Over 20 Expert tech talks
The 2015 festival saw innovators, experts and entrepreneurs from all over the world come to share their knowledge and experiences with the BuzzConf participants.
Our presenters from 2015
Paul Fenwick
Public Speaker: Space · KSP-CKAN · Ethics · Emerging Tech · Psychology · Automation · Feminism · Social/Global Justice. Adventuretarian; World famous in NZ. Andrew Fisher
Designer of things that combine web, mobile, physical computing & lots of data. Andy Kitchen
Andy is a researcher and consultant in machine learning specialising in neural networks. He is currently puzzling over how to teach computers to think about thinking and other meta-physical machinations. Fabio Pereira
@fabiopereira consultant, public speaker, book author and a digital behavioral economist – a digital nudger
Show more presenters Kathy Reid
Kathy Reid is passionate about open technologies. A DevOps manager by day, by night she makes Good Things happen in open source communities. Jack Skinner
@MYOBapi Evangelist, @sydphp organiser & #phunconf convener. ZF2CA. Tech event junkie. Adriana Belotti
Culture Conditioning Renegade. Loves sailing & unicorns. VP @AustBitcoin & Digital Marketer + Web Dev @ASI_Solutions. #WomenInTech #DigitalInclusion Adam Purdie
Adam is creator who loves to learn and share – whether that be in electronics, robotics, software development, music or painting. Keran McKenzie
API Evangelist @MYOBapi, Apple gadgets, Web tech, coffee and cars. I may tweet a little too much .. also @half_pine Felicity Gilbert
Felicity Gilbert has a Bachelor of Communications: Creative Advertising which she hardly uses for anything. She also likes books, design, yoga, singing (badly) and soy crisps. Blair Wyatt
A systems engineer by day, a backyard electronics tinkerer by night. Bec Spink
Leading Teacher. Code the Future Co-Founder, Evernote Ambassador. 2013 DET Vic Primary Teacher of the Year. Apple Distinguished Educator. Erik Hallander
Based in Australia, Erik is a self-confessed gaming addict and has an unbridled passion for using technology as an enabler to amazing experiences. Will Egan
CMO at successful Australian health education company, Ausmed and co-founder of Code the Future, a not for profit organisation that’s putting coding education in schools. Melissa Kaulfuss
By day Mel is a tech recruiter – by night, code tinkerer and occasional party animal. She’s personally driven to see a diverse tech industry Alex Mackey
Web dev, book & Pluralsight author & MVP. I like caffine, crossfit & cat videos. Steve King
TLDR – Hacking since 1991, promoting kids hacking since 2012, promoting adults hacking at events since 2010) Scott Huntley
TAFE teacher of IT at SWSi Miller, NSW. Teaching web design & development, social media, #WordPress. Works with #Moodle, plays with #IoT. Canadian Expat in Oz. Valberg Lárusson & Soley Valbergsdottir
Valberg & Soley are a father daughter team of Mincrafters and game makers. Their company Tinarastic Game Studio is only an extension of their passion of gaming.
Create
Amazing workshops
Building robots, 3D modelling and printing, hacking, making and playing! Whether it’s a presentation for the grown-ups, a workshop for the children or something for everyone to do together – BuzzConf had it covered!
Sessions from 2015
Minecraft Sessions
Age: 6+; parental guidance recommended for children under 13 This workshop is for newbies and seasoned players alike. Learn how to survive your first day in Minecraft survival mode and how to fly and build amazing structures in creative mode. The first session will be focused on getting new users up and running and getting […] Digital Nudge – the brain science behind our digital world
Drawing on cutting-edge research from the fields of social psychology and behavioral economics this talk reveals forces that influence everyone’s behavior and their consequences on the digital world. The future is awesome (and what you can do about it)
Join us to find out why the future is awesome in ways you may not expect, and what you can do about it. Nodebots
BuzzConf have teamed up with Nodebots to offer a bot-building workshop led by their experts.
