Athens Data Science & Machine Learning Meetup Kick-Off

This presentation outlines the vision behind the Athens Data Science & Machine Learning Meetup. It was presented at the community's first event on the 1st of October, 2015. I discuss our goals, challenges, the benefits I envision for all our members, ways that everyone can contribute to the community and our code of conduct.

Transcript

1. Athens  Data  Science  &   Machine  Learning  Meetup   Welcome,  Introduc/on  and  Kick-­‐Off   Rui  Miguel  Forte,  Meetup  Founder   Senior  Data  Scien/st  @  Workable  
2. Welcome!  
3. Our  Mission   “We  are  a  community  of  data  scien/sts  based  in   Athens.  We  aim  to  bring  together  prac//oners,   students,  researchers,  academics  and   entrepreneurs  from  different  backgrounds  who  all   share  a  passion  for  data  science,  machine  learning,   data  mining,  and  related  technologies.  Our  mission   is  to  create  an  open  forum  for  sharing  knowledge,   ideas  and  opportuni/es  around  these  exci/ng   fields.”  
4. Challenges   •  Bringing  people  from  different  fields  while   bridging  academia  and  industry.   •  We  will  make  sure  everyone  enjoys  tangible  benefits   and  transparently  share  our  objec/ves  and  plan   •  Maintaining  momentum,  growth  and  sustained   interest.   •  We  will  con/nuously  plan  events  and  engage  the   community   •  Suspending  the  hype  mentality   •  Organizing  and  execu/ng  quality  events  
5. Our  Basic  Tenets   •  We  are  a  non-­‐profit  meetup   •  Our  regular  mee/ngs  will  be  free   •  Special  events  might  occasionally  require  a  fee   •  We  will  meet  roughly  once  every  1-­‐2  months   •  Our  meetup  is  open  to  anyone  interested  in  the   field   •  There  is  no  implied  commitment  on  your  part   •  You  are  free  to  aTend  all,  some  or  none  of  our  events.  
6. Our  Interests  
7. Why  Am  I  Doing  This?   •  My  vision  is  to  see  Athens  become  a  hub  of   excellence  in  data-­‐driven  technologies.   •  Successful  outward-­‐looking  startups,  credible   and  current  educa/onal  programs  and  a  vibrant,   organized  and  outspoken  community  of  talented   professionals  can  all  contribute  posi/vely   towards  this  goal.   •  This  meetup  is  just  a  step  in  the  right  direc/on,   but  one  which  I  believe  can  make  a  sizeable   difference.  
8. Meetup  Bene@its  
9. Why  Meetups?   •  Organizing  a  community  meetup  can  be  a  great   thing  for  everyone   •  Meetups  are  great  for:   •  Finding  your  next  job   •  Learning  new  skills  from  experts  and  academics   •  Networking  and  mee/ng  influen/al  and  successful   people  in  the  industry   •  Finding  out  about  ini/a/ves,  seminars  and   opportuni/es  related  to  your  field  of  interest  
10. Practitioners   •  Prac//oners  are  people  working  on  data-­‐driven  projects  in   industry.  They  can  be  professionals  or  enthusiasts  coding  up   the  next  big  thing  in  their  garage.   •  In  our  meetup,  prac//oners  can:   •  Learn  from  peers  and  leaders  in  the  field   •  Maintain  a  link  with  latest  developments  from  academia   •  Find  people  to  collaborate  for  a  project   •  Find  mentors  who  can  help  advance  their  career  
11. Entrepreneurs   •  Entrepreneurs  are  innovators  and  individuals  with  an  idea   that  can  become  a  product  or  business.  They  are  the  ones   crea/ng  startups,  ge[ng  funding  and  evangelizing  their   vision.   •  In  our  meetup,  entrepreneurs  can:   •  Find  talent  for  their  startup   •  Find  inspira/on  for  a  new  idea  or  get  feedback  on  an   exis/ng  one   •  Get  a  beTer  understanding  of  a  field  in  order  to  come  up   with  ideas  that  are  relevant  and  feasible   •  Promote  their  product  or  startup  
12. Researchers   •  Researchers  are  at  the  cu[ng  edge  of  technology  and   crea/ng  new  methods,  products  and  solu/ons  to  problems  in   their  respec/ve  field.  Researchers  can  come  from  academia   but  they  can  also  come  from  industry.   •  In  our  meetup,  researchers  can:   •  Find  people  to  collaborate  with  or  who  can  review  their   research   •  Prac/ce  their  presenta/on  skills  before  a  big  conference   •  Find  applica/ons  of  their  ideas  in  industry   •  Get  research  ideas  by  learning  about  what  problems  people   from  industry  are  facing   •  Get  out  of  the  lab!  
