Dinner 11 – A call for help

The Brisbane Girl Geek Dinners started in August 2008. In that time we've had some fun dinners and some great guest speakers.

Over the last few dinners we’ve noticed there a lot of people registering for the dinners but a dropout rate of over 70% at the dinner itself.  While the events are “free” we feel quite embarrassed asking for a large area at a restaurant only to have many empty tables on the night that could have gone to other paying patrons. This also sends warning bells that we’re doing something wrong.

It’s time to re-evaluate whether these events are wanted or needed by the community. We need your input on how to make the dinners worthwhile and successful.

This dinner is a call out for those that see value in these dinners. If you want them to continue we need your help us make them better.  If nobody is interested in helping us plan and improve the dinners we feel it would be better to shut them down as they take up time that we could devote to other things.

So we’re going back to where it all started at the Caravanserai Restaurant.

The Plan

A brainstorming session where you bring along your ideas and suggestions for venues, speakers, formats, activities, sponsorship and how you can help us make these dinners more worthwhile for you.

What if I can't make it but want to help?

If you can't make it but still want to help, please get in contact by email: bronwen@soulsolutions.com.au

Who pays for dinner?

This dinner is not sponsored so you pay for your own food and drink.

Where + When

Date: Tuesday 10th August

Time: 7:00pm

Where: Caravanserai Turkish Restaurant, West End

Dinner 10 with Tammy Halter

This month we're fortunate enough to have Tammy Halter as our guest speaker. Tammy Halter is the founder and sole Director of two technology companies, Absolute Data Group, and Broadcaster Media. Tammy has over 15 years experience in the information technology field, including SGML/XML publishing and document management experience with various software integration companies. Tammy has been a technical trainer, support engineer and project manager for several SG/XML software Distributors over the years, including the Frame Product Engineer, Asia Pacific & Latin America for Adobe Systems in 1997.

The path to being a Geek, does not have to start with a Degree in Technology.

It's never too late to get into the tech industry, more than 1/2 of my staff  (including myself), started out in another industry and "changed over" to a career in the dark side (I.T.)!

We need to encourage and educate young women and have them understand that there are many aspects to the Technology Industry's, and you don't necessarily have to be a Programmer or a Scientist to have a love for the industry and to be a geek at heart.

Sponsorship

This month WiT (www.wit.org.au) are kindly donating a 12 month membership (value $143).  All attendees are entitled to a 2 month trial membership if they wish on the night which will allow them to attend the free member’s only Infotech breakfast on 28th April.

Who is invited?

If you are a geek and a girl or know of one who is willing to escort you then you are welcome and encouraged to come along. There is a technical focus with the intention of having fun and connecting with other women in IT.

Who pays for dinner?

This month is not sponsored so you will have to pay for your own dinner

Where + When

Date: Thursday 22nd April, 2010

Time: 6:30 pm

Where: Coco Bella Shop 2-75 Welsby Street New Farm.

Menu: http://fs.eatoutadmin.com/Listings/1188/Menus/coco-bella-new-farm-brisbane-entree-mains.pdf

Girl Geek Dinner 9 – First dinner for 2010

For our first Girl Geek Dinner of 2010 we're going to have a casual networking night.

We'll be heading to Vapiano restaurant in Albert Lane just off the Queen Street Mall.  You can have a look at the food on offer at there website : http://www.vapiano.com.au/our-food.html

Details for the night:

when: 7pm 23 February, 2010

where: Vapiano - Albert Lane, just of the Queen Street Mall

Who can attend: Any female in the IT industry or who has an interest in the industry, or any male invited by an attending member

 

Technorati Tags: Girl Geek Dinners,Brisbane

Girl Geek Dinner 8 – Open Mic Night

Who is invited?

If you are a geek and a girl or know of one who is willing to escort you then you are welcome and encouraged to come along. There is a technical focus with the intention of having fun and connecting with other women in IT.

This month we're having an open mic night. Please let us know if you'd like a 5 min speaking slot to talk about a topic of your choosing.

Who pays for dinner?

