Tech Events in Exeter

Join us for a relaxed evening of free pizza, drinks and great talks on Python, data and open source software at PyData Exeter!

AGENDA

• 18:45 - Doors open
• 19:15 - Talks start
• 20:30 - Talks finish. Stick around for a drink and networking at the CUCKOO taproom across the road.

SPONSORS

• Exeter Innovation Hub
• Butterfly Data
• Mekion
• NumFOCUS

Talk #1
Hugh Evans, "Mapping the PyData Community with Python and Web Scraping"

In this talk I'll be walking through my project building maps of the PyData community using data scraped from Meetup. Featuring insights into the PyData community, geo-encoding, map making with Folium, and a call to support your local PyData group.

Talk #2
Anna Andersson, "Organising a PyData Meetup with Ontologies: From Schema to Reasoning"

Ontologies provide a powerful way to move from raw data to structured, machine-understandable knowledge but for many practitioners, they remain abstract and difficult to apply. In this talk, we bridge that gap with a practical, hands-on example. Using the familiar scenario of organising a PyData meetup, we will build a simple ontology to model speakers, talks, venues, and community interactions. From there, we explore how this semantic layer enables reasoning — uncovering implicit relationships and validating assumptions in ways that traditional data models cannot. The goal of this talk is to make ontologies concrete, approachable, and useful, demonstrating how they can support better data integration, clearer thinking, and more intelligent systems in real-world workflows.

Talk #3
Venkata Prudhvi Kante, "Local Shops are closing at record speed. I walked past the empty units everyday - until the data told a surprising story"

I live in Exeter. I started counting empty shopfronts on my walks and every week there were more. So, I did what any data scientist would do. I scraped every UK retail closure going back a decade and built a dataset that didn't exist. What the data analysis uncovered surprised even me and I'll show you the real story behind why local shops are disappearing, and what I'm building to fight back.

SPEAKER DETAILS

• Hugh Evans is a developer advocate and community manager with a particular interest in data and AI. He works in the streaming domain at Aiven where he helps to take care of the Kafka and ClickHouse communities. Out of office hours, he organises AI Signals, a community which hosts talks on real world applications of AI. Hugh is a former apprentice and an advocate for vocational learning as a pathway into an IT career. Here's Hugh's web page.
• Anna Andersson is a data science and AI lead with a background across academia, startups, and consultancy. She has worked extensively with ontology-driven platforms, knowledge graphs, and applied machine learning, and enjoys building end-to-end AI systems with multidisciplinary teams. She is particularly interested in turning complex data into practical, explainable solutions, and has worked on projects across critical and regulated industries.
• Venkata Prudhvi Kante is a Data Scientist who, by day, builds data pipelines, dashboards and machine learning models at South West Water. By night, he is an independent researcher, investigating patterns hidden in public records that the published literature hasn't explored yet. Holding an MSc in Business Analytics from the University of Exeter and five years of hand-on experience across Python, Azure and Databricks. His latest independent research on UK retail structural collapse - built entirely from public data and open-source Python, is available on GitHub.

CODE OF CONDUCT
The PyData Code of Conduct governs this meetup. To discuss any issues or concerns relating to the code of conduct or behaviour of anyone at the PyData meetup, please contact the PyData Exeter organisers, or you can submit a report of any potential Code of Conduct violation directly to NumFOCUS.

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.

Curiously Code Raspberry Pi Night
Join us at our Curiously Code Raspberry Pi Night. You can bring a Raspberry Pi project, or if you are just looking to come and have a play around with some Raspberry Pis, or get some inspiration, this is the space to connect, learn something new and have a bit of fun. Everyone is welcome, newbies to coding and technology, or if you are a seasoned technologist.

Note: We have only a few raspberry pis, so if you have your own, we encourage you to bring them along. :) If you have other similar kit to a Raspberry Pi, feel free to bring along too.

You can join us in-person on Thursday 7th May 2026 at 18:00:00 BST. You can drop by anytime and leave anytime.

In-Person: Generator Hub in Exeter

Venue Accessibility
Please note that the venue, Generator Hub, is held at The Gallery, Kings Wharf, The Quay, Exeter, EX2 4AN. There are lifts inside the building, but there are a few steps down to the Generator space. There is an entrance by the car park (Watergate entrance, EX2 4DE). If you need any assistance, please let us know in advance and we can accommodate as much as we can.

