The ultimate guide to attending technical events remotely in the UK

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There are hundreds of amazing Microsoft-focused technical communities you can get involved in (yes, even during lockdown!), with focus areas from .NET to data science and SQL and everything in between. Many communities are running regular online meet-ups where you can hear from expert speakers and network with members. Below are some of those groups sorted by topic, plus communities that are for women currently working in or interested in coding/software development and data.  

If your event is missing please let us know and we’ll include it.  

Hope you enjoy any sessions you attend! 

 

Azure/Cloud

Azure Sentinel Open ForumThis is a Meetup Group for anyone who is keen to chat everything Azure Sentinel! We hope the discussion can cover both business and technical elements, so all interested parties are welcome. 

Azure Thames ValleyAzure Thames Valley is a group for anyone interested in Microsoft Azure Cloud Computing Platform and Services. We aim to provide the whole Microsoft Azure community, whatever their level, with a regular meeting place to share knowledge, ideas, experiences, real-life problems, best working practices and many more from their own past experiences. Professionals across various disciplines including Developers, Testers, Architects, Project Managers, Scrum Masters, CTOs and many more are all welcome. 

Azure LondonThis group is dedicated to helping developers, engineers, architects and everyone in between better understand and benefit from the Microsoft Azure public cloud. 

Cloud Family: Welcome to a new initiative called the Cloud Family and we are made up of a number of community members around the globe, we are here to help grow the Azure Community. 

Cloud Security LondonA regular Meetup for those currently working in Cloud Security or interested in getting into the field. We will be covering all major cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP), sharing best practices, and experiences in implementing Cloud Security.

Edinburgh Azure User GroupA community driven user group based in Edinburgh that focuses on Azure. The user group was founded as an independent body in mid 2017 and it looks to bring the IT community within Edinburgh and surrounding areas together. The group is a community driven group delivering the type of content, speakers and experiences that the IT community in Edinburgh wants. The group is open to developers, architects, consultants, engineers and enthusiasts. 

Glasgow Azure User Group This user group was founded as an independent body in early 2017 and it looks to bring the IT community within Glasgow and surrounding areas together. The group is a community driven group delivering the type of content, speakers and experiences that the IT community in Glasgow wants. The group is open to developers, architects, consultants, engineers and enthusiasts. 

Midlands Azure User GroupThe aim of the MAUG is to bring the I.T. community within the Midlands (Birmingham and surrounding areas) together to learn and discuss the Microsoft Azure platform. 

Northern Azure User GroupThe aim of the NAUG is to bring the IT community within Leeds, Manchester and surrounding areas together. The group is community driven delivering the type of content, speakers and experiences that the IT community in the above areas want. The group is open to developers, architects, consultants, engineers and enthusiasts. 

UK Azure User GroupAndy Cross and Richard Conway from Elastacloud and Chris Parsons and Joe Hancock from Hancock & Parsons established the UK Azure Users Group in 2011. Together they have built a thriving community of Azure users and developers with the help of Microsoft UK.  

UK Cloud Infrastructure User GroupThis user group is a group for everyone who wants to learn from another cloud enthusiasts sharing their knowledge and experience about the latest cloud technologies, best practices and use cases. It does not matter if you are an advanced user or the beginner, everyone is welcome as we are here for the same purpose – learn, network and expand our knowledge. Come and join us! 

Welsh Azure User GroupWelcome to the Welsh Azure User Group, the home of Microsoft Azure in Wales. Join us for learning and networking! 

Azure Groups on Meetup – global directory: Find out what’s happening in Azure Meetup groups around the world and start meeting up with the ones near you. This isn’t an exhaustive list but if you aren’t based in the UK or want to try some international groups whilst meetups are online, take a look here! 

 

.NET

Birmingham .Net & MAUI (Xamarin) User GroupThis is a group for anyone interested in or involved with .Net, C#, Azure or Xamarin Mobile Development. 

DotNetNotts: A monthly user group for passionate .NET developers in Nottingham 

DotNetNorthA meetup group for the .NET developers of Manchester and beyond. Technical talks by visiting speakers, community get-togethers and more! 

.Net Oxford.NET Oxford is a user-group based in the UK aimed at .NET developers. It’s not just .NET, but anything of interest to a .NET developer – which nowadays encompasses a wide variety of topics! It was founded by Dan Clarke and Matt Nield, and has grown into quite a large community in the Oxfordshire area. 

