Engineering Days Q2: Broadening our horizons through external insights

The second quarterly edition of the Engineering Days was a significant milestone for our team, surpassing the expectations set by our first Engineering Days in March of this year. From June 14 to 16, we had the privilege of organizing an expanded program, featuring 14 live sessions and a hackathon which was divided into two separate sessions. This edition not only celebrated the growth of our event but also embraced collaboration, fully in the spirit of our value #wearebettertogether (find all our values here) and welcomed a diverse lineup of internal and external speakers, enriching the experience for all participants.

The Hackathon

We started off the event with a brief introduction speech by our Director of Engineering and Engagement, Thiemo Bubel, and then jumped directly into the Hackathon Kickoff. The 22 participants, divided into 8 teams, were presented with the goal of the hackathon: to enhance development and architecture skills in serverless architectures, encouraging participants to build proof-of-concept solutions, highlight the pros and cons, prove cost efficiency, and gather ideas for future implementation. Participants were encouraged to engage in hands-on exploration, working together to build proof-of-concept serverless solutions that addressed specific use cases.

On the final day, the hackathon results were announced, showcasing remarkable talent, creativity, and teamwork. Participants presented outstanding solutions, highlighting their strong dedication and expertise. The winning team’s project focused on utilizing AI and serverless technologies to assist in content moderation. Their solution specifically highlighted the application of AI insights in content moderation, with a particular emphasis on the Job moderation tool. By using AI and serverless technologies, their solution aims to filter out scam jobs and provide valuable support for our competent moderation team responsible for this task. Their innovative approach and commitment to collaboration lay the groundwork for future projects, as they demonstrated the potential of AI to to boost internal productivity and work quality.

Furthermore, the participants showcased a wide variety of impressive solutions during the hackathon. These projects encompassed features like real-time two-way communication through WebSockets, allowing for smooth and interactive conversations. They also utilized serverless technology to swiftly create a dynamic platform, highlighting the effectiveness and scalability of this approach. The diverse range of innovative solutions demonstrated the participants’ creativity, technical skills, and their ability to tackle various challenges across different fields.

The Sessions

Over the course of the three days, we had the fantastic opportunity to participate in 14 captivating sessions, covering a wide variety of topics. These sessions addressed diverse subjects, catering to the unique interests of each participant and creating an enriching experience for all. We dived deep into advanced technologies like Nginx, exploring their ins and outs and discovering exciting ways to harness their capabilities. Moreover, we immersed ourselves in the world of ChatGPT plugins, unlocking their potential to enhance communication and improve user experiences.

However, the sessions went beyond just technical discussions. We also engaged in meaningful conversations that ventured into non-technical realms. We explored intriguing subjects like understanding the impact of fear on personal interactions, delving into the psychological factors that shape our connections with others. Additionally, we examined the essential aspects of leadership roles, investigating the qualities and skills necessary for effective leadership in diverse settings. These conversations provided valuable insights, expanding our horizons and deepening our understanding of the world.

The sessions were carefully designed to accommodate individuals with varying levels of technical expertise, ensuring that everyone could find value in the content. Regardless of one's technical background, participants could discover relevant and engaging information, contributing to a well-rounded learning experience. The diverse range of topics covered sparked curiosity and encouraged critical thinking, fostering an environment of exploration and inspiration for future endeavors.

The Guest Speakers

Another aspect that truly stood out in this edition was the presence of renowned guest speakers who significantly contributed to the event’s success. We were honored to have the following experts join us:

1. Divina Paff, Stepstone’s Customer Success Manager at Slack, introduced us to “Canvas,” an innovative new feature. Canvas is a permanent place in Slack where users can centralize and curate information according to their individual preferences and requirements. Participants learned about the concept of Canvas and its associated benefits, how to effectively utilize it in their daily work and helped them understand when to use Canvas as opposed to Channels within Slack.
2. Stefan Pölz is a Microsoft MVP (Developer Technologies), JetBrains Community Contributor (.NET) and co-organiser of DotNetDevs.at. During his interactive session he focused on exploring and addressing common pitfalls in C#/.NET development. Participants gained insights into crucial areas such as memory management and resource disposal, null reference exceptions, string manipulation and concatenation, exception handling, concurrency and thread safety, performance considerations, and version compatibility and dependency management.
3. Artur Speth & Karsten Kempe both work for Microsoft and showcased their state-of-the-art system and illustrated how they utilized Azure DevOps to build the tool itself. The focus was on highlighting key principles, such as team responsibility, metrics, and automation. Microsoft explained and demonstrated their best practices, offering valuable insights into their evolved Software Development Lifecycle for digital software engineering over the years. Attendees had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Microsoft’s journey and learn from their successful strategies and approaches.
4. Dennis Bappert (Sr. Solutions Architect), Olivier Boder (Solutions Architect) & Stefan Christoph (Principal Solutions Architect) work for Amazon Web Services. Their session delved into the realm of generative AI and its transformative impact within the broader field of AI. They specifically explored the utilization of Amazon SageMaker, a powerful tool for experimenting and building applications based on cutting-edge models such as Stable Diffusion, BLOOM, and Amazon AlexaTM. Participants were introduced to Amazon SageMaker Jumpstart, which simplifies the development process by eliminating the burden of mundane tasks and providing easy access to pre-trained models and example code.
5. Leila Rao is the CEO and co-founder of AgileXtended. Value Stream Mapping, a timeless lean technique, was explored in the session as a means to address contemporary challenges of alignment and transparency, while also providing valuable context for strategic decision-making and risk management. By adapting this classic approach, participants gained insights into how Value Stream Mapping can effectively identify areas of inefficiency, waste, and bottlenecks within end-to-end processes. The session highlighted the versatility of this technique in improving operational efficiency, streamlining workflows, and enhancing overall organizational performance. Emphasizing the importance of transparency and alignment, Value Stream Mapping was demonstrated as a valuable tool for informed decision-making and risk mitigation.

The presence of these notable guest speakers greatly enriched the educational aspect of the event, offering attendees valuable insights and diverse perspectives. Their sessions sparked interesting discussions and inspired participants to explore new ideas.

As organizers, we were excited to see the heightened engagement and depth brought by these guest speakers. Their valuable contributions not only enhanced the session content but also demonstrated our commitment to providing a comprehensive and inclusive learning experience.

Learnings for the next time

But of course, there were still some challenges that we faced during the event, which have provided us with valuable insights for improving the next installment of the Engineering Days and ensuring the best experience for everyone. One significant challenge we encountered was the scheduling conflict that some attendees experienced due to simultaneous meetings planned. As a result, there were individuals who were unable to attend certain sessions, leading to feedback about timing conflicts. To address this, we have taken note of the importance of spacing out sessions more effectively and exploring additional measures to accommodate participants in different time zones. We also want to highlight that while we already provide recordings of the sessions, we will further emphasize their availability to ensure that everyone can benefit from the content even if they are unable to attend live. By learning from these challenges, we are dedicated to enhancing the scheduling and accessibility of sessions, ultimately creating a more inclusive and rewarding experience for all participants in the next Engineering Days.

So what do we take from this?

In conclusion, we are confident about the future of the Engineering Days. The success of this edition, with its expanded program and amazing guest speakers and remarkable participant contributions, has shown us the value and potential of the event. From tech people for tech people, we are dedicated to continuously improving and delivering a truly enriching experience. We know there are areas we can enhance, and we are committed to making the event even better next time. We are excited about the journey ahead and look forward to creating more impactful Engineering Days in the future.

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