Future Engineers — Why Our Big Beautiful Brains Are Still Relevant
An exclusive lean hackathon for women in tech.
As AI becomes more embedded in how we build software, the role of the engineer is starting to shift.
Less time writing every line of code. More time deciding what should be built, how systems should work together, where AI can help, and where human judgement still matters.
So what does it actually mean to become an orchestrator rather than a hands-on coder?
This evening is designed as a lean, collaborative hackathon where we’ll explore exactly that.
In small groups, we’ll work through a practical challenge using AI tools and experiment with how the role of the engineer changes when the focus moves from pure execution to direction, judgement, architecture and problem-solving.
We’ll explore questions like:
What skills become more valuable when AI can generate more of the code?
How do engineers stay close enough to the technology to challenge what AI produces?
What does good orchestration actually look like?
Where does creativity, critical thinking and technical judgement still make the difference?
Are we coding less — or simply engineering differently?
Agenda
6:00–6:30 PM Arrival + Drinks 🥂
Welcome drinks, picky bits and informal networking
6:30–6:40 PM Welcome to Code Pub 👋
Quick Netlight + Code Pub intro, introduce Johanna and set up the topic
6:40–6:55 PM Content presentation💡
Johanna shares the 5 reasons AI projects fail, adapted into a practical version for the audience
6:55–7:20 PM Interactive AI Challenge 🧠
Small groups work through a fictional AI project, identify problems and discuss what they would do differently
7:20–7:35 PM Group Debrief 🎤
Groups share their thinking and Johanna connects it back to the five failure patterns
7:35–8:00 PM Fireside Q&A 🔥
Career-focused discussion around AI skills, project delivery, challenging decisions and lessons learned
8:00 PM onwards Drinks + Networking 🍷
Picky bits, drinks and informal conversations with Johanna, Netlight and attendees
Please bring your own laptop.
The focus is on experimenting, learning from each other and having a genuinely interesting conversation about what the next generation of engineering could look like.
Expect building, discussion, a bit of healthy debate, and plenty of food and drinks along the way.
📍 Huckletree Liverpool Street
👩💻 Exclusive to women in tech
🧠 Small group / limited spaces