DotNet Sheffielddotnetsheff is a monthly user group focused on software development, particularly in the .NET ecosystem. We welcome people with interests in software development of all ages and levels of experience. 

dotnet Yorkdotnet York is a .NET user group looking to focus on .NET and anything related to .NET ecosystem. We encourage developers of any skill level to come join in on our events to either learn or share. 

.NET CambridgeThe Cambridge .NET User Group is a community of professional .NET developers with a strong passion for building high-quality software using Microsoft platforms and technologies. 

.NET Thames ValleyThis group is for anyone living or working in or around Reading, Berkshire and the Thames Valley area who would be interested in talks and events around .NET development. If you’re a developer or a company in the local area then it would be great to see you at one of our events. 

.NET groups | Meetup: Global Directory of .NET groups on the Meetup platform. 
 

Umbraco

Thames Valley Umbraco User GroupJoin us for talks and socialising with friendly Umbracians. Whether you’re new or a veteran supporter of Umbraco, you’ll receive a warm welcome. We will aim to have a mix of talks of both technical and non-technical. 

The London Umbraco MeetupThe London Umbraco Meetup Group is for Umbraco devotees and newbies to learn and share their knowledge, and to also gently spread the Umbraco love to all. 

Manchester and North West Umbraco MeetupThe Manchester and North West Umbraco Meetup is a networking group for Umbraco developers, end-users, technical project managers and business decision makers in the North West. 

Umbraco Leeds MeetupUmbraco Leeds is a monthly meetup group for anyone involved or interested in Umbraco. Whether you’re a developer, content editor, project owner or just curious to hear about what it’s all about – come along to one of our meetups and you’ll be sure of a warm and friendly welcome. 

Glasgow Umbraco Users’ Group (GLUUG): The Glasgow Umbraco Users’ Group (GLUUG) is a networking group for anyone interested in Umbraco. We have regular social meetups where people can come and chat to friendly and like-minded Umbraco folk. We also have more formal presentation-based meetups where experts in the community share their knowledge and usually kick-start some lively debates! 

Umbraco groups | Meetup: Global Directory of Umbraco groups on the Meetup platform. 

 

Dynamics 365 and Power Platform

Dynamics 365 & Power Platform User GroupWe’re all about sharing knowledge and meeting new people at the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform user group. 

Power Platform BirminghamFormed in 2016, the Birmingham User Group is a friendly community who share knowledge, best practices, ideas and skills. We have bi-monthly sessions, every odd numbered month, from PowerPlatform and Office 365 experts, MVPs and local speakers. We meet-learn and share the knowledge. 

Microsoft Power Platform User Group BelfastA community event that brings some of the best professionals in the Power Platform community together to share knowledge and ideas and demonstrate Power Platform Functionality and techniques. Focused at End Users & System Administrators and Developers alike, this event is the ideal opportunity to learn and become part of the Power Platform community in Northern Ireland. 

Power Platform School: The Power Platform Summer School works with adults from the BAME community, providing training on the Microsoft Power Platform as well as mentorship from industry professionals, during an 8 week program. 

Microsoft Power BI UKThis group is founded for all UK Microsoft BI specialists to share and gain knowledge and insight of Microsoft Power BI. Keeping true to our mission of advancing awareness and knowledge of Microsoft Power BI, we monitor all submissions to the group and will only accept conversations related to the industry. We can learn from each other through constructive and insightful discussions. 

 

DevOps

London Microsoft DevOps MeetupThis London-based group hosts everyone interested in ALM and DevOps with Azure DevOps and GitHub, whatever the technology of choice. 

Sheffield DevopsSheffield Devops is a meetup hosted (usually) on the second Thursday of each month. 

WinOps London: (DevOps on Windows): The UK’s first dedicated meetup and conference on ‘Windows in a DevOps World’. 

 

Data and Data Science, Machine Learning and Analytics

Data Science LondonWe are one of the largest Data Science communities in EuropeWe are a community of data scientists, machine learning geeks and data hackers that meet regularly to discuss data science projects, methods, topics, tools & technologies. We promote free, open, dissemination of knowledge. Over time we’ve grown to a diverse community of talents and minds. Expect fun meetups and hacks on everything Data Science, from NLP, IoT, Recommendation systems, deep learning, industry use cases and application, Data Science using Azure, AWS, GCP and more.

