In this post I want to cover what is new for the next DataWeekender event. Because I want to highlight some important facts.
Recap
Just a quick recap for you all. DataWeekender is a free online conference for the Microsoft Data Platform community.
It was the first online Microsoft Data Platform event to appear earlier this year to make up for cancelled or postponed events around Europe. We were so proud of what we achieved we decided to do it again.
You can see the full schedule for the next DataWeekender event which is happening on October 17th in detail here. In addition, you can also sign up to attend the next DataWeekender virtual conference here.
Name change
Like I said there are a few things that are different in the next DataWeekender.
For a start the name change. We decided to shorten ‘Data Community Weekender Europe’ to DataWeekender for various reasons. From what I can gather it’s a welcomed change.
In addition to this we have also dubbed this event ‘The SQL’ and added #TheSQL to the main event logo.
Lightning talks
We decided to host lightning talks during the next DataWeekender conference. If you look at our schedule we have lightning talks from speakers all around the world.
For instance, Indira Bandari will discuss Power Query from New Zealand and Taiob Ali will discuss extended events from the United States.
Plus, we can guarantee we will be the first ever Microsoft Data Platform event to show a lightning talk called ‘The Ultimate Van Arcade Game using Power Platform’.
Mother and daughter presenters
Whilst we are talking about Indira Bandari you may have noticed something interesting. In track 3 another presenter with the same surname is presenting.
In fact, Medha in Indira’s daughter. Which means for the first time we have a mother and daughter presenting at DataWeekender.
In fact, some DataWeekender organizers have looked into this. Because we suspect we are the first Microsoft Data Platform event to have both a mother and daughter presenting at different times. So, we are going to claim it unless somebody says otherwise.
Longer event
We have more sessions this year. In fact, we have 45 sessions which are 60 minutes long and 15 lightning talks scheduled.
We discussed whether to add more tracks or make the event longer. In the end we decided to stick with six tracks and make the event last a bit longer than last time.
To clarify, DataWeekender sessions start at 9am Central European Summer Time (CEST) which is UTC+2. Our last sessions will start at 18:00 Central European Summer Time.
Diversity
After the last event we decided to create a diversity policy which you can read in detail here. Basically, we want DataWeekender to be an inclusive event for all.
Code of conduct
We revised our code of conduct this time around as well and made some changes. One of which you can read about in a previous post here.
Some things are still the same
Some things are still the same this time around though. We still have a lot of amazing speakers and moderators who are willing to give their free time towards this event. Yet again we have a wide variety of topics covered including SQL Server, racial equity and Quantum computing.
We are also still very much pro diversity and Women in Technology. Our core values in the team includes the fact that DataWeekender is an inclusive event for all.
In fact, this year we are extremely pleased to announce we have an even higher percentage of female speakers and our aim if we do this again is to have around fifty percent female speakers.
In addition, we fully intend to use Microsoft Teams again for the sessions.
Another thing I want to highlight is that we are still a free event. DataWeekender is still completely run by volunteers with no sponsors.
Badges
Even though the main logo has changed to include #TheSQL you can still use the original event badges. With this in mind, if you are going to post about your support for us free to use the image below. Of course, you can also use this badge as part of your social media picture if you so wish.
In addition, if you are a speaker you can use the below speakers badge instead. Feel free to use this in posts or as part of your social media image.
Final word
I hope highlighting what is new for the next DataWeekender event encourages more of you to attend. Because we put a lot of work into these events which members of the community get to see for free.
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