Extreme Programming

Improvisation - An Introduction to Status! **[CLICK HERE TO BOOK](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/applied-improvisation-an-introduction-to-status-tickets-1983156873594)** This two-hour practical workshop offers a focused introduction to status as articulated by Keith Johnstone, one of the most influential figures in modern improvisation and theatre training. Status, in Johnstone’s framework, is not about social class or fixed hierarchy. It is the constantly shifting set of behavioural signals—physical, vocal and psychological—that shape relationships moment by moment. In this session, participants will explore how status transactions operate beneath everyday interactions, influencing confidence, tension, humour, authority and connection. Through structured exercises, you will investigate how subtle changes in posture, eye contact, tempo, gesture and language alter perceived status. Designed for everyone interested in human interaction, the workshop combines experiential practice with concise analytical reflection. Expect a relaxed atmosphere, plenty of laughter, and practical takeaways. If you’re curious, open-minded, and up for trying something different, you’ll fit right in. **No experience needed. Just bring yourself.** **COST:** £15.00 (inclusive of Eventbrite Booking Fee) **[CLICK HERE TO BOOK](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/applied-improvisation-an-introduction-to-status-tickets-1983156873594)** **VENUE:** Old Diorama Arts Centre, 201 Drummond Street, Regent's Place, London, NW1 3FE **NEAREST STATIONS**: Warren Street, Euston Square, Great Portland Street This session will be led by **Dave Bourn** founder of Sprout Ideas who teaches improvisation, devising, and creativity at University & Drama Schools.

Andrew Fray is back to present his talk on "Productive and Pragmatic Prototype Programming". The Game Dev Group is a chilled, friendly place for anyone interested in game development to meet, learn and collaborate together. **The Speaker for this event is Andrew Fray.** Andrew is an automated testing consultant, speaker and developer with a background in programming for studios like SEGA, Codemasters, SpryFox and Roll7. He will be sharing high-level insights into programming with prototyping in mind and how it differs from programming for production. Structure: 6:30PM - Doors Open - Bar Snacks, Drinks, Networking/ Chatting 7:00PM - Introduction and Talk Begins 8:30PM - Talk Finishes, More Chatting, More Snacks, More Drinks 9:30PM - Last Orders Please let your game dev friends and colleagues know about this group too. We hope to build it into a great resource for the community over the coming months and years. 1 Mill Street is the incredible home of TheGDG, a place designed to blur the lines between work and play. For more information about the co-working facilities, podcast studio or event space, check out their website. Maverick Games is a UK-based independent video game studio, focused on creating premium open-world AAA titles for consoles and PC. The studio champions a developer-first culture that encourages creativity, bold ideas, and risk-taking to craft innovative gaming experiences. Playground Games are an award-winning studio based in the heart of Leamington Spa. They have built one of the biggest franchises on Xbox with Forza Horizon, and are currently building one of the most highly anticipated games of the decade: Fable. They are recruiting across both teams, so check their website to see if there is a role for you! Code Wizards Group – Code Wizards and Multiplayer Wizards – help studios build and run games that players love. Their company specialises in video game consulting services for backend elements, powering up gaming projects with expert gametech, esports-tech, and LiveOps services for game dev professionals and studios. Rebellion is an independent video games studio that also produces books, comics, TV, Film, board games, etc. They make great games such as the genre-defining Sniper Elite series and Zombie Army, and before 2010 have worked on multiple amazing external projects including the likes of Aliens vs Predator and Star Wars Battlefront. Creare Capital is a financial platform dedicated to empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and freelancers in the creative industries by connecting them with tailored grants, loans, and investment opportunities. Their mission is to bridge the gap between finance and creativity, offering inclusive, flexible funding solutions that help creative businesses grow and thrive. Sorcery.gg is a jobs platform built by game devs, for game devs. The platform is one of the biggest in the industry, with over 15,000 roles listed. Sign up for an account and start your hunt. Black Cat Entertainment is an indie studio focused on supporting junior game devs get their chance in the industry. In order to show appropriate respect to the organisers, speakers, and your fellow community members, please ensure you attend if you RSVP! See you there! A disclaimer: This event is intended for an audience of people aged 18+ and alcohol will be present. Anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

