Summary
Bristol Robotics Laboratory 2 day workshop, Soft Robotics Research Showcase, DataViz meetup, The Rose Report and bursary/Grant offerings
‘Introduction to Robotics’ – Free two-day workshops for SMEs in the West of England
- Tuesday, 21st and Wednesday, 22nd March 2023, or Monday, 27th March and Tuesday, 28th March 2023
- Time: 10:00 – 16:00 (both days)
- Location: Bristol Robotics Laboratory, UWE Bristol, Frenchay Campus
Engineers from the Bristol Robotics Laboratory will deliver this free two-day workshop, which provides a practical introduction to the topic of industrial robotics.
Whatever your level of experience or ability, you will have the chance to get ‘hands-on’ with our robot arms, gaining insight into different hardware options and operating systems, while being able to question experienced technicians.
Open to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in any sector from across Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, the two days take place in the RIFBristol workspace – a supportive learning environment. All SMEs are welcome, including start-ups, micros, sole traders and larger companies.
The agenda provides an overview of the robotics sector, a tour of the Laboratory, and an opportunity to carry out practical tasks with three robot arms (KUKA, Universal, etc.) and associated tech (conveyer, vision system, simulation software, etc.).
More info and registration
Do you work in #SoftRobotics?
Join us on Thursday 30th March for our Soft Robotics Research Showcase, where you’ll get to experience inspiring talks, interactive demos as well as the chance to seek out opportunities to collaborate on leading research.
During the event, you’ll get to hear from inspirational researchers and industry stakeholders working in the following areas:
◾ Smart materials
◾ Smart structures and mechanism
◾ Dextrous manipulation
◾ Autonomous robots
◾ Wearable robotics
◾ Human interaction and augmentation
◾ Bio-inspired robotics
◾ Environmental monitoring and remediation
◾ Space robotics; and
◾ Implantable medical devices
See the full line up of speakers and book your place now: https://lnkd.in/exPpaXxX
Bristol DataViz Group 7 March 3 – 4pm
This is a group for individuals interested in data visualisation, where members can skill-share, discuss data visualisation topics and highlight great examples.
The current format is an (almost) monthly meeting, either a scheduled speaker, tutorial or a more informal discussion session. “Data visualisation” in this group is focused on representing large scale data in interesting and innovative ways: more than just a graph!
JGI International Women’s Day Seminar 2023
We invite you to join us for this exciting event showcasing inspiring women from our community and the Data Science and AI related projects they are involved in.
We will be welcoming guest speakers from The Jean Golding Institute and our international partners, to talk about how they got to where they are now, their research interests and achievements they are proud of. They will also be sharing their unique experiences of what it is like to be a woman working in Data Science and AI.
Research Workshop | Closing the Skills Gap in AI-Ecosystems
The TAS Hub performs cutting-edge research to understand the effects autonomous systems can have on society, with a view to making them trustworthy in principle and trustworthy by design. This research workshop invites participants to investigate sector-specific skills required to build, implement, and manage autonomous systems. To ensure that AI benefits everyone in the future, more needs to be done to educate future generations of trustworthy autonomous systems engineers and practitioners – industries continue to struggle to resource, upskill and reskill their workforces to implement AI effectively.
The Rose Review Progress Report
Since the first Rose Review was launched in 2019, female founders have proven to be extremely resilient, despite operating in exceptionally volatile and difficult circumstances including a global pandemic and cost of living crisis.
Despite these barriers, the report shows that in 2022 more women-led companies were founded than ever before.
Some other highlights include:
✅ Women founded over 150,000 new companies last year – more than ever before, and twice as many as were founded in 2018.
✅ The biggest leap was among 16-25-year-old female founders, which rose by almost a quarter.
✅ Over the past year, across the UK Rose Review partners offered 800,000 opportunities to access schemes and support including networking events, mentorship and masterclasses.
✅ A total of 190 financial services institutions have now signed the Investing in Women Code; this is up from 134 last year, representing a more than 41% rise.
Read the report: https://lnkd.in/enT4p6DM
Vacant commercial property grant scheme
If you are starting a business then it may be worth checking this out
The deadline to apply for the Vacant Commercial Property Grant has been extended to Monday 22 May.
Up to £10,000 of grant funding is available to support the start-up and growth of small businesses in the city centre and on Bristol’s high streets.
Visit our website for information and to apply. The page includes guidance notes, the application form and case studies of some of the successful applicants who have received this funding. Heres some of the spaces available
Stuff for Schools ….
Amazon Future Engineer bursary scheme
The Amazon Future Engineer bursary is a national bursary programme aimed at supporting women A-level and BTEC/OCR(or Scottish equivalent) students from low-income households who wish to study computer science or related engineering courses at UK universities.
They’re also running classroom support for international women day
Celebrate International Women’s Day with Amazon Future Engineer
Amazon Future Engineer is a range of FREE programmes designed to give young people access to computer science education and opportunities. With a focus on underserved and underrepresented youth, the programme provides educational resources for teachers and students, including interactive online courses and challenges, workshops for schools, CPD for teachers, and Class Chats to bring Amazon career exploration live into your classroom. We work with students and their teachers, from childhood to career.
Our Candidates
If any of you are looking for jobs then feel free to send us your requirements and we can put you on our candidate list.
We have a few members interested in moving jobs within the industry currently, either for career progression or change or new to the industry. We are chatting to them about the opportunities out there but if you would like to speak to us about any candidates please get in touch on info@wthub.org.
J19 – Junior Javascript Developer
Experience: Develop Me Coding Fellowship and more than 1 and 1/2 years tech experience. MA Music Therapy, PGCE Primary, BA Hons. (2i) Music Technology.
