I recently attended my first dedicated Python conference - PyCon UK in Manchester. I'd been to, and given talks at, data-themed conferences before but this was my first Python conference. I had a talk accepted and I was excited about the opportunity to go. I thought I'd give a short summary of my experience in case you've been thinking of attending something similar and aren't sure what to expect.
On the day
I could only stay for the first day unfortunately but I crammed in a bunch of talks, gave my own, and met many interesting people. The first day started at 11am to allow for people to arrive to the city but subsequent days started earlier.
The day started with a keynote by Hynek Schlawack - a whistle stop tour of Python's growing pains and its superpowers. The part where Hynek described the enduring appeal of Python's rapid feedback loop really resonated with me. Out of all the programming languages I've tried, I find Python to be the most fun language to code in.
Then there was a well-organised and varied lunch followed by a couple of blocks of talks spread across different rooms. Mine was the penultimate talk on the main stage. Every day ends with an hour of 5-minute lightning talks, which you could pitch on the day by filling in index cards from which the organisers chose the schedule. It was a fun, rapid-fire series of different talks with which to end the day.
A conference for everyone
The conference felt like it went smoothly throughout and I was particularly impressed with how thoughtful the organisers were. There were stickers to indicate whether you're OK with people coming up to you to chat and whether this is your first PyCon, so people could be extra welcoming. This was just one of the aspects that made the event really inclusive. There were toilets for all genders, detailed dietary information, and a quiet room if you got overwhelmed. Every talk was captioned live by a dedicated team and they did their best to gather speakers' presentations ahead of time to better prepare. They even had a free(!!!) crèche for parents who couldn't otherwise organise childcare, which I thought was an amazing touch.
This is clearly a friendly and welcoming community. I didn't know anyone but whoever I spoke to made me feel like I'd always been part of it. Every day there were "official" social activities you could attend, such as a play or a board game evening.
Having an active community on Discord really brought the conference to life. People organised social activities ranging from walking tours of Manchester to breakfast or dinner together.
What if you're a speaker?
There was a lot of information to help speakers prepare. We could ask detailed logistical questions on Discord even on the day. There was a really good variety of talks so whatever your idea, I'd recommend pitching it! We heard from a range of speakers from maintainers of popular Python libraries to people getting over long COVID.
My talk was about Python's exec function that lets you run Python code dynamically at runtime. Amazingly, they uploaded the talk to YouTube within hours. You can watch it here:
Should you attend?
Definitely! I couldn't recommend it enough and I'm really looking forward to the next one.
About David
I'm a freelance data scientist consultant and educator with an MSc. in Data Science and a background in software and web development. My previous roles have been a range of data science, software development, team management and software architecting jobs.