## DevOps Society Meetup with EDF **Location:** EDF UK, Nova North, 11 Bressenden Place London, SW1E 5BY **Time:** Doors open at 6PM **Drinks, snacks, talks, and networking.** We’re excited to invite you to our first in-person **DevOps Society Meetup** of 2026, proudly **sponsored by EDF**. This event brings together the DevOps, SRE, and cloud engineering community for an evening of honest conversations, real-world lessons, and networking with people who’ve actually done the work. A huge thank you to **EDF** for sponsoring the event and for providing the venue, refreshments, and support for our community. *** ## ️ Format of the Meetup: 6:00pm – 6:30pm — Networking on arrival, with food and drinks provided by EDF 6:30pm – 7:10pm — First speaker + Q&A 7:10pm – 7:20pm — Break for refreshments and networking 7:20pm – 8:00pm — Second speaker + Q&A 8:00pm onwards — More networking at the venue, then at a nearby pub. *Timings can vary slightly depending on Q&A.* *** We’re delighted to welcome **two fantastic speakers** to this EDF-hosted DevOps Society meetup. *** ## SPEAKER 1 – Steve Bowerman **Principal Software Engineer, EDF** ### Bio Steve is a technologist and thought leader with **25 years in the industry**, including **20 years in the utilities sector**, spanning startups through to large, established enterprises. Since stepping into the role of **Principal Software Engineer at EDF**, Steve has played a key role in reviewing and overhauling EDF’s approach to software engineering - bringing critical capabilities in-house and aligning teams with modern **DevOps and SRE principles**. His work focuses on long-term, sustainable transformation rather than tooling churn, helping large organisations evolve how they build, operate, and scale software. *** ### Talk Title **Rebooting the Enterprise: The DevOps Way** ### Talk Intro Building a DevOps mindset in a startup is relatively easy - it’s often the default DNA of modern engineering teams. Doing the same in a **large enterprise** is a very different challenge. In this talk, Steve will take you through **five years of transformation in 15 minutes**. He’ll share how EDF approached enterprise DevOps adoption, where things failed (and why), what ultimately worked, and the lessons learned along the way. Spoiler: **technology was the least difficult part**. This session is ideal for engineers, platform teams, and leaders working in complex organisations who want a realistic view of what enterprise DevOps transformation actually looks like. *** ## SPEAKER 2 – Matteo Emili **Director of Software Engineering, Avanade** **Bio** Matteo Emili is a Director of Software Engineering at Avanade UK and Ireland, leading the talent in Software Engineering and always looking at new ways of applying technology to solve business problems. He is a passionate Agile advocate and a technologist at heart, a Cloud Architect who is always driven by using technology as a vehicle for change and continuous improvement. A Microsoft MVP since 2010 (currently in the Azure DevOps and GitHub category), he enjoys sharing back as much as he can with the worldwide technical communities – especially within Agile and DevOps. He has founded several User Groups around Europe and he is a regular speaker at meetups and conferences. ### Talk Title **From Vibe Coding to Agentic Engineering: A Step-by-Step Guide** ### Talk Bio AI-augmented software development is evolving. What started as *“vibe coding”* \- intuition\-driven\, creative experimentation with AI \- is now moving toward **agentic engineering**, a more governed and intentional approach where AI agents actively collaborate with developers while enforcing best practices and organisational standards. In this session, Matteo explores how teams can transition from unstructured AI experimentation to **agentic workflows** that balance creativity with accountability. You’ll learn how agentic engineering enables: * Faster development without sacrificing quality * Built-in governance and standards * AI collaboration that scales across teams * A practical path from experimentation to production-ready AI-assisted engineering This talk offers a clear, pragmatic view of how AI will reshape software engineering in the years ahead - and how teams can adopt it responsibly. *** Please **RSVP to secure your spot**. Spaces are limited and available on a **first-come, first-served** basis. We’re really looking forward to getting the community back together again for our first event of 2026. [Our slack community](https://join.slack.com/t/devopssociety/shared_invite/zt-3mswuylw7-MhJg1IZ70rX_GpJTluG2Cw) \- join in and introduce yourself\! [Our Youtube Channel ](https://www.youtube.com/@DevOpsSociety)for regular podcasts with DevOps professionals + more DevOps content. [Website](https://thedevopsociety.com/) [To partner with us](https://thedevopsociety.com/partnerships) EDF website - https://www.edfenergy.com/ Thanks! From the DevOps Society team [Ben](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benwhitmarsh/) and [Vytas](https://www.linkedin.com/in/vytasdevops/)