Skills: JavaScript, Typescript, React, Redux, HTML5, CSS, Git, Jest,
Rest APIs, SQL, Node.js
Job(s) of the Week
There are some top jobs from our clients wanting to make a difference and ensure that they reach out to recruit a more diverse workforce. Please check out all of the jobs on our jobs board and get in touch if you want to reach out to our members at info@wthub.org.
Our Events
We collaborate with various groups to run workshops and hack nights, upcoming events are below.
Bi-Weekly we run Workshop Wednesdays in collaboration with CodeHub
Next week on the 8th of March we have …..
For anyone interested in learning about SQL – the main language for relational databases – we are delighted to present ‘An Intro to…..SQL’, thanks to James Rennison .
Aimed at those with no, or a little, knowledge of SQL, James will explain:
- what are relational databases
- why do we use them
- what are the key commands
There will be examples and plenty of time to discuss the topics and ask questions.
Kindly hosted at DeskLodge House as part of Workshop Wednesdays organised by our friends at Womens Tech Hub.
- You can sign up to pop along with either Women’s Tech Hub ~ Bristol • Bristol or CodeHub Bristol • Bristol
- We also host a Drop-In Session by Bristol Data Science and Machine Learning Study Group • Bristol – which is where you can pop along, meet other like-minded data people and ask Chew about all things data.
For details check out our WW page here.
Hack Night
On alternate Tuesday evenings there is Code Hubs’ Hack Night by CodeHub Bristol • Bristol and Women’s Tech Hub ~ Bristol • Bristol currently this is online only, although there is talk of going back live so if you are a venue wanting to host please get in touch.
Girl Geek Dinners (Bristol and Bath)
We have 2 dates in the Diary for Bristol, we are just confirming talk details. The first is with Tumelo on the 28th of March and we have one at Scott Logic on the 26th of April. Bath has a talk on the 2nd of March with RocketMakers.
Any companies wanting to host please mail us at info@wthub.org.
Check out the coming events on our dedicated page – pop along and support the organisers as it takes work to run these things and it’s great to find a supportive network.
Conferences
Conferences coming up this week Check out the other ones coming up on our Conferences page.
MWC February 27th – March 2nd 2023, Barcelona
The world’s largest mobile technology conference will take place in Barcelona, its home since 2006. From expert advice to inspirational insights – words are powerful at MWC Barcelona. Catch up with our keynote speakers and hear about the future of connectivity.
Digital Future Day: International Day of Girls and Women in Science 28th of Feb
In combined celebration of International Day of Girls and Women in Science and Rare Disease Day, The National Museum of Computing is hosting an inclusive exploration of innovative Medical Technologies. From robots that carry out life-saving surgeries in remote locations to VR-assisted training for surgeons to Drone delivered blood banks, technology is vital in ensuring the very best healthcare is available to all. In this action-packed day of interactive workshops, we build digital skills through real-life applications. Industry professionals will be delivering authentic tasks to provide real, relatable role models.
The Science of The Multiverse: Do Parallel Universes Exist? February the 28th
Multiple universes and parallel worlds are all the rage in film and TV these days from the Marvel cinematic universe to Stranger Things. But multiverses are more than just fiction, many scientists are increasingly convinced that our universe is just one of a vast number of hidden worlds.
Multiverses crop up all over the place in physics. The modern Big Bang theory suggests that our Universe was just one of an effectively infinite number that are continuously being birthed. Some quantum physicists even argue that every time a choice is made, the universe branches into two parallel worlds. Multiverses have also be invoked to explain why our Universe seems peculiarly well set up for life to exist.
However, the idea of the multiverse is also hugely controversial, striking at the heart of what it means to do science. In this talk, particle physicist Harry Cliff takes us on a tour of the multiverse, exploring why its being taken seriously by many scientists and asking whether we’ll ever be able to access these other worlds.
Bristol Neuroscience Festival – Plenary Lecture March the 4th
In this lecture Professor David Nutt will discuss the latest discoveries from clinical studies about how psychedelic drugs affect the brain and the exciting clinical potential these drugs offer. Professor Emma Robinson will focus on studies using psychedelics to explore the fundamental biology of emotional behaviour, what we have learnt about how antidepressants may work from studying these drugs and even what this may mean for the underlying causes of depression.
Mood disorders are highly prevalent and on the increase and we still know very little about why they develop or how best to treat them. Although a field with many challenges, it is also an area that has seen major advances in recent years. In 2000, a landmark paper showed that ketamine could produce both rapid improvements in mood after a single dose and effects which lasted for up to 2 weeks. Subsequent studies with psilocybin suggest similar rapid changes in mood occur after a single treatment and these effects lasted in some people for several months.
These studies have provided the momentum for a whole new avenue for exploration and these studies are beginning to reveal all sorts of exciting new biology and psychology. One of the most intriguing aspects of these rapid-acting antidepressants is the observation that they can induce sustained changes in mood which last long after their pharmacological effects.
Women Techmakers (WTM) Belfast 2023 March the 4th
Women Techmakers is Google’s global program and brand for women in technology. As part of the global event series, we host an annual WTM, in celebration of International Women’s Day.
In our 6th year, we are looking forward to WTM Belfast 2023 – a full day conference where we will hear from various speakers who will inspire, motivate, enthuse and relate to our audience of everyone, with talks highlighting the achievements of local women in tech.
As a suggestion from one of our lovely members (Thanks Gabs #1!), we have also set up a “buymeacoffee” page for those wanting to give us a small thank-you. Check it out here.
Women’s Tech Hub products
The candidates page advertises the skillsets of the women we have looking for roles in the area (and some of our male allies).
Jobs Board for those wanting to advertise specifically to our members in the area – check it out here.