By attending this event, you agree to our Code of Conduct. This Curiously Code Community Code of Conduct is available to view in PDF here.

A casual social to MAKE FRIENDS meet like minded people who are interested in personal informed decision making...

This is part of the series of events held by the Nuromovement; helping people with informed decisioning when it comes to our needs (medical & non-medical), human rights and emerging technologies that impact us all with or without direct use. Another event; (FREE) baseline workshop is open to glean a warmth of understanding this is NOT essential but recommended.

Come alone, bring a friend.

Warm ears, hearts and a safe space to discuss any of the above/below topics.

There will be 4 cards to help with discussions but they do not need to be used:

1. Needs (medical & non-medical)
2. Human rights
3. Emerging technologies
4. Privacy

What are your views on each title?

What supports informed decision making with each title?

How do we support the collective growth with each title?

Rules: go without saying DECORUM (Buddhist style) it will be explained.

No pictures or recording without direct consent.

All beings welcome, neurodiversity is supported.

If you have any questions let me know.

Join us for our next ProductTank! 🎉

As always, we’d love you to bring a friend, colleague, or anyone curious about product to keep growing our community.
This time, we’ll be focusing on preventing burnout in product, with a talk from Evie Brockwell. Evie will share insights from her work with global brands and her research into burnout across the product community, along with practical ways we can protect our energy while still delivering meaningful impact.

After the talk, we’ll open things up for a group discussion, giving everyone the chance to share experiences and ideas.
Come along to learn something new, meet like-minded people, and take away ideas you can actually use.

Last but not least, once again there will be PIZZA!!!

See you there!

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This event is being generously hosted and sponsored by Gravita Exeter
Website: https://www.gravita.com/offices/exeter/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gravita-uk/

Join us (for FREE!) at The Exeter Innovation Hub in Princesshay for a mix of interesting lightning talks and networking, plus FREE PIZZA 🍕🍕🍕 courtesy of our new meetup sponsor Charles Stanley (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:

• James Kilby - Tech Valuations in Today's Market
• Tomisin Ajayi - What Building Data & Product Systems in Early-Stage Teams Actually Looks Like
• Haymar Htun - Democratising Access to Health Innovation: Making Technology the Guide

There is no bar at the venue so it's BYOB.

Talk Info:
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James Kilby:
What is your talk about?
Over the last 10 years, we have seen many high-profile tech companies valued at eye-watering amounts. How do these cases compare to the kinds of tech ventures this region is likely to grow.

Bio: Since joining Charles Stanley in 2021, I’ve qualified as and work as an Investment Manager in our Exeter office. I draw on a broad and advanced academic and professional foundation in wealth management to support clients in achieving their goals. I am passionate about technology and am setting out to be the best professional to give investment (and in future financial) advice to founders and CEOs.

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Tomisin Ajayi: Using Tech for Good - a Woman in Techs perspective of building a brand that cares.

What is your talk about?
This talk offers an honest look at building data and product systems in early-stage or resource-constrained teams, where there's no perfect data and no clean roadmap. It explores the gap between the idea of being "data-driven" and the reality, common early mistakes, and practical lessons from real projects including what didn't work and how it was improved.

Bio: Tomisin Ajayi is a Product and Data Analyst who helps early-stage startups build the systems they need to understand their users, product, and revenue. She has led the development of product dashboards, revenue intelligence systems, and user lifecycle analytics across SaaS and digital product companies.
She's also the Founder of ScalenTech, helping businesses scale through automation and analytics.
Tomisin is interested in demystifying "data work" in startups; showing what 'good enough' data infrastructure looks like in practice.

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Haymar Htun: Democratising Access to Health Innovation: Making Technology the Guide

What is your talk about?
Despite rapid medical breakthroughs, accessing clear, regulatory-grade clinical trial information remains a massive barrier for patients and a costly bottleneck for pharma. This session demonstrates how AI mobile technology bridges this "access gap" by translating dense medical data into actionable opportunities, driving faster recruitment and better health outcomes.

Bio: Passionate about using technology to make healthcare innovation accessible, understandable, and actionable for everyone.