## Applied Improvisation - An Introduction to Status! [CLICK HERE TO BOOK](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/applied-improvisation-an-introduction-to-status-tickets-1983156873594) This two-hour practical workshop offers a focused introduction to status as articulated by Keith Johnstone, one of the most influential figures in modern improvisation and theatre training. Status, in Johnstone’s framework, is not about social class or fixed hierarchy. It is the constantly shifting set of behavioural signals—physical, vocal and psychological—that shape relationships moment by moment. In this session, participants will explore how status transactions operate beneath everyday interactions, influencing confidence, tension, humour, authority and connection. Through structured exercises, you will investigate how subtle changes in posture, eye contact, tempo, gesture and language alter perceived status. Designed for everyone interested in human interaction, the workshop combines experiential practice with concise analytical reflection. Expect a relaxed atmosphere, plenty of laughter, and practical takeaways. If you’re curious, open-minded, and up for trying something different, you’ll fit right in. **No experience needed. Just bring yourself.** **COST:** £15.00 (inclusive of Eventbrite Booking Fee) [CLICK HERE TO BOOK](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/applied-improvisation-an-introduction-to-status-tickets-1983156873594) **VENUE:** Old Diorama Arts Centre, 201 Drummond Street, Regent's Place, London, NW1 3FE **NEAREST STATIONS**: Warren Street, Euston Square, Great Portland Street This session will be led by **Dave Bourn** founder of Sprout Ideas who teaches improvisation, devising, and creativity at University & Drama Schools.

Join us for a new Guix Social in-person meetup. Plenty of Guix, Guile, and Free Software hacking and chit-chat. ISN'T THIS EXCITING?!?! :) Bring your own device if you fancy demoing something or for some hands-on hacking. Other than that, we aren't planning any talk, only a friendly get-together in front of a drink. **Venue** Reckon Digital 20 Farringdon Street London EC4A 4AB Please RSVP by 3pm on the day, as attendees' names will have to be communicated to the building's reception by that time. **Code of conduct** We, Guix Social's organisers, intend to create an open, friendly, and safe environment where people from the most diverse backgrounds can get together, learn about, teach, and discuss Guix and related topics in a welcoming and constructive way. To this end, Guix Social adheres to the Guix project's official [Code of Conduct](https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/guix.git/tree/CODE-OF-CONDUCT). Please make sure you're familiar with the document and that you share its principles, before attending our events. Should you - at any time before, during, or after one of our events - want to raise an issue or discuss any CoC-related topic, please do not hesitate to reach out to the organisers at the contacts below. \- Arun Isaac\, arunisaac@systemreboot\.net \- Fabio Natali\, me@fabionatali\.com \- Steve George\, steve@futurile\.net **About** Guix Social has no official ties with the Guix project. We commit to promote the project and to always operate with the best intentions; any mistake that we might make is due to us, Guix Social, not the Guix project.

Join startup founders, tech entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals in business, finance and tech for an **evening of business networking in the elegant Sycamore Bar at the 5-star Middle Eight Hotel, Covent Garden.** \*\* Note re Contactless Cards\*\* 
Free RSVP gives entry only - the contactless business card is not included.
To receive a contactless networking card, please book a paid ticket when available. **This informal yet refined business mixer** is the perfect opportunity to exchange ideas, spark collaborations, and build meaningful business connections that go beyond LinkedIn. \*\* Dress Code\*\*
 As this is a 5-star hotel, smart or business attire is required. Please avoid casual wear, hoodies, or sportswear. **What to Expect** ✅ Relaxed, premium networking environment - no stage or speeches, just natural conversations with inspiring professionals.
 ✅ Mix of industries - startups, tech, finance and business. ✅ Guest list of max 40 attendees to encourage genuine connections as opposed to impersonal crowded conferences. **Why Attend** • Expand your network with startup founders, tech entrepreneurs, business owners and senior professionals in business, finance and tech from London and beyond.
 • Share insights and opportunities in tech, business growth, and digital innovation.
 • Experience luxury yet relaxed networking in one of Covent Garden’s most sophisticated venues. **Venue** Sycamore Bar, Middle Eight Hotel
A refined, design-led bar inside the 5-star Middle Eight Hotel.
Located in the heart of Covent Garden, within walking distance of Holborn, Covent Garden, and Tottenham Court Road stations. **Important Info** • Ages: 18+ (ID required for bar purchases)
 • Photography Notice: The event may be filmed or photographed for promotional use by [CineEye (audiovisual production company in London)
](www.cineeye.co.uk) • Dress Code: Smart/business attire only (see above). • Contactless Cards: Free RSVP does not include contactless business card (see above). **Join Us** Step into an evening where business meets elegance - designed for founders, innovators, and professionals who value meaningful business conversations. **Limited to 40 spots - reserve yours today!**

