people putting AI agents to work. We’ll look at how agentic AI is being used to improve workflows, boost productivity, support teams, speed up research, manage tasks, make decisions and get projects moving. ## **Speaker line-up so far** We’ll be joined by: * **Amber**, who will share how she’s using agents to support **personal productivity** * **Thomas Mann from Clawbench**, who will talk about building an **agentic AI start-up** and how to optimise your agents * **Antony from Brilliant Noise**, who will share how agents are being put into **client teams**, and potentially how they’re being used within their own company too Expect short, accessible talks followed by a panel discussion on what’s working, what’s still tricky, and what others can learn from early experiments and real-world implementation. You don’t need a technical background to join. This session is for anyone curious about how AI agents are being used now, what they can help with, and what they might mean for the way we work next.

Work changes fast. Last week we were all about Agile and today AI is changing how we get things done. It’s important to keep refining our practices to boost team collaboration and effectiveness. Rather than rolling out another big transformation, Atlassian has decided to take a test- driven approach to experimenting with new ways of working, letting teams try things out in a safe space. We’ll talk about how to design and run work experiments, check the results, make any necessary tweaks, and share what works with the rest of the organization. Sven will show how this approach has been applied to improve meetings, make decision-making clearer, and create better feedback loops for Atlassian software teams. And hey, not every experiment is a win; He will also share some of their flops. Focusing on evidence instead of just opinions can build a culture that embraces change and innovation. So, let’s improve the way we work—one experiment at a time. **Schedule**: 17:00 Doors open 18:00 Dinner 19:00 Start presentation 20.00 Drinks

Do you love books, or have you been wanting to get into reading more? Then this might just be the event for you! At this book swap everyone brings one or a few books they no longer need. We put them all out on the table and from there it's up to you, see if something catches your eye and take home whatever you'd like to read next. Any language is welcome, so bring whatever is sitting on your shelf! At the end of the meetup you can take back the books you brought that weren't picked up, or leave them with the organiser who will donate them to a local secondhand shop. This event is organised on a weekday evening as a nice little break in the middle of the week to meet fellow book lovers over a good drink. ⚠️ If you're unsure whether you can make it, please free up your spot for someone else.

Iedereen is welkom op onze open Freedom Friday Bitcoin Turnhout Meetup @ het super gezellige café Sint Pieter - Grote Markt 60, 2300 Turnhout Geen presentaties. Geen workshops. Gewoon 1 onderwerp: bitcoin. **Connect with Like-Minded Minds** Engage with the Bitcoin community and mingle with fellow enthusiasts. This meetup is your chance to discuss the future, share ideas, and network with pioneers in the decentralized money world. 🏢 **Central Location**: café Sint Pieter ligt perfect centraal, een ruim cafe op de grote markt van Turnhout. Mark your calendars and spread the word!

'HOMEGOING' by Yaa Gyasi 'Two sisters with two very different destinies. One sold into slavery; one a slave trader's wife. The consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow. Taking us from the Gold Coast of Africa to the cotton-picking plantations of Mississippi; from the missionary schools of Ghana to the dive bars of Harlem, spanning three continents and seven generations, Yaa Gyasi has written a miraculous novel - the intimate, gripping story of a brilliantly vivid cast of characters and through their lives the very story of America itself. Epic in its canvas and intimate in its portraits, Homegoing is a searing and profound debut from a masterly new writer.' ***Please read the book and join us for a lively discussion (in English) about the contents during our afternoon book club meeting.*** \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **PLEASE NOTE:** This is an IN-PERSON event in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Please cancel your attendance in advance if you are unable to join, so that those on the waitlist can participate. Looking forward to seeing you all IN REAL LIFE then! Best regards, Sandra

⚠️ **IMPORTANT: You must sign up and buy a ticket here to attend:** [https://groupvibe.com/](https://groupvibe.com/) **Join the Utrecht Brunch Club and make new friends!** Each meetup brings together 4–6 people for casual conversations over Brunch. We use the Groupvibe platform to facilitate the meetup and ensure everyone’s a good fit. 👉 **To attend, you’ll need to complete registration via this link:** [https://groupvibe.com/](https://groupvibe.com/) We’ll share the exact location of the upcoming meetup the night before only if you have bought a ticket or membership plan. **Why this works:** \* Smaller groups make real conversations easier. \* Discover new restaurants in your city, together. \* Curated brunch venues with good food and vibe. \* If you hit it off with your group, there’s plenty of time to hang out afterwards. **Note:** RSVPs on Meetup don’t reflect total attendance. Many attendees register directly via our website. The event on [Meetup.com](http://meetup.com/) is only a placeholder. This meetup is organized by Groupvibe, a small team passionate about helping people form meaningful friendships offline.

