Software Engineering Events in Exeter

THE STANDUP is our regular breakfast meetup, running the first thursday of every month.

Join your local tech/digital community for pastries, tea + coffee, and conversations to start your day the right way!

Come say hello! Pop in on your way to work and keep up to date with your peers and find out the latest developments from the TechExeter community.

Refreshments sponsored by CA Tech Talent. Venue sponsored by Exeter Innovation.

[ join us for the world's biggest hackathon! 🚀 ]

Whether you’re a student, professional, technologist, engineer or artist, the NASA International Space Apps Challenge offers opportunities for anyone with an interest in space and science through our hackathon and global community. All ages, skill levels, and professional backgrounds are welcome. At NASA Space Apps, there's always space for one more!

The weekend will be about meeting new people and solving interesting challenges together. Don't let the 'Apps' part put you off, the best teams are often the most diverse teams in terms of age, skills and experience. We have seen great projects made entirely from cardboard!

“SpaceApps brings amazing people together to find our way to solving some of the world’s biggest problems. We’ve seen people make video games, space suits, mars habitats, phone apps, movies and even a song! I can’t wait to see what this year’s participants will come up with!” - Kris Sum (Event lead)

The two days at the Met Office hosted event include free catering - a buffet lunch and dinner for the Saturday and a buffet breakfast and lunch for the Sunday. Snacks and drinks will also be provided throughout the day.

Who can come?

We welcome everyone to this event, but as this is the Met Office HQ there are a few things to note:

• Under 18s must be accompanied the whole weekend by a responsible adult (up to 6 dependents - contact us for more e.g. school groups)

There is no age limit for team participants, but all young people (under 18) must be accompanied by a parent / guardian whilst on the Met Office premises. We have quiet areas available for parents who do not wish to participate in the challenges themselves.

• Everyone will be subject to pre-event security checks, carried out by the Met Office security team. This is why our registration closes 2 weeks prior to the event and we can not admit those who register later!
• Met Office staff and badge holders are welcome (you must still register using our signup form on the official website though!)

How to attend:

Please go to the official website at https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/2026/local-events/exeter/ for all the details and further instructions.

Just signing up to this meetup event will NOT get you into the event!

Join us (for FREE!) at The Exeter Innovation Hub for a mix of interesting lightning talks and networking, plus FREE PIZZA 🍕🍕🍕 courtesy of our new meetup sponsor Raymond James (plus you can bring your own booze if you fancy 🥂)
Schedule

• 7.00pm: Doors open
• 7.30pm: Introduction and talks start
• 9.00pm: Doors close.

Speakers:

• Anna Kemp
• Nick Gravely
• Martin Barnes

There is no bar at the venue so it's BYOB, however some drinks will be provided.

Talk Info:

Anna Kemp: Building Technology That Helps Children Flourish

What is your talk about?
Drawing on her journey from an analogue childhood to becoming a home-educating mum and tech co-founder, Anna explores how technology can help families connect, share knowledge and access learning opportunities beyond the screen. Through the story of building Termly, she'll invite us to consider how thoughtfully designed technology can strengthen human connection, unlock the potential of communities and ultimately help children flourish.

Bio: Anna Kemp is a home-educating mum and co-founder of Termly, a community platform being developed to make home education more accessible, connected and easier to navigate. With a background in education, including working as a teaching assistant in schools and in youth work, she's passionate about helping children flourish through meaningful learning, shared knowledge and community connections.

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Nick Gravely: Formography: The Capture and Sharing of 3 Dimensional beauty.

What is your talk about?
A 2D image was fine for a 2D internet, but we’re moving into a 3D digital world, and that opens up huge possibilities for how we present and share content. Nick introduces Form Chasers, a platform for creating and exhibiting “formographs”: 3D scans of unique motorcycles and cars, made from a simple 3-minute walkaround video. Every exhibit on Form Chasers is a capture of a real vehicle, with a real story about its real journey in the real world.
From retail and auctions to exhibitions and experiences, formographs are set to become the way we experience three-dimensional things online. To get there, you have to nail a niche first, and with Nick’s 25-year background as a motorcycle designer and sculptor, vehicles were the natural place to start.

Bio: Nick Graveley spent 25 years sculpting motorcycles for OEMs around the world as a clay modeller, and he pioneered XR digital modelling for the segment. He joined the Exeter Innovation Accelerator to build Sculpt 3D Digital around XR modelling, but a side project, Form Chasers, turned out to be the bigger opportunity.

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Martin Barnes: Shortcuts to Meaning: How Experts Get Followed (and Repeated)

What is your talk about?
A broken-down car on the roadside, an MOT, and a small engineering firm pitching to a multinational. Martin shares why the best experts don't dumb things down. Instead, they package complexity into stories people can follow, repeat and act on.

Bio: Martin Barnes is a communication coach and founder of 8 Seconds 2 Connect, helping leaders and technical teams communicate with intent. He has worked with teams at ByteDance, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen, and hosts the Speaking of ROI podcast.