Data TobogganData Toboggan strives to be an event where we welcome speakers from all backgrounds and disciplines, and from novice speakers to experienced presenters. We welcome anyone to attend to learn new skills and network alongside their peers regardless of gender, sexuality, race, disability, gender identity, appearance or religion. 

Data Relay: Welcome to the home of Data Relay. We are a free community driven series of conferences that cover the whole spectrum of the Microsoft Data Platform. 

UK Data Platform & Cloud Virtual MeetupThis is a collaborative meetup, hosted by the organisers of Microsoft Data groups around the UK. It’s a space to share news, updates, events and, when one of the groups hosts a session online, we’ll keep you in the loop! Expect a range of topics across Azure, Data Science, Data Engineering and the Power Platform! 

Microsoft Data Platform Group – BirminghamMicrosoft Data Platform Group – Bringing the West Midlands Microsoft data platform community together. 

 

IoT 

Notts IoTWe’re a monthly user group, meeting up and learning all about the Internet of Things (IoT). We talk about everything from Arduino to Hololens, from Micro:Bit to Artificial Intelligence! In the past we’ve had meetups learning about the BBC Micro:Bit, Particle Photon, Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Hololens and much more… 

IoT NorthNow part of the IoT North Community, welcome to the 3500+ strong IoT community, sponsored by GOTO50.ai an Adlink Edge IoT AI Vision Community and Newcastle University. Our meetups will focus on the challenges facing Hardware and IoT Engineers today. Come hear from top IoT professionals about their successes, failures, best practices, and lessons learned. Every talk will have dedicated time to promote an open discussion on the topic being presented. 

#HacktheBase IoT Hub: The #HackTheBase IoT Hub is a collaboration hub that opens a whole new series of IoT events that will create an area to collaborate for technology developers, industry representatives, and investors interested in IoT opportunities. We organize a series of IoT events such as regular meetups, workshops, and hackathons to the community members. 

IoT & Data Science Innovators UKEveryone who has a firm interest in Internet of Things and Data Science technologies. This meetup is about all things device and server-stack for IoT.

Internet of Things Milton Keynes MeetupThe IoTMK Meetup is a place to connect things. What gets connected? Maybe it’s the next few objects of the billions that will supposedly be connected to the internet in the next few years. Maybe it’s you, to suppliers or customers, to knowledge and to the opportunities that go along with this expansion. Maybe it’s your thinking. We’re all working this out as we go along and hearing how other people are making sense, or not, of all this might be just the insight you need. Our aim is to develop and promote MK’s involvement in IoT. Come along to learn, challenge and maybe redefine what IoT means. 

 

Communities and groups for female coders and data experts

Ladies of Code GlasgowAre you a lady? Do you code? Are you searching for a similar bunch of ladies to develop your code skills with? You’ve come to the right place. We meet monthly to hear technical talks from leaders in the field, dive into the terminal in our expert workshops and hack whilst developing our code skills in the process. 

Ladies of Code LondonDo you code? Do you work with people who code? Are you searching for a similar bunch of people to discuss code and tech with? You’ve come to the right place! We meet regularly to hear talks about experiences, share lessons learnt and, of course, develop our code-fu in the process. Everyone is welcome at our events though they are focused toward women-identifying folk.  

Women Who Code LondonWomen Who Code is the largest and most active community of engineers dedicated to inspiring women to excel in technology careers. We envision a world where women are representative as technical executives, founders, VCs, board members, and software engineers. Our programs are designed to get you there. 

CodeHers in LondonThis group is to bring women together who have a mutual interest in coding/ software development. You will enjoy sharing ideas and experiences. Open to anyone:

• Who identifies as a woman, trans and non-binary inclusive and
• Can either code or has a strong interest in software engineering 

Microsoft Data for Women: Welcome to Microsoft Data for Women! We want to encourage and support women who are working within data and especially with a focus on the Microsoft BI stack. Our goal is to close the gender gap in tech. 

London Women in Machine Learning & Data ScienceWiMLDS’s mission is to support and promote women and gender minorities who are practicing, studying or are interested in the fields of machine learning and data science. We create opportunities for members to engage in technical and professional conversations in a positive, supportive environment by hosting talks by women and gender minority individuals working in data science or machine learning, technical workshops, networking events and hackathons. We are inclusive to anyone who supports our cause regardless of gender identity or technical background. However, in support of our mission, priority for certain events and opportunities will be given to women and gender minority members. 

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