**Please register on [Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ljc-meetup-at-capital-one-tickets-1981939102207) to join this event.** **About this event** LJC Meet-ups is a new series of events, aimed at giving all Community members an opportunity to present at an LJC event. Join us on 26th February 2026 for a London Java Community meetup hosted at Capital One. This event brings together practitioners exploring what it means to build modern, cloud‑native platforms and work effectively with AI‑powered development tools. As cloud adoption matures and AI coding agents become embedded in engineering workflows, this evening focuses on two critical themes: architecting for cloud‑native efficiency and leveraging AI agents more effectively in real‑world development. **Talk 1 – Tom Clifford‑Clarke, Lead Software Development Engineer at Capital One** *Keeping our heads in the cloud, using AI agents on the ground* Many organisations operate entirely in the cloud — but far fewer are truly cloud‑native. As architectures evolve and AI becomes a core concern, the gap between “running in the cloud” and “optimising for it” becomes increasingly costly. Tom explores why robust architectural patterns and standards are non‑negotiable today. Drawing on Capital One’s journey, he’ll cover practical approaches to Event‑Driven Architecture, serverless adoption, and service cataloguing strategies that unlock scalability, efficiency, and AI readiness — while improving the developer experience. **Talk 2 – Steve Poole, Community Director at LJC** *AI-Assisted Development and the New Risk Surface* AI-assisted coding is now a standard part of development. It accelerates delivery and reduces friction, but it also changes how risk enters our codebases. AI models replicate patterns at scale, including insecure defaults, outdated practices, and subtle flaws. In some cases, attackers can influence public training data or open-source projects, allowing weaknesses to spread quietly through tools and libraries developers trust. This talk looks at how AI-generated code fits into the modern software supply chain, and how speed, automation, and trust can be exploited. We'll examine how vulnerabilities slip past reviews, why unvetted AI output can bypass safeguards, and what these failures look like in real systems. With real-world examples, we'll focus on practical ways to review, test, and integrate AI-generated code responsibly. Strengthening your workflow instead of undermining it. AI isn't the problem. Unexamined automation is. The goal is not fear, but sharper judgment about when AI is helping, and when it needs a closer look. **Speaker Bios** **Tom Clifford‑Clarke** Lead Software Development Engineer at Capital One. Tom’s background spans large‑scale corporate software, end‑user products, and custom delivery tooling. He now focuses on cloud productivity engineering — improving developer experience and enabling teams to build high‑quality software at a sustainable pace. LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tbc2/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tbc2/) **Steve Poole** Community Director for the London Java Community. Steve is a Developer Advocate, DevOps practitioner and a long time Java developer, leader and evangelist. He’s been working on Java SDKs and JVMs since Java was less than one year old. Linkedin: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/noregressions/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/noregressions/) Huge thanks to our friends at **Capital One** for sponsoring this event and supporting our Community. This event is organised by RecWorks on behalf of the London Java Community. The London Java Community is sponsored by Hazelcast, Neo4j, Redis, and Discover

The next Street Hypnosis Group meetup will be Saturday 28th February We meet at The Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre. We'll be on the 5th floor, in the 'seventy5th bar' (Blue zone). If you haven't been before or you need help finding us call this number 07742 542101. Call that number when you arrive at the information desk on the ground floor, just in case we've moved to a different area of the building or outside. Learn something, share something. Practice in safety and gain confidence. We cover all aspects of street, stage and party hypnosis. Have an idea of the suggestibility tests or something else you want to practice, as well as some Rapid Inductions. Also, think of a short 5 -10 minute 'routine' to use with people. All levels are welcome so don't be shy. We ask for a small fee of £5 on the day, this is purely to help pay our meetup fees. We could go for a coffee or beer afterwards, and get some practice in public situations. It's all good for confidence building. Our 'sister' group is the London Hypnosis Hub. That group is aimed more at general hypnosis and meets on the first Tuesday of every month. Feel free to join that as well if you haven't already done so. Find it here: [LONDON HYPNOSIS HUB](https://www.meetup.com/london-hypnosis-hub/events/302568932/?utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=share-btn_savedevents_share_modal&utm_source=link) Both these groups are a great opportunity to practice and develop your skills in whichever area(s) of hypnosis you are interested in. It's also an ideal place to network and share ideas. Hope to see some of you soon.

