[python-uk] Python evening talks in London

[Michael Foord]

Talks, tutorials, discussions and sprints all sound like interesting 
activities. Once a month sounds fine.

How firm do proposals need to be ?

When do 'we' propose starting (first event) ?
How far in advance do we need to produce a definite schedule for ?
How many people do we need on any 'official organisers committee' ?
Would we need to have individuals to cover practical responsibilities on 
site ? (How many, what responsibilities)

Does anyone know the answer to these questions ? ;-)

I believe the PSF is considering what support to give to local user 
groups (in terms of materials and financial support), so that may be 
worth exploring if necessary.

Michael Foord


Michael Grazebrook wrote:
> I'm an IET member and attend their lectures occasionally. It's part of 
> the the Institute of Engineering Technology's mission to put on the 
> sort of presentations and lectures we'd like. So we're helping with 
> their mission. If you don't know it, the IET is the engineer's 
> equivalent of the institute of chartered accountants or the law 
> society. It's the body which puts /C. Eng/ after your name. But a lot 
> more too.
>
> The venue is great, both location and facilities. The London group 
> puts on a free evening lecture once per month and monthly lunchtime 
> lecture. We would add to these, not replace them. Take a look at the 
> current programme (and by all means pay it a visit!):
> http://www.theiet.org/events/calendar/
> Check the box for "Include events from Local Networks"
> A typical evening lecture has pre-lecture food & soft drinks from 
> 5:30. Then about an hour of lecture. Then a glass and a bit of 
> networking after the event. All (usually) free. The IET is the very 
> essence of the 19th century learned society, a forum for techies to 
> get together, share ideas and do some networking.
>
> This would be a completely different kind of event from the pub 
> meet-ups. It's up to us to propose the format. It doesn't have to be 
> the same as what the IET already does. We could put on lectures. Or we 
> could put on tutorials, where everyone's asked to bring a laptop and 
> the material's distributed through their wireless network so we can 
> try it out during the tutorial. Or we could stage discussion meetings. 
> Or some mix of the above. The style is up to us.
>
> If you're giving a talk, advertising isn't allowed. By all means hand 
> out your business card over a glass during the networking part of the 
> event. And of course you have the platform because of what you're 
> doing in the real world, no need to hide it. The lecture notes and 
> codes samples which the IET customarily posts on its web site after 
> the talk might even include your company contact details. But don't 
> give a sales pitch.
>
> We'd probably want to have our sessions clash with some other stream 
> of lectures: it costs money to keep the building open during an 
> evening. But there's a huge capacity, so space and numbers are not a 
> problem. We can take over a different lecture theatre from the other 
> event.
>
> The professional networks present their budgets at the end of this 
> month, so we need to sketch out what we want to do quickly.
>
>
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