Growing as a Software Developer: ForLoop Calabar Recap.
On the 20th October 2018, Myself and three other awesome fellows where set to host the first ever forLoop event in Calabar, Cross River State. The event was scheduled to start at 11 AM but due to some technical challenges, it kicked off at 11:45 am with about 30 attendants already seated.
Sessions
The first session kicked off with Chika Princewill talking about “The GO Programming Language”. He talked about the intricacies of the language and also shared tips that have helped improve his knowledge of the language over the years.
Next on the List was Anthony Alaribe a Software Engineer at Opera. He spoke about “Building a career in technology”. In his talk, he pinpointed things he has personally used to transform his career to the point of working with global brands. He shared tips on networking and other salient points that can help boost your chances of advancing quickly, he also talked about learning to code effectively and making opensource contributions.
After the second talk, we dived straight into a kahoot session / Lunch break to spice up the day. At this time about 30 more people had joined in just minutes before it started raining.
After the game and refreshments, we moved unto the third session of the day. This time Smile Egbai a software Engineer at Safeboda talked about “Managing mental health as a Software Developer”. He talked about the challenges developers face in their Jobs that lead to mental breakdown. Through a series of slides, he showed the different stress levels faced and how they affect developer productivity. He ended his sessions with some good advice and actionable steps that can be taken to combat these issues.
Our final talk of the day was on “Building Progressive Web Applications” by Francis Udeji. In his talk, he took the audience through an introduction to building progressive web applications. Gave use cases and instances where PWA’S may not be a good fit for a project.
Take Away
The Tech Eco-system in Calabar was for a while stagnant, but with the advent of developer communities like Forloop, GDG, TechHive and the like it is rapidly growing. The tech-savvy ones are working tirelessly to build world-class solutions and also mentor upcoming enthusiasts amidst the difficulties. With such boldness and determination, I definitely think Calabar should be on the radar for talent search and investments alike.
All in all, we had a swell time at the event and gained invaluable insights from the speakers on the topics they spoke about. This new found knowledge will hopefully be used to unlock new levels in this Development Journey.
Big thanks to our wonderful sponsors LiftHub and Mildware and also the organizing team for putting this together. To stay in the loop, you can follow @forloopcal and @forloopAfrica on twitter.
What’s Next for Forloop Calabar?
We plan to have more meetups and hackathons in the coming months. We will also keep trying as much as we can to get more developer advocates/speakers from outside Calabar. We will keep sharing tips, updates, and more techy stuff through our social media.
See you at the next meetup.
