I said I would get a few blogs out of the Dynamo17 conference. It was a great event. Outside of the plenaries and main speakers I attended three of the breakout sessions. There were fifteen in total and I could have attended most of them as they all sounded interesting. It would be good to get some feedback from the rest.
The first I went to was: Promoting Diversity in Tech: What Works? You know that this is a subject that I am interested in. Amy led on a panel which told us about the Executive Women in ICT course that had been developed by Northumbria University with Dynamo and NEICT. For the first time I have witnessed, there was an all women panel and I was delighted to find out that I know and had worked with each of them. The message from this group was so positive and the course has been a superb example of what can be done. There is clearly more to follow.
The second I attended was: Constructive Clustering – The movers and shakers of BIM in the North East and the benefits of a sector cluster approach. Building Information Management is a hot topic and one where the region excels. The North East is the global hotspot for BIM with government representatives and companies from all over the world descending upon us to draw upon local expertise. Property is the biggest asset class in any economy. The total value is over £7 trillion in the UK with £100 billion spent each year, half in new build and half in maintenance. I am wanting to help Anne, who is developing the BIM cluster. Clusters allow us to grow and retain talent yet being in a cluster does not mean that the companies are not still competitive.
The last breakout session for me was: Shared Service Centres – Panel Discussion. This is another area in which the region can grow and Dynamo are developing it as a cluster. Perhaps I will get involved in this as well. The discussion reflected the early nature of the thinking around this area. More definition is required yet there is much more to offer than just call centres.
Three different topics, three areas of interest and three fascinating opportunities. It was hard deciding which to go to as there is so much going on across the region.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 