PyLadies Dublin May Meetup @ Liberty IT
We are delighted to be hosted by Liberty IT this month, more details about speakers will be announced soon.
TALK DETAILS
TALK 1: "Learning in Public, Again" by Sarah Novotny
I spent two decades building software communities. Kubernetes, NGINX, MySQL. And then I moved to Dublin and enrolled in a master's programme in political science at Trinity College.
People have asked me why I took a left turn away from a perfectly good career. The honest answer is that I kept running into questions my industry experience couldn't answer. How do open source communities actually function as political systems? What does "technological sovereignty" mean when the phrase shows up in EU regulation, national security strategy, and corporate marketing decks, all in the same week? Why is corporate investment in OSS not patently obvious?
I needed different tools. So I learned Python. Not the "I'll automate a spreadsheet" kind. The "I'm running topic models on 1,600 EU consultation responses to figure out who is shaping digital policy and how" kind. I learned statistics. I learned how to scrape legislative databases. I learned how to be bad at something in front of people half my age, which, if you've spent twenty years being the expert in the room, is its own special discipline.
This talk is about what happens when you decide the next interesting problem matters more than the comfort of the last solved one. It's about moving countries, going back to school, picking up a programming language for the first time in decades, and discovering that the willingness to be a beginner is a skill that compounds. Whether you're 25 and pivoting, 45 and reinventing, or anywhere in between, the capacity to start over is not a concession. It's a superpower.
About Sarah Novotny
I spent two decades building software communities. Kubernetes, NGINX, MySQL. And then I moved to Dublin and enrolled in a master's programme in political science at Trinity College.
People have asked me why I took a left turn away from a perfectly good career. The honest answer is that I kept running into questions my industry experience couldn't answer. How do open source communities actually function as political systems? What does "technological sovereignty" mean when the phrase shows up in EU regulation, national security strategy, and corporate marketing decks, all in the same week? Why is corporate investment in OSS not patently obvious?
I needed different tools. So I learned Python. Not the "I'll automate a spreadsheet" kind. The "I'm running topic models on 1,600 EU consultation responses to figure out who is shaping digital policy and how" kind. I learned statistics. I learned how to scrape legislative databases. I learned how to be bad at something in front of people half my age, which, if you've spent twenty years being the expert in the room, is its own special discipline.
This talk is about what happens when you decide the next interesting problem matters more than the comfort of the last solved one. It's about moving countries, going back to school, picking up a programming language for the first time in decades, and discovering that the willingness to be a beginner is a skill that compounds. Whether you're 25 and pivoting, 45 and reinventing, or anywhere in between, the capacity to start over is not a concession. It's a superpower.
https://sarahnovotny.com | https://linkedin.com/in/sarahnovotny
TALK 2: I'm a Software Engineer and I (Barely) Code by Frances Veit
(10-15 mins) I dabbled in coding for years while working as a library manager, learning to write "Hello World" in at least four languages before moving to Belfast and coding my way through a master's degree in Software Development. I took my first job as a software engineer only to find that - surprise! - I barely code at all.
I work in Machine Learning Operations, and while I touch a whole lot of Python code, most of my time is spent working with configuration files and infrastructure-as-code. Can I still call myself a software engineer if I'm not writing code? What does this mean when I’m faced with the next inevitable coding assessment, at this job or the next? This talk raises questions about what defines a software engineer in a world of increased software abstraction and, while I promise I won't talk too much about it, AI.
ABOUT Frances Veit
Associate Software Engineer, Liberty IT
Frances is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, but has called Northern Ireland home since 2018. She holds a Master's degree in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master's in Software Development from Queen's University, Belfast. Frances is glad to have done her software training before AI was on the scene, but she's equally grateful to have an on-screen mentor while she figures out what she's doing. When she's not not-coding, she's at the beach with her two little kids, or baking.
📚 And thanks to Packt, we have a physical book to raffle after the talk:
Python Illustrated: Not another boring Python book, learn programming the fun way by Maaike van Putten and Imke van Putten
Schedule (*subject to change)
18:30 Event Starts
18:40 Welcome and Introductions
18:50 Talk(s) & Networking after
20:30 Event Ends
💖 THANKS
Community Partners:
PSF: Meetup
🔍 FAQ
Note that all our events are 18s+. Although this a social event, it's a professional networking event, please refer to the Code of Conduct, e.g. behave as you would attending a work event.
Q. I'm not female, is it ok for me to attend?
A. Yes, PyLadies Dublin events are open to everyone at all levels. We encourage non-female attendees to suggest a female friend/colleague to sign up to the event. So bring a friend! ✨
Q. Do you have a Code of Conduct?
A. Yes, you can find it at dublin.pyladies.com
Q. I am interested in giving a talk at PyLadies Dublin, where do I submit my interest, workshop, and talk details?
A. You can submit your talk details to the following form:
https://sessionize.com/pyladies-dublin-meetup
🤔 Any other enquiries (e.g. getting involved, sponsoring), email [email protected]