Love may be in the air this February, but around Microsoft Chicago, civic tech is in the air every day. Join us at these events around the metro area this month to stay engaged:
February 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Chicago Women Developers Weekly Hack Night
6:00pm
1871 222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, 12th Floor, Chicago
This weekly event gives ladies a space to code together. Whether you’re just getting started, or are a veteran in the tech world, there’s a seat for you at the table. BYOL: Bring your own laptop!
February 5
1919 Women in Tech and Entrepreneurship Demo Day IV & Spring Informational
3:00pm-5:00pm
Blue 1647 Tech Innovation Center 1647 South Blue Island Avenue, Chicago
Our 4th round of cohorts have graduated and are excited to present their final projects! The ladies of 1919 will display the skills they have learned to family, friends and all who attend. It will be a celebration of skill development for the 75 women who have completed their 12 weeks of learning.
February 8
Chicago SQL Server User Group – February 2017 Meeting
5:30pm-8:00pm
Aon Center | Microsoft Technology Center 200 East Randolph Drive, Suite 200, Chicago
Azure SQL Database is a relational database service in the Microsoft cloud-based Microsoft SQL Server engine and capable of handling mission-critical workloads. SQL Database delivers predictable performance at multiple service levels, dynamic scalability with no downtime, built-in business continuity, and data protection with near-zero administration. SQL Database is based on the SQL Server engine, SQL Database supports existing SQL Server tools, libraries, and APIs, making SQL Server to Azure SQL migrations easy. Learn what it takes to manage, administer, monitor, develop with Azure SQL Database. Also how you can migrate your SQL Server to Azure SQL Database.
February 9
Cleantech University Prize 2017 – Midwest Showcase
2:00pm-7:00pm
Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation 1452 East 53rd Street, Chicago
Clean Energy Trust will showcase eight of the most innovative and promising university-based cleantech companies in the Midwest for a chance to win the Department of Energy’s Cleantech University Prize.
February 16
Dashboard in a Day – Power BI Workshop
8:30am-5:00pm
Aon Center | Microsoft Technology Center 200 East Randolph Drive, Suite 200, Chicago
Dashboard in a Day (DIAD) is a training event that Softweb Solutions is hosting in collaboration with Microsoft to educate professionals on how they can use Power BI in their businesses.
The workshop is meant for beginners as well as users with intermediate level skills and the goal is to give all the attendees a solid foundational knowledge of Power BI and a working dashboard of their data.
February 22
Design for Sustainability
6:00pm
Mightybytes 4001 N. Ravenswood, Suite 404, Chicago
The internet is becoming the world’s largest source of CO2 emissions. 560,000 agencies around the world make daily design decisions on behalf of their clients, directly impacting internet sustainability. By applying sustainability principles to the process of designing digital products and services, we can make better decisions on behalf of people and planet. Come hear Tim Frick – author of Designing for Sustainability – as he outlines strategies to make sustainability an integral part of your product design and development. He’ll also discuss a design framework for sustainability and tactics to implement in day to day digital work to keep sustainability in the forefront of the process.
February 22-25
Adler Planetarium Mardi Gras Celebration
9:30am-4:00pm
Adler Planetarium 1300 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
Dust off your spacesuit. It’s time to celebrate Mars-di Gras!
While the commonly-known Earthly festivities of Mardi Gras bring street festivals, masquerades, merriment, and lots of colorful beads to cities around the world, the Adler takes the festivities one giant step forward—TO SPACE!
We’re saying goodbye to Earth and heading to Mars for an out-of-this-world event. Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, the Adler super krewe is organizing another Mars-di Gras extravaganza.
Once again, we will bring the beads, band, and the science to this carnival of fun. You’ll be transported to the Red Planet, masquerade as the first Martians and experience first-hand what it would be like to live, work, and play on Mars.
February 24
Science Is Cool Conference
10:00am-12:30pm
Malcolm X College 1900 West Jackson Boulevard Conference Center, Chicago
The Science is Cool Conference is an initiative of the Pipeline to Careers in Healthcare, Predominantly Black Institution Grant, at Malcolm X College. It is a bi-annual conference that specifically targets 5th through 8th grade African American students from Chicago area schools. As a premier student based conference, Science is Cool is a unique opportunity because it promotes, demystifies, and raises students exposure to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).
February 28
What the Heck are Bots?
3:00pm-4:00pm
Northwestern Knight Lab Fisk Hall, 1845 Sheridan Rd, Evanston
Instead of R2D2 and BB-8, most of the bots people talk about these days don’t have a body. Come “talk” to some “intelligent agents” and discuss what their value might be.
In the Knight Lab’s “What the Heck is …?” series, you’ll get a chance to try new technologies and be part of a conversation about the cultural implications they may have.