Show more sessions 7 reasons why you are just a meat computer, and that’s ok
Looks like it’s time for some human-learning about machine-learning! IoT and e-Learning
The Internet is moving beyond the browser and eLearning will move with it The human body as a development platform
Implantables. The next development platform is the human body. SubPos – A “Dataless” Wi-Fi Positioning System
An open source, indoor positioning system that can be used anywhere GPS doesn’t penetrate Will Bitcoin really change the world
The potential bitcoin has to disrupt the whole financial system and change the way world economics work is what scares the 1% that holds 99% of the world’s wealth. Do you need another reason to take part in this revolution and rebalance the wealth scales? Let’s look beyond the web’s first native currency to understand […] IOT & Business – bringing IOT into everyday business life
You only do accounting from your office right? Wrong! In this fun and playful session Keran & Jack take you on a journey exploring out IOT is opening up the businesses to simpler & more effective ways of working. From accounting on the job site to tracking items. IOT creates a plethora of fun and […] Naming things is hard – fixing diversity is harder
We’ve all seen the tweets, heard the pleas (and the wails and the gnashing of teeth), read the mission statements. But, one of the biggest issues facing tech is still not solved, no-one has managed to address the diversity issue successfully. I’ve spent years as the only (non-tech) female in dev teams. I’ve most recently […] Code the Future
Code the Future aims to move children from just consumers of technology to creators and producers. Their goal is to connect core stakeholders and get developers into schools collaborating and working side by side with students and educators. Start 3D-Printing with Blender
Get started with 3D printing software Blender Disruption that has genuine impact
Covering a few important but not so well-known examples of Innovation around macro trends in the health care industry, Erik will help you form a view of a sector that doesn’t have nearly enough focus from us as an industry. A sector where there’s an unprecedented opportunity to do good work that does good for society. […] More than human
Based on the title of a book by Ramez Naam (better known for science fiction) examining exciting scientific changes impacting the human body this talk will look at the current state of brain computer interfaces. We’ll even take a quick look at some very affordable devices for experimenting with brain/computer interaction yourself.
Party
Live music every night
Starting from Friday evening and running through until the last person is standing on Sunday night, BuzzConf always brings the best entertainers to keep you hanging out and dancing with the new friends you’ve made throughout the day.
Bands from 2015
Big F’ing Robots
Big Fucking Robots are super sonic death machines sent from the past to distort the future. Hana Maru
Numerous fretless instruments give the band its distinctive sound. Their music ranges from gentle folk, to soulful ballads, to outright pop. Lisa Spykers
Lisa Spykers is a blues, soul and roots singer, keyboardist and guitarist who regularly performs at cafés, bars, pubs, private functions & as a busker. The Experimentals
Scientists by day, The Experimentals by night – this band of researchers will be coming to BuzzConf to blow your minds – not with science – but with classic rock tunes
Venue and location
BuzzConf is held on a beautiful campground in country Victoria rather than another stuffy conference centre. Delegates and presenters spend the whole weekend together learning and playing with the tech they bring. The camping is great fun – but there’s also a little bit of luxury for anyone that likes their creature comforts! Early morning at BuzzConf 2015 Camping at Phoenix Park 
Phoenix Park 
Twin room 
Communal Lounge
Testimonials
This short video shows what some people thought about their time at BuzzConf 2015 https://www.youtube.com/embed/jV6pEhw-G2w
Repeat
Get ready for the next one!
We have monthly BuzzConf Night meetups and the 2016 Festival registrations are now open – so we hope to see you soon!
Next BuzzConf Meetup
Coming soon
Previous BuzzConf Meetup
BuzzConf Technology Festival Showcase – talks from the festival’s presenters
When: 20th October 2016
Where: The Savoy Tavern, Melbourne
The 20th October is going to be a very special BuzzConf Night: we’ll be bringing you a sneak preview of some of the amazing sessions to expect over the festival weekend.
What BuzzConf means to you
I loved so much of BuzzConf. It’s hard to convey how much I loved it. Thanks so much for getting this conference up and running. I had the best time.
Amazing to get great internet at a festival!
My boss is talking about sending my whole team next year. And Jack (my 7yo) is going nuts that he has to wait a whole year to be able to come. He’s put his BuzzConf sticker on his laptop already.
Rick Measham, Director of Software Development at astutepayroll.com
I thought it was an incredible experience to all. I learned from others, connected and am very much looking forward to making it an yearly event on my personal calendar.
The most interesting conference I’ve ever been to. A great mix of technology thinkers set at a relaxed environment, where everyone chills together.
Adrianna Belotti, Online Marketing & Web Dev
BuzzConf Was Awesome. As a unique blend of conference and festival, BuzzConf was good. Really good.
BuzzConf was an intentionally kids-friendly event, with lots of maker-focused activities for both kids and adults alike. It’s a big step up for inclusiveness and diversity, and all the kids I saw seemed to be having the best time ever.
So I hope you get the idea that BuzzConf was incredible.
Paul Fenwick, Benevolent Troublemaker and Freedom Loving Scientist
BuzzConf was such a blast. It was like a cross between a weekend barbeque – chilled, relaxed and friendly – and a grassroots technical conference.
As a woman, I found it a really inviting, safe and welcoming event, and it was wonderful to see a lot of diversity in the presenters and attendees.
It was great to spend time with people actively making and exploring technology, and to chat with other like-minded souls, and generally nerd out. A++ would buy again
Kathy Reid, Vice President of Linux Australia
Huge thanks to our supporters in 2015
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