MK Geek Night

#32 Mar 12 2020

MKGN #32 will be held on March 12th 2020 - doors open at 18.30 with our first speaker on stage around 19.30. Bar stays open until 23:00 so stick around for drinks and chat

Topics, speakers & schedule

Timings are approximate

Charlotte Dann

Pixels, IRL

Most web developers don’t get the joyous experience of touching and feeling the things they’ve created. Interest in generative art on the web is at an all-time high, but predominantly confined to screens and pixels, without much room for tactility.

Through her unwavering enthusiasm for making physical things, Charlotte will demonstrate a myriad of ways you can use your coding prowess to make art in the physical realm.

About Charlotte

Charlotte Dann is a creative technologist and maker. Combining her two vocations of jewellery design and web development, she created Hexatope, a web app that enables anyone to design their own jewellery online, which she then fabricates in her East London studio.

Charlotte Dann

Mark Barraclough

Good Habits of Successful Design Agencies

As industry rushes to embrace automation, the needs of the human workforce risk being sidelined. By sharing some good habits of successful design agencies I've worked for, I'd like to bring the attention back to the people and maybe even help improve staff retention rates in the process.

About Mark

Mark is a freelance designer based in Milton Keynes. He graduated from Bath Spa University back when polo necks were common and artwork was sent on a zip disc. After serving his time in London, he worked in Melbourne for a couple of years, but came home for proper beer and decent sausages. When Mark’s not designing you’ll find him walking the dog, in downward dog or doggedly returning tennis balls.

Mark Barraclough

Matthew Waruszynski

Creative Side Projects

Matt will discuss the joys and benefits of taking time out for your own creative side project.

From personal experience Matt will show how they offer the opportunity to learn new skills, have fun and get unexpected results.

About Matthew

Matt is an animator and designer based in Milton Keynes, now in his 4th year with his studio Rocket Cow.

He is a constant doodler and specialises in creating fun and quirky, character driven content for clients.

Matt has been a 'creative professional' now for long enough to know that there are easier ways to earn money. Still he just can't stop himself!

Matthew Waruszynski

Rajan Kashyap

Blockchain Beyond Cryptocurrencies and its impact on our life

Blockchain is a buzzword that everyone has heard unless you were living in a cave for the last 5 years. But everyone thinks that it is all about Cryptocurrencies or Bitcoins. However, there is much more to Blockchain and have far more impact on our lives and economic transactions. Imagine an autonomous car is able to manage itself without any intermediary like a fleet/rental provider. The rental contract, renter's identity, and cars' keys are stored on Blockchain. The economic transaction happening between human and machine with no need for any third party, resulting in a major impact on the economics of the automotive industry. This talk is about some of these sorts of changes in various aspects of our lives.

About Rajan

Rajan Kashyap is a fellow with UCL and author of the book "A CxO handbook to Blockchain". An avid blogger on the latest technologies and its impact on daily life.

Rajan Kashyap

Sophie Lloyd

MK Futures 2050 Strategy Engagement

Milton Keynes is the UK’s most successful new town and over the past 30 years has been the fastest growing UK city in terms of economic and population growth. MK’s success is no accident, the long term plan for Milton Keynes shaped its first 40 years of development and created a city that is truly ‘Different by Design.’ Recognising that a bold vision and a long term plan created the city we know and love today, in 2016,MK Council started its MK Futures Programme to shape what type of city Milton Keynes wants to be in future.

In January 2020, Milton Keynes Council launched its ‘Draft Strategy for 2050’ for engagement setting the way forward for how MK can make a Great City Greater. It has big ambitions for the future of MK’s economy, housing and infrastructure, and the Council are now seeking feedback from MK residents, businesses and organisations.

In this short introduction to MK Futures, Sophie will highlight what the Strategy hopes to achieve and how your feedback can help shape MK’s future.

About Sophie

Sophie is Milton Keynes Council’s Policy Manager and works on the Council’s MK Futures Programme.

She leads on Milton Keynes’ positioning within the Oxford-Cambridge arc and developing key regional partnerships including the Fast Growth Cities network and the Central Area Growth Board.

Sophie was previously a Policy Adviser at the National Infrastructure Commission, working on the Cambridge-Milton Keynes- Oxford corridor.

Sophie Lloyd
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