**About** THE CASTLE CLIMBING CENTER has about 135 roped/auto-belays numbered routes with each route having up to 6 grades giving it approx 700 routes in total. THE CASTLE CLIMBING CENTER offers bouldering, top-roping, leading and auto-belays at their center. Some of us prefer bouldering while others will be in the top roping, leading or auto-belaying - this is up to you! We climb for a couple of hours and then the group regroups at 12.00 noon sometimes without me other times with me in The Brownswood pub, 271 Green Lanes, Finsbury Park, London N4 2EX for a spot of lunch and a libation. (https://goo.gl/maps/S4FZ9j1AYMPDs7uQ6) a stone's throw from the castle. **Meetups** We get together every Thursday & Sunday at THE CASTLE CLIMBING CENTER meeting at 9:00am in the warming up area or else look out for someone wearing a black RAMS t-shirt around the center. If you're joining for the first time let us know via message and we will keep an eye out for you at the start :) **New Climbers!** Unfortunately, if you haven't climbed before it isn't as easy as just turning up and climbing up the wall. To climb safely you need to understand the hazards and be able to use the equipment correctly. You must have basic climbing skills and know how to put on a harness, attach a rope to a harness using a rethreaded figure of eight(figure of eight on the bight) and know how to use a belay device to pay out the rope and secure a falling climber etc. So before your first climb, you may be required by the climbing center to fill out health and safety forms. This may involve a quick test on climbing rules at the counter on arrival. Please add an extra 10/15 minutes before your session if you need to register for the first time. THE CASTLE CLIMBING CENTER terms and conditions will apply. Please also note signing up for the Meetup session won’t necessarily grant you access to the center. **Other communication** Within these groups, you are possibly likely to develop long-lasting friendships. Don't forget we have a Discord page and WhatsApp https://chat.whatsapp.com/JNJ81oLSKB2JGaNm79em0C. The group will always be very varied when it comes to climbing levels, abilities and modality preferences. Do shout out if you have any questions. If you want to have a chat about this or other meetups, or just to keep in touch, ask to join us on Discord and/or WhatsApp. We have a dedicated THE CASTLE CLIMBING CENTER chat, but also talk about all things climbing (and some non-climbing!) including trips, gear talks and looking for climbing partner/s situations. **You’ll Rock it** A word of warning this sport is very, very addictive once bitten your its mistress for life. The simple challenge of you against the rock is sublime, there are competitions but then really the only real competition is 'you and the rock'. As climbing can be a very social activity we look forward to sharing our passion with yours. *Happy climbing!* p.s. Eventually, we will be starting and incorporating our climbing academy where we aim to bring skills, ropework and technique etc to enhance your climbing ability, using 25mm chalk bag colored belts to indicate your level. Naturally, THE CASTLE CLIMBING CENTER will also run courses to help improve your techniques too. Contact THE CASTLE CLIMBING CENTER for more info.

**Be part of the next Londroid event on Thursday, 26th February 2026, hosted by Vonage.** Spend the evening enjoying Android talks, conversation and community. Expect engaging sessions, the chance to meet others working in Android, and an opportunity to speak with the Vonage team. After the event, we’ll head to **The Fox** for post-event drinks and further conversation. **Tickets:** We have 100 tickets available. Don’t miss out. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for updates. **Schedule:** 18:00 – Doors open & registration 18:30 – Welcome from Londroid and Vonage 18:45 – Zachary Powell - *Beyond the Smartphone: Android’s Identity Crisis in 2026* 19:30 – Nicola Corti – *What I Learned from Publishing Libraries to Maven Central for 10 Years* 20:15 – Q&A and socialising 20:30 – Drinks at The Fox **Our Hosts and Sponsors** **Vonage** Vonage is a cloud communications platform that enables developers to integrate voice, video, and messaging into their applications using communication and network APIs. Whether you’re building video calls, creating a chatbot, or working with programmable phone numbers, Vonage provides the tools to make it happen **Novoda** Novoda is a digital product agency dedicated to building high-quality software. Their team of engineers helps companies scale, modernise and improve their development practices to deliver exceptional digital experiences. Join us for an evening of learning, collaboration and community. We look forward to seeing you there.

