Where did September go? As we creep into October and dive head-first into fall, we’re kicking off the new month with 6 Not-To-Miss Events This Week:
1) Teachers, Data, and Your Edtech Product
Monday, September 28, 6pm — 8pm
LearnLaunch Institute | 31 St. James Ave/ Suite 920 | Boston
Twitter: @learnlaunch
To support the product development efforts of K-12 edtech entrepreneurs, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation surveyed more than 4,600 teachers about how they use digital tools and student data to tailor student instruction. The findings from this research are essential to helping entrepreneurs develop tools that are appropriate to the districts and schools that they are looking to serve. More than 93% of teachers in the study reported using some sort of digital tool to guide instruction, but more than two-thirds of them are not satisfied with the effectiveness of the data and tools they have access to on a regular basis.
During this session, you will:
- Absorb the key findings of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s latest research studyTeachers Know Best: Making Data Work for Teachers and Students
- Hear local teachers reflect on these findings
- Reflect on how the recommendations, including for interoperability and integration, might affect your product or idea
- Engage with educators and other entrepreneurs on the challenges this presents for entrepreneurs, and what potential paths forward might be
2) African Women: Changing the World!
Tuesday, September 29, 4:30pm — 9pm
Microsoft New England R&D Center | 1 Memorial Drive | Cambridge
Twitter: @WARA_WARC
On Tuesday September 29, 2015, the West African Research Association and The YWCA Cambridge will host a panel discussion that should be of interest to both the general public and more specifically the Kendall Square community. This will be the kick-off event for our annual Giving Common Campaign.
From Queen Nzingha in the 17th century who bravely fought and defended her people, to Funmilayo Ransome Kuti well-known Nigerian women’s rights activist and mother of musician activist Fela Kuti in the mid-20th century, African women continue to take leadership roles on the continent and beyond. Today Folorunsho Alakija is one of the richest women in the world and a pioneer in philanthropy.
The goal of this presentation is to highlight the important contributions of African Women—in politics, business, the arts, philanthropy, journalism, and other fields. There will be a panel of three distinguished scholars, each of whom will talk about different aspects of African women’s leadership.
3) Re: Making Life —From DNA to Designer Genomes
Wednesday, September 30, 6pm — 7:30pm
MIT Museum | 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Building N51 | Cambridge
Twitter: @MITMuseum | #SyntheticBiology
Wednesday evenings this September and October, MIT Museum hosts a four-part series about synthetic biology. Explore what “synbio” is, how scientists are using innovative techniques to modify organisms, and for what purposes. Add your voice to the discussions while meeting new people and learning about state-of-the-art science and technology! These events are free, and light refreshments will be served.
4) Preventing the Unthinkable: Issues in MedTech Cyber Security — Trends and Policies
Thursday, October 1, 8am — 3pm
Microsoft New England R&D Center | 1 Memorial Drive | Cambridge
FDA’s recent warning that Hospira’s Symbiq infusion system is vulnerable to outside tampering underscores a new danger in health care delivery. The use of wireless medical technologies has increased in recent years, as manufacturers and product developers have sought to reduce costs and offer streamlined patient monitoring and care.
The security of these devices and the security of the patient data collected and stored in them present new challenges to the medical device community.
This half-day conference will gather government, industry and security experts who will share their insight and perspectives.
5)Boston Python October Project Night
Thursday, October 1, 6:30pm — 9pm
Microsoft New England R&D Center | 1 Memorial Drive | Cambridge
Twitter: @bostonpython
Python project nights are unstructured chances for Python developers to work together, mentor each other, connect socially, teach, learn, or do whatever else it is Python developers want to do together. Our project nights are great ways to build the Python community, by allowing them to meet and interact in whatever way they find most beneficial.
6) Boston Application Security Conference (BASC) 2015
Saturday, October 3 – Sunday, October 4, 8:30am — 7pm
Microsoft New England R&D Center | 1 Memorial Drive | Cambridge
Twitter: @owaspboston | @basconf
The Boston Application Security Conference (BASC) 2015 will be a free, one day, informal conference on Saturday, October 3rd of 2015 aimed at increasing awareness and knowledge of application security in the greater Boston area. While many of the presentations will cover state-of-the-art application security concepts, the BASC is intended to appeal to a wide-array of attendees. Application security professionals, professional software developers, software quality engineers, computer science students, and security software vendors should be able to come to the BASC, learn, and hopefully enjoy themselves at the same time.
The I Am The Cavalry (IATC) Boston 2015 Conference will be on Sunday, October 4th of 2015. The Cavalry is a global grassroots organization that is focused on issues where computer security intersects public safety and human life. We strive to ensure that these technologies are worthy of the trust we place in them. We are seeking to organize as a non-profit educational foundation. Our areas of focus are medical devices, automobiles, home electronics and public infrastructure.