* We **start at 11:10** in front of Hotel Restaurant de Loenermark: Eerbeekseweg 4, Loenen https://maps.app.goo.gl/4W6e27ij3aqjQnFg6 * Length: \~16 km (4 - 5 hr hiking) * What to bring: lunch, water, snack. * For whom: As always, sporty folks that like to combine social event with being active in nature. **Getting there by bus:** * Bus stop: Loenen, Bruisbeek https://maps.app.goo.gl/863vGKfe8nqBvZfw7 **Getting there by Car:** * Free parking opposite of Groenendaalseweg 15, Loenen https://maps.app.goo.gl/W6213M7LwEQv8PMg6 or Free parking in the streets, close to: Eerbeekseweg 4, Loenen https://maps.app.goo.gl/awWbkpVZJVzxmX859 **Note:** * Please **pay a small fee (3 euro)** to help us cover the (increased) yearly Meetup contribution of 240 euro. We'll ask you to pay before the start of the hike (can be on the day itself). No refunds, but in the unlikely event that hike would be cancelled and you already paid, you don't need to pay for your next hike. Thank you so much! Use the **safe link** here: https://betaalverzoek.rabobank.nl/betaalverzoek/?id=eSkpxZf7TymaoFsvJkBCKQ * Keep in mind that the hike can be canceled when the weather is very bad (**always check the event before you go**). * If you RSVP 'yes' we expect you to show-up. Please do not cancel less than 24 hours before the hike. **No-shows** will lead to your removal from the group. Thanks for the understanding. * By signing up for this event, you agree to release the organizers from any responsibility and liability in all claims. As the participation is strictly voluntary and you freely choose to join, it is the responsibility of individuals participating to ensure that they are fit enough and have adequate coverage to protect themselves.

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 Behavior Gap: Where Products Win or Lose** Teams today have more data than ever, and yet many still struggle to understand why customers adopt, engage with, or abandon their products. Teams sprint, ship faster, and chase more signals… all while metrics stall and confidence drops. The missing piece isn’t more data. It’s often the behavioral insight between the metrics, explaining why the numbers move in the first place. Dashboards can tell you what customers did, but understanding why they did it (and how to influence what they do next) requires a deeper blend of insights. This session is about closing that gap. Drawing from real-world experience designing and scaling products as [ZoCo Design](https://zocodesign.com/)’s CEO, [Lacey](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceypicazo/) will share how to cut through the noise and identify the insights that actually change behavior—moving people, and moving metrics. You’ll learn: * Why understanding customer behavior is a quant and qual challenge * How to spot the signals that actually predict behavior change * Where AI accelerates insight, and where it creates distraction * How to get meaningfully closer to customers, without adding more tools This talk reframes how to evaluate performance and identify what levers actually improve it, helping your team to make smarter bets with greater confidence. Every meaningful outcome is driven by behavior change. And when you know how to design for behavior, you stop guessing, and start building things that work. **About Our Speaker** [Lacey Picazo](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceypicazo/) is the Founder and CEO of ZoCo, a healthcare product studio that turns complex, high-stakes ideas into products that drive real-world adoption. She partners with healthcare organizations to uncover critical care delivery insights, focus product strategy through behavior design, and build solutions that patients and providers actually use. Thanks to our 2026 sponsors: [Clarivoy](https://www.clarivoy.com), [What Box Consulting Group](https://www.whatboxconsultinggroup.com), [Conductrics](https://www.conductrics.com), and [Piwik PRO](https://piwik.pro) More info at [cbusdaw.com](https://cbusdaw.com)

Christians in Tech is a community at the intersection of faith and technology. Our meetups are designed to spark meaningful conversations, promote knowledge sharing, and encourage growth—both in your career and your spiritual walk with God. Whether you're an experienced professional or just starting your tech journey, CIT welcomes you. Our Website [https://linktr.ee/citcbus](https://linktr.ee/citcbus) Sponsors and Partners * Improving (Venue Sponsor) * Bethel World Prayer Center (Fiscal Sponsor) * Fruits & Roots (Coffee Partner)

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\.

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

## 🤝 Host Information A co-hosted event by ProductTank Columbus & Women in Product Columbus 💡 About the Workshop AI adoption is stalling across organizations — not because of a lack of motivation or tools, but because it's fundamentally a behavior design challenge. This hands-on workshop applies proven Behavior Design models and methods to help you move from a vague organizational wish to boost AI adoption to 3-5 concrete, testable interventions you can act on starting tomorrow. Whether you're a product manager, on a product team, or just someone trying to get AI to actually stick at work, you'll leave with a clear picture of what's worth focusing on, what to ignore, and how to drive real, sustained adoption — no guesswork required. 🛠️ What to Bring Laptop: Fully charged and ready to go. AI Assistant: Have your favorite AI assistant pulled up. (Dom will be using Claude, but feel free to use whichever assistant you prefer!) 🍕 Logistics & Perks Food & Drink: Pizza and drinks provided! Parking: Plenty of free spaces available on-site. ###

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.