Network Jam – Small but Perfectly Formed

A huge thanks to Stephen Brown, Sharon Hearty et al for organising Network Jam at the CoLab in Letterkenny on the weekend.

It wasn’t a huge event in terms of numbers (say about 30 people in attendance) but it was one of the most enjoyable entworking events I’ve been to in months.

A relaxed, informal atmosphere. Plenty of free space and time to get to know people. Nice sandwiches. A diverse crowd. And all peppered with some good talks. What else could you ask for.

Officially, the point of the day was to kick off Business In Action, a ‘user-generated’ cross border networking project akin to the successful Dundalk / Newry business club.

Which makes a lot of sense. Letterkenny is just 20 minutes down the road and yet we’re often more willing to look to Belfast as our greatest opportunity to network outside of Derry.

I’m looking forward to seeing how Business In Action develops and helping out however I can. If you’re interested in getting involved, make sure to drop them a line.

Network Jam – Sat, March 6th, Letterkenny

Network Jam
Saturday, March 6th,
CoLab, Letterkenny (Here)

Kick off: 9:30 am
Cost: FREE

More info: www.businessinactionnetwork.com
Register: www.eventelephant.com/Networkjam

Network Jam takes place on Saturday 6th March 2010, in the CoLab,
Letterkenny. Organised by ‘Business in Action’; a new cross-border ‘user
generated’ networking group the event is designed to be a “refreshing
approach to networking with other small to medium sized businesses on both sides of the border”.

Running from 9:30am to 4pm, this one-day workshop will feature a range of talks from entrepreneurs and professionals who are successfully engaged in cross-border business from both the service and commercial sectors.

These are all small to medium sized business people ready to share their
knowledge about how they have grown their business by working with their neighbour county in the North or vice versa.

There’ll also be a contingent from the highly successful ‘user generated’
Dundalk/Newry Business Club discussing how they have created a successful network of “People Doing Business with People”.

Pop it in your diary as a prefect opportunity to meet new people, share
experiences and challenges, take away new ideas and, most importantly,
some fruitful new contacts.

You can register by visiting
www.businessinactionnetwork.com

OpenCoffee Derry, Wed Feb 24th, Tower Hotel

Hi everyone,

The next OpenCoffee meetup will take place

Wednesday, February 24th
6pm
Tower Hotel (in the bar)

Looking forward to seeing you all there

Online Marketing Event at Magee

How to Have a Well Co-ordinated Internet Marketing Campaign

Wednesday, February 17th
6.30 – 9pm
Foyle Arts Building,
University of Ulster

Presented by the Chartered Management Institute, a panel of business people will talk about how they’re using social media in theirorganisations.

Places are limited so email Tracy Hegarty tracy@womeninenterprise.org.uk for more information.

IT Sligo’s Innovation Week

I got a little email through today about IT Sligo’s Innovation Week. If anyone is interested, the details are below.

A quick question though: shouldn’t Derry have this kind of event too?

Or do we and I just don’t know about it … in which case please let me know.

IT Sligo’s Enterprise & Innovation Week is a week-long programme of seminars, workshops, events to promote innovation entrepreneurs and creativity (see attached schedule).

The Enterprise & Innovation Week’s Programme will formally launch in the Innovation Centre, IT Sligo on Monday 22 February. The programme was developed in partnership with Sligo’s County Development Board, Enterprise Ireland and the Western Development Commission.

The Enterprise & Innovation Week will run from the 22^nd to the 25^th of February 2010, and will feature over 20 events, including a number of international high-profile presenters. Some of the key note speaker includes:

·         Danny McCoy, newly appointed Director General of the Irish Business & Employers Confederation (IBEC) will formally launch the week’s programme

·         Larry Farrell, leading US author and expert on entrepreneurship

·         Harry Grill, Corporate Partner, with global law firm K&L Gates, counsels clients on cross-border, strategic transactions and advises international businesses looking to establish a commercial presence in the United States.

·         Seán Gallagher, Founder and CEO at Smart Homes and a Dragon on RTE’s Dragon’s Den

·         Ian Brannigan, Development Executive with the Western Development Commission.  Ian will be presenting the findings of the WDC’s recent report on the huge potential of the creative industry in the West of Ireland

·         The final of Sligo VEC’s Dragon’s Den Competition.

