Here is a very delayed post on
PyconZA which took place on 6th to 7th October. I wish I wrote this sooner but between dealing with somewhat-of-a-personal-crisis, UCT protests and my final year project, blogging got the back seat for a while. That being said, here we go. I got the opportunity to attend
PyConZA, thanks to the conference organizers I got a sponsored ticket. PyconZA conference for python enthusiasts in South Africa to learn from each other. It has been taking place in Johannesburg , luckily it happened in CapeTown this year. The venue was the River Club, which as you can tell from the pictures was a great venue.
 |
| the river view |
The talks were not only interesting but some were mind blowing. One of my previous lecturers gave a 5 minute introduction on radio astronomy. I learned about about using
python for Micro controllers,
for story telling,
for serving underprivileged communities ,
juggling tasks ,
Machine Learning among many other applications. I know Python is very versatile, but its a lot more fascinating when you actually see the applications. I also enjoyed the
panel of teaching python for many reasons: first, the question of increasing accessibility to women was thoroughly discussed, second, one of my lecturers was also on a panelist and gave interesting points on Computer Science Education, something I have taken interest in lately or yeah and I also volunteered to monitor the mic. My CV is getting beefed with such volunteer experiences ..:).
 |
| A mobile retail app by the startup Timbuktu |
 |
| Micropython for microcontrollers |
 |
| Python for creative writing |
Thanks to amazing sponsors, we got lots of goodies especially Takealot vouchers.
 |
| Bags of Swag!! |
Conferences are more about the people, it has never been truer. I got to connect with fellow East Africans, most of whom were giving talks. This got me all the more inspired to start start speaking at conferences. I also reconnected with colleagues at
j5 International where I interned last summer, fellow students and alumni.
 |
| j5 founder |
I had such a fantastic time at Pycon, I highly recommend it to anyone, even if Python is not your first language. I learnt a lot more about programming in general and open source. If you missed it, videos are now
online. Till next time!
PS; You might also be interested in
Pycon Namibia and
Pycon Zimbabwe happening soon!
nice post
ReplyDelete