Conference for the region's IT 'do-ers'

7 August 2018

A conference for ‘do-ers’ from the North East region’s IT sector has been organised by one of the region’s most respected technology companies.

Opencast Software is behind the inaugural Built IT Right conference, to be held on November 21 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Newcastle.

The conference is aimed at anyone in the north east building software, and will feature inspirational speakers and an exhibition. Confirmed speakers include Day Farley, author and founder of Continuous Delivery Ltd, and Simon Brown, author of Software Architecture for Developers.

The conference will be hosted by presenter, writer and comedian Timandra Harkness, who is currently presenting the BBC Radio 4 series FutureProofing. Timandra will also be one of the conference speakers.

Fiona Hobbs, head of technology at Opencast, said: “Build IT Right is for ‘do-ers’ in the North East who are passionate about software development. It’s aimed at those at the coal-face of technology – the programmers and coders, the developers, testers and solution architects. We felt the region’s tech sector is big enough and ambitious enough to host this sort of conference – there should be no reason for us all to travel south for something similar.

“The conference will support and empower the developer community within the region and provide delegates with a dedicated day away from their screens to expand their knowledge and be inspired by emerging trends. There will also be great opportunities to network.

“The aim is to give hands-on, practical advice on shared issues and problems, and the hope is that it will also be lively and great fun.”

A man smiling wearing a paisley shirt and glasses

"The region’s tech sector is big enough and ambitious enough to host this sort of conference – there should be no reason for us all to travel south for something similar"

300 expected

The conference will have three strands: development process; development technologies and UX and UR. It will start with a keynote speech from Dave Farley at 9.30am and will end at about 5.30pm.

Sophie Flanagan, from co-organisers BeaconHouse Events said it was hoped the conference would attract up to 300 delegates and that if it proves popular Built IT Right could become an annual event.

In the meantime, organisers are continuing to look for ideas for presenters, themes and topics. If you have an idea that might make a presentation, learning session or panel discussion, please send to sophie@beaconhouse-events.co.uk by September 21.

Further speakers will be announced and early bird tickets, priced £99 plus VAT, are available. Full price tickets will be available for £150, and for ticket information and more details, log on to www.bitrconf.org Ticket prices include lunch and teas and coffees during the day.

The conference will support and empower the developer community within the region and provide delegates with a dedicated day away from their screens...the aim is to give hands-on, practical advice on shared issues and problems – and we also hope it will be lively and fun