Ready to think clearer, reason better, and express with clarity? Join us for a practical wholesome philosophy practice where we learn essential thinking skills through hands-on group practice. Leave academics and theory at the door— this is a skills-building adventure for everyday life! 🧠✨ This event's focus: **The Art of Dialogue** 🎯 a part of the Wholesome Philosophy series — that help you build a complete thinking toolkit. **See below** 👇🏽 **Why should you sign up?** ✅ Practical toolkit you can use immediately ✅ Small group practice ✅ Private, quiet venue for focus ✅ Standalone session - Previous parts help, but not required **What is Wholesome Philosophy?** Practical philosophy for everyday life - helping you build useful skills for thinking clearer and communicating better in work, relationships, and daily conversations. You'll learn through pair work, and group practice. 💬 spread across **different sessions:** * **Clear Thinking & Better Arguments** — How to reason * **Develop Thinking Habits** — Spotting biases and fallacies * **The Art of Dialogue** — Having productive disagreements * **Constructing Your Position** — Building solid viewpoints * **Decision-Making Frameworks** — Choosing wisely under uncertainty * **Self-Examination & Growth** — Questioning your own beliefs Each session works standalone — attend one, some, or all. ***Want to join all?*** Speak to the facilitator about discounted pricing for the full (6 parts) series ✅ **Who is it for?** * You want to think clearer and communicate better * You feel frustrated when your point doesn't land * You want to spot weak reasoning (including your own) * You enjoy learning through practice, not just theory * You crave thoughtful conversation with curious people * You want practical tools you can use tomorrow No philosophy background needed — just show up ready to practice. 🎉 **What's in it for you?** * Make your points stick (without fighting) 💡 * Think more clearly about any topic even complex ones 🧠 * Have disagreements that don't turn into arguments 🤝 * Understand the world better 🌍 * Connect with curious, thoughtful people ✨ * Gain confidence in your reasoning abilities 💪 **How does it work?** * Facilitated practice session (2 hours) with structured exercises ⏱ * Small group discussions (4-6 people) 💬 * Pair work for hands-on practice 🤝 * Individual reflection moments 🧘 * Whole group sharing (optional, not required) 🌟 Everything is timed and guided — you'll know exactly what to do at each stage 📝 **What to expect** Collaborative discovery, without competitive learning. Practicing together, without performing for each other. What happens in the room stays in the room. 🔒 * **Depth**: Beyond small talk, but it's not therapy — we're developing thinking skills 🧠 * **Safety**: Wholesome Agreement principles apply — respect, curiosity, no judgment 🤝 * **Practical**: You'll leave with tools, not just concepts — things you can actually use the next day 🛠️ * **Participation**: These are practice sessions — your active participation creates the learning environment 💬 **Ready to upgrade your thinking skills?** 🌊 Join us for a Wholesome Philosophy practice session and walk away with various thinking tools — it's for anyone who wants to navigate life with a sharper, kinder mind. 🌟 We really hope to see you there! 👋 **About Deeper Connections** We have a mission at Deeper Connections to improve the quality of people's lives through conversation. All our events are centred around the concept of connecting deeply, because we believe we all deserve to be seen, felt and understood for who we really are. To have the 'deeper conversation' approach when relating with others can change our lives and can change the world. **Our Values** * **Respect:** Treat everyone with kindness and consideration. ❤️ * **Open-mindedness:** Be open to different perspectives and ideas. 🧠💡 * **Active Participation:** Share your thoughts and engage in meaningful discussions. 🗣️💬 **Staying in touch** Interested in finding out about all the events sooner than on Meetup or staying in touch beyond the events, you can join our WhatsApp channel and community using 👉🏽 [Deeper Connections WhatsApp Channel](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6CBAdIN9ijrEYdv33z) 👉🏽 [Deeper Connections WhatsApp Community](https://chat.whatsapp.com/EqGsmF3021RKTwBpGcuR80)