13. Educators   •  Educators  are  involved  in  some  form  of  teaching  whether  it  be   as  a  professor  in  a  university,  a  lab  instructor,  an  instructor  for   an  online  course  or  an  author  of  a  textbook   •  In  our  meetup,  educators  can:   •  Promote  their  school,  academic  program  or  seminar   •  Find  prospec/ve  students  such  as  for  open  PhD  posi/ons   •  Promote  published  works  such  as  books  and  ar/cles  
14. Students   •  Most  likely  everybody  in  our  meetup  is  a  student.  Data   science  and  its  related  fields  are  so  vast  that  we  are  all   engaged  in  learning  in  one  form  or  another.  Students  can  be   full  /me  and  registered  in  a  program,  they  may  be  taking  an   online  course  or  studying  a  new  skill  at  home  a^er  work.   •  In  our  meetup,  students  can:   •  Learn  from  instruc/onal  presenta/ons   •  Discover  how  to  apply  material  learned  in  class  to  the  real   world   •  Form  study  groups  with  other  students  taking  the  same   online  class  or  compe/ng  in  the  same  Kaggle  compe//on.   •  Secure  an  internship  or  summer  placement  that  can  kick   start  their  career  
15. Contributing  
16. Growing  the  Community   •  Help  us  grow  our  community   •  Why  is  this  important?   •  A  large  community  boosts  all  the  opportuni/es  that   we  talked  about.   •  A  large  community  will  give  us  credibility  and  visibility   which  will  in  turn  help  us  aTract  sponsors  and  get   invited  speakers  
17. Growing  the  Community   •  Who  do  we  want  to  join?   •  We  want  people  who  are  related  to  the  field  in  some   way,  even  if  that  means  someone  who  just  started   reading  about  a  field  like  machine  learning  and  wants   to  learn  more.     •  We  also  want  to  include  members  who  do  not  live  in   Athens  but  occasionally  visit,  such  as  a  student  living   abroad  or  a  professional  who  travels  a  lot   •  We  don’t  want  to  pad  numbers  by  ge[ng  our  rela/ves   and  friends  who  aren’t  interested  in  the  meetup  to   signup  just  to  get  bigger  numbers  
18. Growing  the  Community   •  How  can  you  help  us  grow?   •  Promote  our  community  through  your  daily   environment.  Tell  your  co-­‐students,  professors,   colleagues  and  bosses  at  work  about  us,  for  example   •  Promote  us  on  your  social  media.  For  example,  talk   about  us  if  you  own  a  blog  or  men/on  us  on  twiTer.   Also,  as  we  start  adding  our  own  online  presence   please  like/share/retweet  etc…   •  If  you  meet  new  individuals  who  might  be  interested   in  us,  tell  them  about  us  
19. Speaking  at  Events   •  Deliver  a  presenta5on  at  our  events   •  You  are  welcome  to  deliver  a  presenta/on  that  promotes  your   company,  product,  book  or  project.   •  However,  we  want  presenta/ons  to  be  valuable  to  the   community  so  we  definitely  ask  that  you  deliver  a   presenta/on  that  is  informa/ve  and  educa/onal  as  well  as   promo/onal   •  If  you  are  company,  this  means  that  instead  of  giving  us  a   presenta/on  that  you  would  give  to  an  investor,  give  us  a   presenta/on  that  shows  off  the  knowledge  and  exper/se  of   your  team  and  then  tell  us  more  about  the  company  or   product  itself  
20. Speaking  at  Events   •  What  are  examples  of  presenta/ons  that  interest  us?   •  Showcasing  a  technology  e.g.  Data  mining  with  R   •  Presen/ng  a  concept  in  a  highly  engaging  way  that  will   allow  a  broad  audience  to  learn  e.g.  Neural  Networks  for   the  Masses     •  An  industry  case  using  data  intelligently  and  effec/vely   •  An  industry  case  study  using  some  new  and  cu[ng  edge   technology  to  solve  a  problem   •  Discussing  a  new  product  that  might  be  of  interest  to  the   community  at  large   •  Describing  a  research  or  open  source  project  that  you  have   begun  working  on  (and  would  perhaps  like  people  to  join)   •  A  business  perspec/ve  on  the  field,  such  as  an  investor's   viewpoint  on  inves/ng  in  data-­‐driven  startups  
21. Speaking  at  Events   •  What  is  the  procedure  for  speaking  at  an  event?   •  Please  contact  us  when  you  have  a  topic  to  present  so  we   can  discuss   •  We  will  aim  for  2-­‐4  presenta/ons  per  event  depending  on   the  length  and  theme  so  we  may  not  always  be  able  to   offer  you  a  slot  in  the  next  meetup.  
