List of hackathons in Dundee, United Kingdom in 2018

Artificial Intelligence shapes digital services that have become central to our everyday lives. Online platforms leverage the power of AI to monetize our attention, with often unethical side-effects: our privacy is routinely breached, our perception of the world is seriously distorted, and we are left with unhealthy addictions to our screens and devices. The deep asymmetry of power between users and service providers, the opacity and unaccountability of the algorithms driving these services, and their exploitation by trolls, bullies and propagandists are serious threats to our well-being in the digital era. This hackathon invites participants to build tools to empower users in their online lives. The tools might address any relevant problem in this space, including (but not limited to) filter bubbles and fake news, biased and unaccountable algorithms, or the profit-driven metrics that guide these AI-powered services. Prizes will reward the three best contributions overall, and a special separate prize will be dedicated to the contribution that best addresses the issues faced by children. Children represent a third of global users, are among the most vulnerable groups, less armed to negotiate the asymmetry of power between themselves and the digital services they are using. To participate please apply via the hackathon page on the Unbias Web site. You will be sent a code to get your eventbrite ticket. We are doing it this way to ensure we get a diverse audience.

The 2018 SICSA PhD Conference will be held at Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University on the 28th and 29th of June. The Scottish Informatics & Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)  PhD Conference has been an annual event for almost a decade. It marks a time where PhD students attending universities all around Scotland get together for a couple of days. During the event students get to attend interesting workshops, talks and social events. Whilst having a chance to showcase their work through the annual student poster and demo sessions. The event is open to all PhD students in Computer Science and Informatics in Scotland, not just students funded by SICSA. There are no registration fees and two nights accommodation is provided free as the event is fully funded by SICSA. Due to the popularity of the conference, please register early to avoid disappointment. Please note that some of the workshops have limited places so please register early. The workshops this year include: Hackathon! Your Career in Academia - Balancing Teaching and Research Your PhD - What's next? Web Accessibility: Learn new techniques to improve assistive technologies design 5 Statistical Mistakes You are Likely to Make Student Wellbeing: Managing your PhD Journey How to do a Systematic Literature Review Demystifying the PhD Thesis The conference will also feature: Keynote Speakers Poster / Technology Demo' Sessions Night time social activity The full programme can be accessed at SICSA Conference web-site www.sicsaconf.org Please note:Student participants are strongly encouraged to present a poster or show a Technology Demo' of their work at the event. Please enter the title of your poster /demo' during the registration process. This is intended to be an initial indication of the poster’s content; changes to topics after registration are permitted. Places are limited and registration will be on a first come first served basis. A waiting list will be used in the event that demand for places is higher than the number of places available. Students who register for the conference (and accommodation if applicable) and fail to attend without giving 10 full working days notice (or suffering exceptional circumstances) will be charged a fee of £100 (no accommodation) or £150 (with accommodation), billed to their school/department.  Please note, the conference is a two day event and attendance at both days is mandatory. If you have any questions relating to the Conference please email us at admin@sicsa.ac.uk We would like to thank Visit Aberdeenshire for their support.  

STUDENTS Are you currently a student looking to get ahead and boost your chances of employment in the tech sector?Then come along to our Employability Workshop on 4 June 2018, at Codebase Edinburgh. During this workshop, we'll have sessions on: CV tailoring service, interview guidance and cover letter tips Guest employers sharing their top tips to stand out from the crowd How to start your own business Hackathon Employer networking with pizza and drinks (4pm - 5pm) Get ahead. Sign up today - spaces are limited! EMPLOYERS Interested in meeting potential candidates for your business? Come along to the free networking session at 4pm to 5pm, we'll even give you pizza and drinks!

In 2018, RGU Computing Society in partnership with the School of Computing Science and Digital Media is hosting our fourth annual hackathon. A hackathon is an event where people with technical backgrounds come together, form teams around a problem or idea, and collaboratively program a solution from scratch over the course of 24 hours. Participants use technology to turn ideas into reality collaboratively. We are also partnering with Major League Hacking for RGUHack. MLH is the official student hackathon league. We have been working with our Partners and Sponsors to make this event completely FREE from start to finish. There will be food, drinks and of course - prizes for the winning projects/ideas! Find out more about the event on our website

CreatED is a 24 hour hardware hackathon being run at the University of Edinburgh. Come along to the only student-run event of its kind for a weekend of free food, making and meeting new people! FAQ - Is the event free? Yes, the event is completely free to attend. - What is a hardware hackathon? A hardware hackathon is an event that happens over a weekend (including overnight!) where people build projects using electronics and microcontrollers. This could be anything from using a micro:bit to building an IoT application. - Is the event beginner friendly? Yes! The society behind the event (Edinburgh EaRS) is a society aimed at helping beginners into embedded development and robotics. There will be workshops and mentors throughout the event and we'll support you every step of the way. - When are tickets being released? We'll be releasing tickets weekly in the run-up to the event, mark yourself as interested in this event to receive updates! Get more details at https://createdhack.github.io