In February, we are taking a look at what is happening with agentic AI and data pipelines 🙌 Join us in lively Hoxton as we learn from Carmen's and Laura's learning from real-world experiences with agentic AI systems in data pipelines. We are running this event in collaboration with **[Sahaj Software](http://www.sahaj.ai)**. **6pm:** Doors Open **6:30pm:** Talks Start 🗣️The Speakers🗣️ ***Beyond the Hype: Practical AI for Real-World Data Engineering Time Sinks*** ***Carmen Mardiros, Solution Consultant at*** ***[Sahaj Software](https://www.sahaj.ai/)*** ***([Carmen's LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmenmardiros/))*** ***Abstract*:** While the world is obsessed with agentic self-healing ETL pipelines, data engineers everywhere still spend hours upon hours on the same tasks as before -- debugging failing tests, exposing new fields into pipelines, navigating schema changes, QA-ing data and business logic. In this session we'll look at some practical examples from the trenches around how to shrink those time sinks using AI coding assistants so that you can spend more time on what really matters. Examples are dbt-based and Claude Code but accompanied by core tenets applicable to any stack and any coding assistant. ***Carmen's Bio:*** Carmen Mardiros has worked around analytics and data for 15 years. Her experience covers areas such as Data architecture design and implementation and has worked in roles that cover Data Strategist, Lead Data Engineer, Data Warehouse Architect, Tracking Developer, Product/Project Manager, Technical BA, Insight Analyst, Data Modeller. ***Agentic AI for Data Pipelines: Our Good, Bad, and Ugly Learnings*** ***Laura Bogaert, Co-Founder and COO at [Tracer.cloud](https://www.tracer.cloud/)*** ***([Laura's LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-bogaert/))*** ***Abstract:*** As teams move from single models to agentic systems, data pipelines present a uniquely hard production challenge: failures are distributed, context is fragmented, and root-cause analysis is slow. This talk shares practical learnings from building agentic AI systems for troubleshooting real-world data pipelines, including what worked, what didn’t, and why data ontology and context management are critical. Attendees will leave with concrete insights into designing agentic architectures that actually hold up in production. ***Laura's Bio:*** Laura is a co-founder of [Tracer.cloud](http://tracer.cloud/), where she works on building agentic AI systems for alert investigation in production data pipelines across industries. She started her career at McKinsey as part of the fintech and biopharmaceutical team working on AI strategy and M&A. She holds a BSc from University College London and a MSc from Oxford University. **8pm:** Talks finish. We have the space for networking until 9pm. There will be a short break between the talks. Afterwards, we may head to a pub to continue chatting. You can sign up by subscribing to this event. Admittance is as long as places last. 🚨**IMPORTANT**: Please make sure to have a ***valid form of ID***. See you all on the 26th February🤩 Happy Networking 🍻 **About our collaborators**: [Sahaj](https://www.sahaj.ai/) is an artisanal technology services company crafting purpose-built AI and data-led solutions for our clients. By attending this event, you agree to abide by our rules of conduct: * Respect others' opinions which may differ from your own. * Keep it appropriate - no harassment of fellow attendees will be tolerated. * If you see something or have a complaint, please reach out to one of the organisers on LinkedIn or email events@dataengineerslondon.com.

You’re 'busy' but you know a stupid amount of your time is disappearing into your phone. You unlock it without thinking and lose **30-60 minutes** to scrolling. You tell yourself **'one more video'** and suddenly it’s past midnight. You’re switched on all day, but your **focus feels fried** and the things that actually matter get pushed to “tomorrow” again. This workshop is for men who are **done with that** and want a clear, realistic way to take their time and focus back. **Who this is for** * **Founders, professionals, tech/finance guys, ambitious students** * Men who are doing “fine” on paper but know their **phone use is getting out of hand** * Anyone who looks at their screen‑time report and thinks: **“That’s getting ridiculous.”** **What you’ll get in 90 minutes:** We’ll go straight to work. By the end of the session you will: * **Audit your current phone use** Identify the exact apps and times of day that are quietly stealing your time and attention. * **Design your personal 30‑day phone rules** Simple, realistic rules you can actually keep (no monk‑mode, no throwing your phone in the river). * **Set up a basic “Dopamine Operating System”** How to change notifications, home‑screen layout, and habits so **discipline becomes easier than distraction.** * **Leave with a written 30‑day plan** You’ll walk out with a **one‑page plan** to start the next day, not just “motivation.” ### **Format** * **Location:** Central London (details in the event info) * **Duration:** \~90 minutes * **Style:** Short talk, live exercises, Q&A * **Bring:** Your phone, your screen‑time, and something to write with At the end I’ll share how you can join a small **30‑Day Dopamine Reset** group for men who want accountability, daily check‑ins, and a **win‑your‑money‑back** challenge on cutting wasted screen‑time. ### **Who this is NOT for** * Men who think their phone use is “fine” and just want to argue * Anyone looking for generic productivity tips instead of actually changing habits If you’re in London, you’re serious about your life, and you’re tired of wasting evenings on your phone, **grab a spot and show up ready to work.** Tickets are £10. If you decide to join the 30‑Day Dopamine Reset afterwards, your £10 comes off the fee.

