Episode 11 of the Sheffield Digital Podcast is now ready for your listening pleasure. In part one, I’m joined by Tom Hoyland and Katie Attwood, co-organisers of Agile Sheffield, one of the city’s excellent regular meetups.

If you’ve ever thought about starting your own event, this is essential listening. Tom and Katie talk through how Agile Sheffield got started and offer plenty of sensible advice on running a meetup, from finding sponsorship to providing a safe space for everyone to attend.

In the second half of the show, I’m joined by Chris and Mel, who couldn’t make it to the interview. We met in the lovely (but a little noisy) Roco cafe to go over some of the latest goings on in Sheffield’s Digital sector.

That includes an update on Sheffield’s Channel 4 bid, an ‘Internet of Food’ opportunity with the Urban Institute and new workspace available at Sheffield Technology Parks. Plus much more!

In episode10 of the Sheffield Digital podcast, we’re joined by Mike Faulks, co-founder and director of Ioetec, a Sheffield company that provide a cloud service solution to connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices with end-to-end authenticated, encrypted security.

It was great to talk to Mike about all things cybersecurity and IoT. Ioetec are in the middle of a GCHQ accelerator programme too, which they were selected to be a part of last year. Mike was able to share the company’s experience and the impact it’s had on the business.

The second half of the show, as per usual, is spent going over some of the latest goings on in Sheffield’s Digital sector. That includes a great opportunity to get your company on a new directory, some news from Kollider, city centre wifi and an update from dotSHF.

Oh, and we also go through some upcoming events related to tech and digital. Go grab your headphones! And don’t forget to subscribe in your app of choosing.

Every episode comes with a list of links to all of the various people, companies and topics that we reference. Here is that list for episode 10.

Did I miss something you’re looking for? Just get in touch and let me know.

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or on the #-podcast channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.

Thanks again to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

In episode 9 of the Sheffield Digital podcast, we are joined by the fantastic Leila Johnston. Leila is an artist, technologist, curator, consultant, journalist and plenty of other things too. It was great to speak to her about what she’s currently working on, including her role as digital curator at Site Gallery.

What else did we cover? Well, there was a potted history of Leila’s career so far, her thoughts on artificial intelligence and crowdfunding, mermaids, robot crows, and a look at Sheffield’s digital art scene. There was something for everyone and I think you’ll really enjoy listening.

As per usual, we followed the interview with a look at what’s going on in Sheffield’s digital sector at the moment. That includes the launch of the new Sheffield Digital Skills Action Plan website, Chris’ visit from a Chinese delegation of senior economists, and a run through some upcoming events in the city.

Go grab your headphones and don’t forget to subscribe in your app of choice.

Every episode comes with a list of links to all of the various people, companies and topics that we reference. Here is that list for episode nine.

Did I miss something you’re looking for? Just get in touch and let me know.

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or on the #-podcast channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.

Thanks again to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

We kick off 2018 with a fantastic guest on episode 8 of the Sheffield Digital Podcast. David Richards is the CEO of the hugely successful WANdisco, which specialises in big data and has offices in Silicon Valley and Sheffield.

It was absolutely fascinating to hear David talk through his own and WANdisco’s journey so far, from starting out to successfully floating the company on the stock market. I think there is lots to learn here for anyone who owns a business or is in the process of starting up.

The second half of our conversation with David is all about his new foundation, which aims to improve the way computer skills are taught in schools. He wants to change the education system and it’s great to get a first-hand account of how the foundation plans to do it.

Of course, this episode also contains some general updates. Mel provides a brief overview on the work Sheffield companies are doing to help The Sheffield College build a new software development apprenticeship. We also go through a range of events that are coming up in the city.

Finally, me, Mel and Chris all share some goals for 2018, most of which feature Sheffield, digital, technology and that type of thing. No surprises there. Go grab your headphones. This is a good one.

Every episode comes with a list of links to all of the various people, companies and topics that we reference. Here is that list for episode eight.

Did I miss something you’re looking for? Just get in touch and let me know.

We also go through a list of upcoming events and meetups in Sheffield. Here is that list too, including links for more information and to book your place.

And don’t forget, you can check out the full calendar of upcoming events in Sheffield.

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or on the #-podcast channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.

Thanks again to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Episode 7 of the Sheffield Digital Podcast features a really interesting interview with Kathleen O’Donnell and Nathan Woodcock, both from Fragomen LLP. They are experts in immigration law and provide a fantastic overview of the system and how it affects both companies and individuals.