This will be a hands-on session building working technologies, and developing innovative scenarios and use-cases for low-cost, location-based products and services.  The main session will run in the morning, and we have the space for the whole day, so particpants will be able to continue to work through the afternoon, with a social session at the end of the day. We intend this to be an enjoyable, informal day exploring the technology and considering future use scenarios. You don't have to be a coding expert to take part! Run by James Stevens of SPC, Deptford, London & Mark Gaved of the Open University. Other participants from the MAZI project, who have experience of building community community WiFi networks, will also be on hand. Materials will be provided, but participants are welcome to bring extra materials, a suggested list will be provided in the week before the event. The hackathon will use MAZI project DIY WiFi networking technologies and toolkits based on Raspberry Pi 3. The Hackathon is Part 1 of the 2 part event: Program Or Be Programmed: The implications of small data, local context and “Do-It-Yourself” technologies. Presented as part of the DataFest18 Fringe Events Event web page: https://www.datafest.global/events-feed/2017/12/20/program-or-be-programmed-the-implications-of-small-data-local-context-and-do-it-yourself-technologies Presented by the EU H2020 funded MAZI project (Developing a DIY networking toolkit for location-based collective awareness http://www.mazizone.eu), the event will present an alternative view on data technology, focusing on “small” data, citizen empowerment and grassroots action. The MAZI project is a three year project investigating the uses of low-cost community WiFi networks and the software services that can be built with them. MAZI is working on four pilot studies, in Berlin, debating rights to the city; in London, helping marginalised communities find a voice when faced with gentrification; in Zurich, encouraging democratic participation; and in Greece, exploring how artists can help local communities reflect on their situation.

Wittin, in partnership with Abertay University and Dundee City Council are collaborating to host the Dundee Public Data Hack alongside DataFest18. The event will be held at University of Abertay White Space and run from Saturday 17 March to Sunday 18 March 2018. The Dundee Public Data Jam is a unique opportunity for Dundee Council to explore data in collaboration with entrepreneurially minded data scientists, games developers and ethical hackers to develop ideas that would benefit the running of Dundee Council. The focus is for projects that look specifically at Smart City Data and improvements in sharing and understanding. These can range from games and visualizations to infographics and storytelling. Teams, of up to five members, will be formed on the day to hack together a project to be presented to the rest of the hackathon for prizes voted on by members of Wittin, Abertay University and Dundee City Council. Co -Organised by Abertay University: Abertay University is the number one university in Europe for undergraduate computer games degrees and in the world top 10 for postgraduate degrees according to the prestigious Princeton Review. The UK’s first Centre of Excellence in computer games education, Abertay was also the first University in the world to offer degrees in computer games back in 1997. Since 1888, Abertay has been preparing students for the world of work and more than 92% of graduates go into employment or further study within six months of graduation. The University was first in the world to offer degrees in Ethical Hacking, where we uniquely train students in offensive security. Co-Organised by Dundee City Council: Dundee City Council as part of the Smart City Programme are developing an open data program within the city. The Programme seeks to enhance Smart City activity by using Data and Digital Technologies to accelerate and transform the delivery of city services. The vision in Dundee is to enable the city to become more liveable and resilient through the use of Data and Digital Technology. This will aid and facilitate delivery of city priorities through improved community engagement, integration of service delivery and innovation that Smart City and open data approaches can provide. Adopting a Smart City approach make public services more effective and efficient and the cities themselves become more attractive to investors. Dundee is one of seven cities working on open data, backed by money from the European Regional Development Fund through the Scottish Cities Alliance (SCA). The SCA was established to collaborate on economic development initiatives and includes all seven Scottish city local authorities. It has three main priority programmes for Scotland’s cities – the low carbon economy, city infrastructure investment and smart cities.Dundee City Council have launched an open data platform to share data about the city. Over the coming year organisations in Dundee plan to share over 100 datasets to the platform which will be available for re-use by anyone - from interested citizens, to developers wanting to use the data in apps or games. Photo by MolybdenuM 91: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mistahmo_ninetyone/8733329606/

The DataVisFest is a DataFest fringe event, aiming to develop creative data visualiztion concepts, prototypes, and future collaborations between data collaborators, visualization designers, and the general public. Data on inequality and inclusion are being gathered through a variety of services, governmental organisations and charities. These data are often stored in repositories and databases, accessible primarily to people with the particular interests and skills to use them. There is a great opportunity to make these data more accessible to people without technical data skills, helping them to connect with critical issues in their communities and beyond. This participatory and collaborative event focuses on data visualisation practices and aims to explore the question of how to (re)present data about (in)equality and inclusion in a way that engages a public audience. How can abstract, invisible, intangible, and steadily updating “data” be grasped in a way that helps us humans discuss and make better decisions about the future of politics and society as well as on a daily basis?  Our DataVisFest is similar to a hackathon, but it does not necessarily involve coding. More information can be found online: https://datavisfest.wordpress.com Schedule: https://datavisfest.wordpress.com/page This event is organised by the School of Informatics and the Edinburgh College of Art. For more information, please contact: Benjamin Bach, Lecturer in Design Informatics and Visualization, University of Edinburgh Cat Magill, Research Assistant, University of Edinburgh Dave Murray-Rust, Lecturer in Design Informatics, University of Edinburgh Ewan Klein, Professor of Language Technology, University of Edinburgh

If you are interested in wikidata, then you're invited to participate in the Wikidata Hackathon - Festival of Creative Learning. You'll get to learn how to add data to Wikidata and then you'll get to hack on one of three data hacks -- Women in Medicine, The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, or a Nautically themed data hack.

Scottish techies and non-techies! Do you have ideas on how to help increase data literacy in Scotland? If so, Creative Stirling invites you to participate in Creative Innovation in Scotland: Big Ideas from Small Cities -- a full-day event to gather ideas for a future hackathon focused on creative approaches to place development.