In 2016, our main focus was to grow a strong community that will inspire the future steps for the tech industry and shape the next generation of IT professionals. That’s why we’ve decided to launch a new series of events embodied in a new concept, DevAfterWork. After a pilot edition in 2015, the DevAfterWork rounds continued to grow this year with a fresh boost of knowledge and fun after the working hours for the IT community. Now you may ask what is all about.

DevAfterWork is a key event for the IT&C Community where participants have in-depth talks with local or international top specialists, get new insights and give voice to their personal ideas about the current topics from the IT field.

Developed as a win-win context, the sessions were organized in partnership with companies from the IT field where developers shared their knowledge and talked about their challenges faced in their career. Although the main focus was to create impactful conferences through an accelerate learning process, the context also facilitated networking and informal discussions.

Here is a preview of the DevAfterWork events in 2016:

1. DevAfterWork empowered by ING

On 5th of October, the launch of the technical meetings brought together 83 professionals, gathered for the first time at a DevAfterWork event in order to talk about How Technology redefines the Trading Room. With a strong background in Financial Markets, 3 local & international speakers from ING International Software Development Center and ING Bank (Holland and  Romania) discussed about how technology reshaped their company and how the current trends redefine the Trading Room. Also, the event was fun and relaxing, and the atmosphere was perfect to have a drink and enjoy a great talk.

2. DevAfterWork in partnership with Deutsche Bank

The second DevAfterWork’ meeting was dedicated exclusively to technology ladies and came with a new approach, IT with heels. On 26th of October, 57 women from the Tech industry met Ekaterina Sannikova, Amanda Sams, Carmen Chirita, Lucy Andrews & Ion Moldoveanu, and talked about their journey as successful women in tech, diversity in the IT field, and also challenges and opportunities for ladies in Tech industry.

3. DevAfterWork powered by Ericsson

The last event on 2016 approached a new topic, Agile and the IoT challenges, which led to new insights on the implementation in the dynamic Internet of  Things environment and the challenges of Agile development. For 43 professionals, 14th of December was the perfect way to find out more about the topic and to answer some important questions. The Internet of Things use cases were presented from 3 standpoints: the Automotive sector, the Maritime and Shipping industry and future networked society developed by 5G. Moreover, the participants discussed about Agile development and lessons learnt which presented some limitations and the challenges that can appear on the way.

For us, taking this challenge meant giving back to the IT community and creating a perfect environment that will contribute to their professional development. But nothing compares with the experience seen through the eyes of the participants, so we’ve gathered their thoughts to guide our future events. Either they appreciated the “very dynamic & cozy atmosphere” or the fact that when they went home they felt “refreshed and enthusiastic”, the DevAfterWork can be summed up like this: “The idea was very nice. I liked that the speakers talked about their personal experiences and career”, “I liked the quality of public speaking and all the cool information”.

In 2017, we hope to see you again with the same energy and eager to meet the IT Community and talk about new powerful topics!