SoCraTes UK is a non-profit, international Software Crafters retreat for open-minded crafters who want to improve their craft and the software industry as a whole. Organised by a group of volunteers from the Software Crafters Community, the conference attracts thought leaders and software crafters from all over the world.
SoCraTes UK is totally community-focused. It's a great opportunity to speak to and code with many curious and talented people in a very relaxed and beautiful setting.
The gathering runs from Thursday morning to Sunday afternoon, with optional parts.
We expect some people will arrive on Wednesday evening, ahead of the training day. The evening will be very informal :)
The training day will run Thursday daytime, with two tracks of world class/excellent/talented professionals providing hands on Software Crafting tuition.
We'll kick off the unconference on Thursday evening with introductions, then we'll run a group discussion, talking about an issue relevant to all of us. After that, we'll have dinner together to either continue the conversation or talk about whatever you want.
On Friday and Saturday, we'll run an open space, in which every attendee is welcome and encouraged to propose talks, discussions, workshops or whatever else they choose to further every attendee's knowledge and understanding of creating and maintaining software.
On Friday and Saturday evenings, attendees are encouraged to run social activities, from pair-programming to board games and everything in between.
On Sunday, weather allowing, we will have a nice long walk around the beautiful English countryside, or a code retreat, followed by lunch and informal activities until people head home.
Photo by Matthew Butt
Photo by Matthew Butt
Photo by Esko Luontola
Photo by Esko Luontola
Photo by Esko Luontola
Photo by Esko Luontola
Photo by Matthew Butt
Building the marketplace: people queueing to present their sessions and fit it into the agenda.
Photo by Nelis Boucké
Photo by Esko Luontola
Photo by Esko Luontola
Photo by Matthew Butt
Example of a session: Introduction to Cobol
Photo by Isaac Asensio / Session by Denise Yu
Playing racket sport in the park outside the venue
Photo by Amélie Cornélis
Photo by Esko Luontola
Photo by Esko Luontola
Photo by Matthew Butt
Photo by Matthew Butt
PS: If you have good pics to share, let us know!
SoCraTes UK is designed to encourage the participation of all attendees via coding activities, group discussions, presentations, informal conversations, and whatever else the participants decide to do.
SoCraTes UK is run in an unconference style. Organised sessions start at 9am and finish at 6pm. However, since this is an unconference, attendees are free to carry on until whenever they like, and run or attend whichever sessions they choose. Expect workshops, talks, group discussions and demonstrations from morning 'til night.
As it's an unconference, it's you and people like you who will be organising the sessions. You won't just learn, you'll also teach. Anyone who is passionate about software, aware or involved in Software Craft, and who wants to share their knowledge, experience, expertise, but is also willing and keen to learn from others, should come.
Besides talking about software and writing code, we also have evening events (organised by the participants), ranging from pair-programming sessions and workshops to more social events, such as gaming, music and drinks. Bring along your guitars and saxophones, your board games and packs of cards, and bone up on the rules to Werewolf. And expect to have philosophical discussions about the software industry as you play.
Since we are all in the same hotel, we have a lot of time to spend together. Conversations and coding activities can go for as long as you want Sessions will take place in proper rooms with projectors, tables, and chairs, but also wherever people congregate—last year, people spent a lot of time outside in the garden, enjoying the weather and the beautiful landscape as they discussed the intricacies of software development.
SoCraTes UK is a true Software Crafters gathering. Don't miss out.
You can find all information about tickets here.
The cost to attend is £600, which includes your accommodation and meals from Thursday diner til Sunday breakfast.
For those who wish to participate in the training day on Thursday, an additional fee of £350 applies.
If you would like to arrive at the venue on Wednesday, the day before the event starts, you can pay an extra £110 for your Wednesday night accommodation, dinner, and breakfast.
We are constantly searching for sponsorships that could lower the cost of tickets. If successful, we will distribute the savings evenly among all attendees by issuing a refund for the difference as soon as we get the sponsor(s) confirmed. We'd love suggestions, here are our packages and how to get in touch.
SoCraTes UK is organised by a group of volunteers from the Software Crafters Community.
You can interact with the global community via Slack!
To join, visit slack.softwarecrafters.org
https://www.softwarecrafters.org/
SoCraTes UK comes from a community which hosts many other great events.
