My Exciting Journey as a Speaker at DevoxxMa 2023
I still remember the excitement I felt when I attended DevoxxMa for the first time last year. It was beyond my expectations, and I left the event feeling inspired and motivated. This year, I had the opportunity to take my DevoxxMa experience to the next level by becoming a speaker.
The fun began on Day 00 (Day-1 to DevoxxMa) when I arrived in Taghazout for the speaker dinner. I was thrilled to meet old friends and make new ones. The evening was filled with laughter, learning, and networking.
On Day 01, I started my day by attending Sara El Ateif’s session on how to work effectively with AI models, especially Bard. I learned some valuable tips, such as keeping a pattern whole when prompting to have consistency in the generated answers and training the model on specific topics to influence AI for prompting more technical topics.
After Sara’s session, I spent some time networking with the Moroccan communities and my colleagues at SQLI, who were incredibly supportive of my talk.
As the time for my talk approached, I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. However, as soon as I stepped on stage and began sharing my experience of 5 years in IT event organization, I felt at ease.
The audience was engaged and enthusiastic, which made the experience even more enjoyable. If you want to find my talk’s slides, click here .
After my talk, I took some time to relax and enjoy some delicious desserts. I also participated in media coverage of tech events as part of my activities in the Biztech Morocco community.
On Day 02, I was eager to learn more about the latest trends and technologies in the tech industry. I started my day by attending the keynote, which celebrated the 10th anniversary of DevoxxMa and highlighted the new records for CFP this year. I was also impressed by DevoxxMa’s initiative to help the recent earthquake victims by donating part of the event budget. The biggest surprise of the day was the launch of X-hub, which includes Larbi, the first AI Moroccan model.
I continued my learning journey by attending several sessions throughout the day. One of my favorite sessions was Kaya Weers’s talk on design patterns, which he explained in a simple and funny way. I also enjoyed learning about Apache Camel from Zineb Bendhiba, who shared valuable insights on connecting disparate systems in a lightweight way and using Kafka instead of Spring to simplify many tasks.
On Day 03, I attended many sessions, from Preventing Security Vulnerabilities in a Web Application by Alexius DIAKOGIANNIS to 7 Projects to Bootstrap a Fullstack Developer Career and Win at Job Interviews by Djalal; unfortunately, I only got to attend its last parts. the final one was Welcome to the Jungle — Safari through the JVM Landscape by Gerrit Grunwald. because I ended my day with more networking and saying goodbye to my new and old friends.
DevoxxMa 2023 was an unforgettable experience. I had the opportunity to learn from some of the brightest minds in the tech industry, make new friends, and share my own knowledge and experience with others.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been a speaker at this cool event. It was a humbling and inspiring experience, and I’m already looking forward to next year!
I’m also grateful to my colleagues at SQLI for their support and encouragement. They were always there to help me with my talk, and I couldn’t have done it without them. Without forgetting to thank the Moroccan tech communities BizTech Morocco and Geeksblabla for their support of Moroccan talents through DevoxxMa. Their commitment to helping Moroccan tech professionals succeed is invaluable, and I am proud to be a part of this vibrant and growing community.
Finally, I want to thank the organizers of DevoxxMa for putting on such a fantastic event. It was clear that a lot of thought and effort went into every detail, and the result was a truly memorable experience for everyone involved.
Bonus :
I was interviewed by the local press agency, MAP (Moroccan Agency of Press) about my experience ad DevoxxMa attendee: https://youtu.be/N6-GXEmsv3k?t=76