Visit Enterprise & Innovation Week’s website www.itsligo.ie/innovationweek for up-to-date information on the week’s schedule, news and events, and how to get involved.

Download the Enterprise & Innovation Week Schedule

We’re Back

After a nice long winter hiatus OpenCoffee Derry will be back in action on Wednesday, February 24th, 6pm. We’re hoping to book the coffee shop at the Nerve Centre again but will confirm the location soon.

We’ll be meeting in the Tower Hotel bar.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter for updates.

See you there.

Workshop: Teaching in Immersive Worlds

National Workshop on Teaching in Immersive Worlds

University of Ulster, Magee Campus
20th November 2009

• Considering using virtual worlds for teaching and want to know where to start?
• Curious about how others are using virtual spaces for teaching?
• Interested in learning how the future of undergraduate education will be shaped by immersive technologies?

IMMERS[ED] 2009; National Workshop on Teaching in Immersive Worlds will be hosted by the School of Computing & Intelligent Systems and will take place in the Great Hall of the University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Northern Ireland on the 20th November 2009 (registration from 8.30, start at 9.30).

The workshop has an International line-up of speakers from the UK and Ireland and will offer a series of insightful talks examining the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching using virtual worlds such as Second Life, Opensim and Metaplace.  

Speakers include

• John Kirriemuir of Virtual Worlds Watch,
• Daniel Livingstone (SLOODLE) & University of West Scotland,
• David Burden (PIVOTE) & Daden Limited,
• Michael Callaghan and Kerri McCusker of the University of Ulster,
• Tim Savage and Carina Girvan of Trinity College Dublin and
• Barry McAdam and Anna O’Donovan of INTEL.

The objective of the event is to raise awareness of the benefits and possible pitfalls of using virtual and immersive worlds in an educational context and will provide practical advice and demonstrations from leading educators and industrial experts in this area.

It will highlight funding opportunities available in this field and offer tips on how to focus your research to maximise your chances of succeeding with applications.

The workshop is organised by the Serious Games & Virtual Worlds Research Team and the School of Computing & Intelligent Systems, Faculty of Computing and Engineering and co-sponsored by the University of Ulster, Office of Innovation Knowledge Club Program.

For further details on this event please contact workshop organisers Michael Callaghan or Kerri McCusker.

There is no fee to attend but you must register as places are strictly limited. To register and for further information please go to the workshop website.

http://www.learninginvirtualworlds.com/

InvestNI Online Marketing Workshop Thingy

Aidan from Riada dropped me an email about an event InvestNI are hosting next week – I’ve no idea if there are any spaces left but if you’re free for lunch next Tuesday it might be worth a look.

INVEST NI BEST PRACTICE CLUB – The Future of Online Marketing

The next meeting of the Best Practice Club will take place on Tuesday 10^th November 2009 in Davincis Hotel, Culmore Road, Derry between 12 -2pm. Lunch will be served on arrival.

This session will focus on the benefits to your business of using online marketing. These will include how to access new markets, new customers, reduce traditional marketing costs, reduce your overheads and increase your profits.

Topics to be covered will include Search Engine Optimisation, Google Analytics, Email Marketing and the growth of Social Media Marketing (e.g.Twitter, Facebook).

The invite says to contact Elaine Walsh at InvestNI on 028 71278179 or you can check out the detail here.

Next OC Derry – Thurs, Nov 12th

The next OC Derry is:

Thursday, November 12th, 6pm
City Hotel (reception area)

How I Lost the Derry Business Awards

The Derry Business Awards took place on Friday night at the City Hotel – and despite a few nominations for OpenCoffee folk, I can officially announce that:

• I am not Derry’s Business of the Future
• Donal Doherty is not the Entrepreneur of the Year
• Donal’s Foyle Fashion Week is not the Tourism Initiative of the Year

Despite the bitter sting of defeat, a few sociable beers eased the pain and a good night of drunken schmoozing was had by all.

Maybe we should start our own awards?

(And congrats to Donal for the two nods!)