In the second half of the show, Mel and Chris go through some of the city’s digital sector highlights from the last month or so. That includes info on the Channel 4 bid, IoT Tribe North’s accelerator programme, the Urban Flows Observatory competition, and a whole host of news and success stories from Sheffield companies.

Finally, I need to say something about the sound quality. It’s not quite as it should be for some irritating technical reasons, but once you get used to it, you should be all right. Hopefully, the content makes up for it.

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or on the #-podcast channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.

Thanks again to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

This episode of the Sheffield Digital Podcast was recorded in two parts. In part one, you’ll hear me interview Bella Abrams, Chief Information Officer at The Sheffield College. We talked about how the College recently became an associate sponsor of Sheffield Digital, as well as ways that the College can feed into and work more closely with digital sector companies.

The second half of the show is almost back to normal as Chris and Mel take you through the latest going on in the city’s digital sphere. They announce speakers for the first Digital Conference, our new associate sponsor, Benchmark Recruitment, a whole load of new jobs going in the city, Sheffield’s winners at Tech North’s Northern Stars, and a whole lot more too.

Go grab a cup of tea and have yourself a relaxing listen. And in case you’re wondering, I was away on my holibobs.

Every episode comes with a list of links to all of the various people, companies and topics that we reference. Here is that list for episode six.

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or on the #-podcast channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.

Thanks again to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Check out the AlgoMech Festival 2017, which takes place 8–12 November.

We’re on to episode five of the Sheffield Digital Podcast. This time, we’re joined by Mark Goddard from user research and design studio, Paper. We talk a lot about the decisions Mark and his co-founders made when starting the company. I think it makes for a really interesting look at the process and how there is no one way of doing things. We also cover legup.social, the bi-monthly event that Paper organises, and how that fits in with their business.

In other topics, we briefly talk about Sheffield’s first digital conference, which comes on the back of the digital confab last month. Mel talks about the Women in Tech event she recently attended at Google Digital Garage, before calling on people to help set up a regular meetup. There’s mention of Sky Betting & Gaming, which is up to a couple of things – first a CoLab programme as well as a recruitment drive to fill 30 open vacancies in Sheffield. Finally, we run through the digital-based nominees for the Sheffield Chamber Business Awards.

There’s plenty to chew on, so go find your headphones and get stuck in. If you enjoy listening to the show, please tell someone else about it. We’d love for it to reach as many people as possible.

Every episode comes with a list of links to all of the various people, companies and topics that we reference. Here is that list for episode four.

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or on the #-podcast channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.

Thanks again to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Check out the AlgoMech Festival 2017, which takes place 8–12 November.

In episode four of the Sheffield Digital podcast, we speak to Rachel Ferla, who is currently part of the team running Google Digital Garage. She tells us about how the Garage came to be in Sheffield and how she came to work there helping people develop their digital skills. We also ask Rachel about Google’s decision to keep the Garage open until April and look at the impact of the Google Garage bus.

Our second topics is the Meta Meetup. We look back at the first meetup for meetup organisers earlier this year and then go on to talk about plans for the next event, which is coming up later in October. Chris then reflects on the third Digital Conflab and goes over what comes next, now that the notion of a ‘digital coalition’ is out in the wild.

Next, Mel tells us all about some interesting associate lecturer positions that are coming up at Sheffield Hallam University. Then finally, we talk about Sheffield’s Channel 4 bid before going through a list of upcoming events that you might very well like to attend.

I’m completely biased, of course, but I think that should you decide to pop on your headphones and give the show a listen, you’ll really rather enjoy yourself.

Every episode comes with a list of links to all of the various people, companies and topics that we reference. Here is that list for episode four.

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or on the #-podcast channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.

Thanks again to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Check out the AlgoMech Festival 2017, which takes place 8–12 November.

In this episode, Mel covers a recent visit to AMRC's Factory 2050 facility by a number of digital businesses. We go through some upcoming events and Chris (Dymond) explains maker spaces and where to find them in Sheffield.

The second episode of the Sheffield Digital Podcast is here and this time we're joined by a very special guest in Mark Gannon, Sheffield City Council's new CIO.

Having recently announced our partnership with the Council, this is a great opportunity for you to hear all about how it happened, what it means and what we hope it will bring. The episode also includes a brief update on the city's various tech-hubs-in-progress and the release of our new Slack guide and code of conduct.

There’s also time to look ahead to a few events for your calendar. Make a brew, grab your headphones and settle in.

A big thank you to Alex Mclean, aka Yaxu, for kindly letting us use part of one of his live algorave performances as the intro to the show, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

With every episode, we provide a list of links to all of the various people, companies and topics that we reference. Here is the list of links for episode two.

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or better still, on the #-podcast channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.