22. Hosting  &  Sponsoring  Events   •  Help  us  to  organize  an  event     •  What  are  ways  you  can  help  with  organizing?   •  Host  an  event  if  you  represent  a  company  that  has  a  space   large  enough  to  accommodate  us   •  Sponsor  an  event  such  as  by  covering  the  cost  of  food  and   drinks  or  the  cost  of  the  venue.     •  Help  us  find  sponsors  and  venues  by  leveraging  your   professional  network   •  Help  us  get  speakers  who  can  deliver  a  presenta/on  at  one   of  our  events  
23. Actively  Participating   •  Take  ownership  and  be  ac5ve  in  the  community  as  it  grows   •  What  are  ways  to  par/cipate?   •  Ask  ques/ons  and  engage  our  speakers   •  Give  us  feedback  and  construc/ve  cri/cism  on  maTers  such   as  the  quality  of  a  presenta/on  and  the  choice  of  topic   •  Tell  us  about  what  you  feel  the  community  can  and  should   be  able  to  do  for  its  members   •  Share  your  exper/se  with  us.     •  For  example,  if  you  have  experience  running  meetups,  we   welcome  your  advice.  If  you  have  experience  with  promo/ng   organiza/ons  and  communi/es  such  as  ours,  again  feel  free  to   give  us  your  opinion        
24. Code  of  Conduct  
25. General  Etiquette   •  The  official  language  of  our  meetup  is  English.  Please  respect   members  who  do  not  know  Greek  by  speaking  English  when   around  them   •  Please  be  be  sensible  when  interac/ng  with  other  members.   Socializing  and  networking  is  a  large  part  of  our  mission  but   please  don’t  abuse  our  mee/ngs  in  aTemp/ng  to  solicit   services  when  this  is  clearly  unwanted   •  Please  respect  each  other’s  privacy  and  note  that  we  have  a   zero  tolerance  policy  when  it  comes  to  harassment.  
26. Event  Etiquette   •  Please  keep  your  RSVP  status  updated,  especially  on  the  day   of  the  event.  Not  showing  up  to  an  event  for  which  you   RSVP’d  “Yes”  is  very  inconsiderate  to  other  members   •  Please  download  and  install  the  Meetup  app  on  your  phone  in   order  to  be  able  to  change  your  status  easily   •  Please  use  the  wai/ng  list  and  if  you  are  high  on  the  wai/ng   list  please  consider  aTending  in  case  people  cancel  at  the  last   minute   •  Please  do  not  bring  guests  unless  otherwise  told  that  an  event   allows  guests.  Ask  your  guests  to  signup  to  the  meetup  and   RSVP   •  Please  arrive  on  /me  to  events  
27. Event  Etiquette   •  If  you  didn’t  RSVP  to  an  event  or  were  s/ll  on  the  wai/ng  list   and  managed  to  get  in,  please  give  members  who  RSVP’d   priority  for  seats   •  Please  show  respect  to  our  speakers  during  their   presenta/on.  This  means:   •  Maintain  silence  during  the  talk  and  mute  your  phones   •  Do  not  get  up  or  leave  in  the  middle  of  a  talk   •  Please  do  not  interrupt  our  speakers  before  the  end  unless   a  speaker  states  that  they  will  accept  ques/ons  during  the   presenta/on  
28. Questions?  
29. Thank  you!   Rui  Miguel  Forte   miguel@workable.com                    @rmforte   hTps://www.packtpub.com/applica/on-­‐development/mastering-­‐predic/ve-­‐analy/cs-­‐r   www.dataismyforte.com