Awesome Austin Tech Events, May 8–15
The Forrest Four-Cast: May 7, 2017
The strength of the Central Texas technology / startup scene helps SXSW thrive as an epicenter of innovation. Some of the most interesting events in Austin for the week of May 8 through May 14 are as follows:
Mon, May 8 thru Thurs, May 11: OSCON
OSCON brings the software engineering and developer community together to explore what’s new and useful in open source languages, tools, and techniques. It’s the best place to sharpen your skills and discover important trends, making you better at what you do and igniting your love of code. At the Austin Convention Center. $99-$3895 entry fee.
Monday, May 8: EFF Austin Meet Up (FREE)
We promote the right of all citizens to communicate and share information without unreasonable constraint. We also advocate the fundamental right to explore, tinker, create, and innovate along the frontier of emerging technologies. At Capital Factory at 7:00 pm.
Monday, May 8: Grimoire Con 2017 North America
This conference shows GrimoireLab updates, use cases and practical workshop/s for developers, community managers, project managers, etc. At Galvanize at 10:30 am. $79 entry fee.
Tuesday, May 9: VentureCrush ATX (FREE)
VentureCrush is a series of unique events and networks created by the Tech Group at Lowenstein Sandler to bring together carefully selected groups of tech industry founders and senior executives, along with VC, growth equity, private equity and angel investors. At Galvanize at 6:00 pm.
Tuesday, May 9: Intro to Mentoring & Angel Investing (FREE)
Are you interested in getting starting with Angel Investing? A seasoned investor who recently moved to Austin? Hear an overview of the Austin market from an experienced entrepreneur and angel investor and get a chance to introduce yourself and ask questions. At Capital Factory at 10:00 am.
Tuesday, May 9: Austin Blockchain & Hyperledger Meet Up (FREE)
Participation in a Hyperledger Meet Up group is open to anyone–employees of a Hyperledger member company, Hyperledger contributors and developers, and people just passionate about blockchain technology. At Capital Factory at 6:30 pm.
Wed, May 10: Innovating in Tech and Quantum Computing (FREE)
Join our 100% free speaker series and network with other individuals interested in FinTech, entrepreneurship, technology and startups. Guest speaker by Honest Dollar founder Bill Hurley (Whurley). At Capital Factory at 5:45 pm.
Wednesday, May 10: Texas Data Demo Day (FREE)
The Data Coalition is pleased to host the Texas Data Demo Day, an opportunity to bring together agencies and legislators to explore the benefits of open data. At Trinity Hall at 9:00 am.
Wednesday, May 10: Cory Doctorow Book Reading (FREE)
Cory Doctorow’s first adult novel in eight years: an epic tale of revolution, love, post-scarcity, and the end of death. Fascinating, moving, and darkly humorous, “Walkaway” is a multi-generation SF thriller about the wrenching changes of the next hundred years…and the very human people who will live their consequences. At Book People at 7:00 pm.
Thursday, May 11: Digital Demo Day Spring 2017 (FREE)
Join the Center for Arts and Entertainment Technologies (CAET), Computer Science Department, and Radio-Television-Film Department as we showcase students’ interactive media projects for Spring 2017 at Digital Demo Day. At the Bill & Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex and Dell Computer Science Hall at 4:00 pm.
Thursday, May 11: DARPA Hackfest | Infosession and Meet Up (FREE)
Join the DARPA Hackfest team at Capital Factory May 11th, 6:00–7:30PM to learn about the upcoming UAV and SDR Mission! Hear about the challenge, ask your questions, network with the team! At Capital Factory at 6:00 pm.
Thursday, May 11: A Night with E4 Youth (FREE)
At this event, E4 Youth will showcase our accomplishments for the last year, including performances by our all star musical group Legacy ATX, members of the Grammy winning band Grupo Fantasma and presentations by participants in our Get Creative Clubs. We’ll also recognize E4 Youth’s community volunteers and partners throughout the creative community. At Google Fiber at 6:30 pm.
Thursday, May 11: Lesbians Who Tech May Meet Up (FREE)
For the May edition of this monthly Meet Up, LWT will explore how web services can give your application access to resources from a full weather station to voluminous catalogs of music recordings. Guest speaker is Chip Rosenthal. Free beer! At Capital Factory at 7:00 pm.
Thursday, May 11: Video Game Makers Unite! Meeting (FREE)
Game Makers Unite! meets monthly on the 2nd. Thursday of every other month. We always have free water, beer and pizza at our meet ups. At Capital Factory at 7:00 pm.
Friday, May 12: Digital Inclusion Symposium (FREE)
What is the state of digital equity and why does digital inclusion matter for opportunity in Austin and across the nation? At Google Fiber at 10:00 am.
Saturday, May 13: RideAustin Data Analysis Hackathon (FREE)
Join us for a 6-hour hackathon using a RideAustin dataset. Teams will be assigned, and each team can either create their own question to answer or use a sample question provided at the event. At Galvanize at 10:00 am.
Saturday, May 13: Dell Seton Medical Center Open House (FREE)
Tour the new state-of-the-art Dell Seton Medical Center, meet the team and enjoy Austin-style family activities, live music, refreshments and concessions. At 15th & Red River at 1:00 pm.
Sat, May 13 and Sun, May 14: Maker Faire Austin
Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue for these “makers” to show hobbies, experiments, projects. This is a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness. Glimpse the future and get inspired! At Palmer Events Center. $11-$34 entry fee.
On the horizon: Accessibility Leadership Symposium (May 15–16), Doree Shafrir at Book People (May 17), John Slatin AccessU 2017 (May 17–18), Philanthropitch (May 22), Austin A-List Ceremony (May 25), SXSW 2018 (March 9–18, 2018).
Stay tuned to this space as we review more tech-focused events for the coming weeks. If you have an event that you would like considered for listing in this space, contact me at hugh at sxsw dot com.
Hugh Forrest tries to write four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts generally cover technology-related trends. When not attempting to wordsmith or meditating, he serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW in Austin.