This month is not sponsored so you will have to pay for your own dinner

Where + When

Date: Tuesday 24th November, 2009

Time: 7:00 pm

Where: Greystone Bar & Cellar - 7/116 Grey Street South Brisbane QLD 4101

Menu: http://www.greystonebar.com.au/sites/default/files/Enitre%20Menu.pdf

 

 

Technorati Tags: Girl Geek Dinners,Brisbane,WIT

Girl Geek Dinner 7 – Broadbeach Gold Coast

This event we're going to try something a little different.  This year, Microsoft TechEd event is being held on the Gold Coast and we'd love to see as many of you as possible at the event - registration details can be found here: http://www.msteched.com/australia/Public/registration-info.aspx. We’re taking advantage of having so many ladies at one location and holding our next dinner at Broadbeach.

Of specific interest to all the girl geeks is this year's Women In Technology Event at the conference is the Women Build LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY (LSP). Microsoft have partnered with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY (LSP) through Robert Rasmussen & Associates with their local agency Management Consultancy International to create a unique interactive workshop, using LEGO® Bricks to model solutions for growing strong female leaders in the software industry.

The session will give you an opportunity to meet other females in the IT industry – local and international, learn from role models that have been successful in their career and give you access to resources that can help you build your career and your own network. The session will help you make the most of the Microsoft Women in Technology community.

Who is invited?

If you are a geek and a girl or know of one who is willing to escort you then you are welcome and encouraged to come along. There is a technical focus with the intention of having fun and connecting with other women in IT.

Who pays for dinner?

This month is not sponsored so you will have to pay for your own dinner / drinks

Where + When

Date: Wednesday 9 September, 2009

Time: 7:30 pm

Where: Alto Cucina & Bar - Shop 47, The Oasis Shopping Centre, Broadbeach, QLD 4218

http://www.altocucina.com.au/

 

Technorati Tags: Girl Geek Dinners,WIT,Lego Serious Play

Girl Geek Dinner 6 – IT and law

Our 6th Girl Geek Dinner was held on the 2nd July. We were fortunate to have Kay Lam-Beattie as our guest speaker, who runs her own legal IT business and answered many legal questions from our geek girls. 

Kim Weatherall, a UQ Law Professor, also helped out with many of the questions and conversation.  The discussions ranged from politics with a hot topic being the proposed Internet filter, file copying and sharing, how copyright can be changed etc.  The discussions went well into the night and it was great to see a bunch of new faces!

The guys at the Hutch Bistro were great. We even had our own personal menus made up which was a really nice touch. The food and service were great too!.

Thanks to Tim for taking photos on the night an look forward to seeing more ladies at the next dinner.

More photos on Tim’s Flickr stream here.

 

Technorati Tags: WIT,Girl Geek Dinners,Brisbane,Kay Lam-Beattie,Hutch Bistro

Girl Geek Dinner 6 with Kay Lam-Beattie

For our July Girl Geek Dinner we're heading to The Hutch Bistro at New Farm and we're fortunate to have Kay Lam-Beattie as our guest speaker.  So gather all of your legal/IT questions to ask Kay on the night!

About Kay:

Kay graduated from QUT in 1992 with a Bachelor of Business (Accountancy) and an honours degree in Law. To obtain more specialised skills, Kay also completed a Masters in Law concentrating on the areas of intellectual property (IP) and IT-related legal issues, as well as a Graduate Certificate in IT.

Kay has been the principal of IDEALAW (and its predecessor Legal Capital Lawyers) since 2005.

Kay’s broadly based academic qualifications places her in an ideal position not only to understand the intricacies of her specialist areas of IT and IP related law, but also technical IT and business issues. Kay also speaks conversational Japanese, having lived and worked in Japan for a number of years.

Who is invited?

If you are a geek and a girl or know of one who is willing to escort you then you are welcome and encouraged to come along. There is a technical focus with the intention of having fun and connecting with other women in IT.

Who pays for dinner?
This month is not sponsored so you will have to pay for your own dinner

Where + When
Date: Thursday 2nd July, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: The Hutch Bistro

75 Welsby Street, New Farm

http://www.thehutchbistro.com.au/food-wine.html

 

Technorati Tags: Girl Geek Dinners,Brisbane,Kay Lam-Beattie,WIT