Come out to Improving for our monthly iOS and Mac meetings. This Month's Presentation: Nothing yet. (You should volunteer). 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/

**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 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** *Spec-Driven Development with GitHub Spec-Kit: From Intent to Implementation* Spec-driven development flips the traditional workflow on its head: instead of code being the source of truth, the specification becomes the backbone of design, collaboration, and delivery. In this session, we’ll explore how GitHub Spec-Kit enables teams to treat specifications as first-class artifacts—living documents that drive architecture, implementation, and verification. You’ll learn how Spec-Kit helps teams clearly express intent using structured, version-controlled specs that live alongside code. We’ll walk through a practical workflow that starts with defining system behavior and constraints, then progressively refines those specs into testable, automatable outcomes. Along the way, we’ll show how specs can reduce ambiguity, improve cross-functional collaboration, and make design decisions explicit before a single line of production code is written. This talk will cover: --What spec-driven development is (and what it isn’t) --How GitHub Spec-Kit fits into modern developer workflows --Using specs to align product, engineering, and AI-assisted development --Real-world examples of turning specs into implementations with confidence Whether you’re building greenfield systems, integrating AI into your stack, or trying to reduce costly rework, spec-driven development offers a scalable way to move faster without sacrificing clarity. Attendees will leave with concrete patterns and a clear mental model for adopting GitHub Spec-Kit in their own projects. **YouTube Link** TBA

Join other experienced and aspiring agile coaches and professionals to: * develop and practice your coaching skills in a peer-to-peer environment * share current successes and challenges in your work environment and get support from each other * learn from each other, build better relationships and experiment with new ideas

Come attend a free in-person seminar where you will find out why you: -Feel isolated -Can't express yourself openly -Get nervous or anxious in front of people -Run out of things to say or feel tongue-tied -Feel introverted -Don't feel comfortable in any social setting -Can't make more friends -Are shy and miss opportunities to connect in a meaningful way And we cover what you can do about any one, some or all of the above. This seminar is the weapon against loneliness, isolation and boredom, come join us! COME TO THIS SEMINAR AND LEARN THE SECRETS TODAY This seminar is brought to you by the Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Center. 1266 Dublin Road, Columbus, Ohio 43215

Meeting @ Improving's office in Downtown Columbus, near Cosi. Parking is paid, food & drink are free! This time we're hanging out after the long winter break. We are going to look at a group-member's project used to help learn the fundamentals of Go, and if time allows, we can take a look at how we like to build Go projects using AI.

It’s time to take control of your mental health. How do you get rid of stress, anxiety and uncertainty? These emotions are buried deep in your reactive mind. Find out what the reactive mind is, and in the process find yourself. Here is the secret of being positive and free: Thinking positively is not enough. You also have to get rid of the negative thinking. Your mind is like a garden. You can plant many beautiful flowers in it, but if you don't get rid of the weeds when you plant your flowers, the weeds will soon take over the whole garden. A positive thought is like a flower in your mental garden, and a negative thought is like a weed. You cannot expect to have a positive mindset if you continue to have negative thoughts dwelling and growing there. So, how do you get rid of the negative thoughts? That's what this Meetup is all about. Attend this local meeting and find out! The Meetup event will be led by a consultant who had helped many people live happier in life. Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there. This group is created by the Dianetics & Scientology life improvement center.

Come chat about Atlassian tools and best practices at the Reynoldsburg Sunny Street Cafe and Breakfast is on Atlassian! Let's get the day started off with breakfast with your ACE Leaders! We're always excited to talk about Atlassian Products, share our knowledge and hand out swag! Come chat with us about new product news and anything you are working on within the Atlassian product stack. This is a great opportunity to come see what we are all about, hear new business news and share with other Atlassian users your questions and experiences. We'd love to see new and old friends come out to chat and learn about Atlassian! Agenda --- Moderators Kimberly Deal - Columbus Atlassian User Group Leader Kevin Stanley - Columbus Atlassian User Group Leader Greg Sprowls - Columbus Atlassian Community Leader Hosted By Kimberly Deal, Atlassian User Group Leader Kevin Stanley, Chief Everything Greg Sprowls, Agility Lead --- Global Partner Atlassian (http://atlassian.com) Millions of users globally rely on Atlassian products every day for improving software development, project management, collaboration, and code quality. Partner Atlassian --- For over a decade, Atlassian customers have come together to network, share ideas, solve problems, and find new ways to use Atlassian products. Today, more than 15,000 people take part in Atlassian community events in more than 30 countries. --- Complete your event RSVP here: https://ace.atlassian.com/events/details/atlassian-columbus-presents-rise-and-shine-with-atlassian-reynoldsburg-4/.