Spring is around the corner and competition is in the air. Baseball Hack Day comes to Chicago this March, as does Chicago Inno’s epic bracket-style competition, Tech Madness. Not into sports? Don’t worry. Get educated on the experience of programmers of color at Dev Bootcamp’s panel discussion, or learn about cyberspace and the new world order with Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Hear from the best and brightest women in the tech scene with WTF (Women Tech Founders, what were you thinking?), or jump into any other number of awesome tech events around town this month.
Programmers of Color: An Experience Report: Join Dev Bootcamp, the 19-week coding school, for a candid conversation with programmers of color about their experiences learning to code, job hunting and working as software developers in Chicago. This will be moderated by Dev Bootcamp instructor Maurice Rabb. (Dev Bootcamp, 351 W Hubbard St, Suite 700, Tuesday, March 1, 5:30pm. Free.)
Chicago Inno’s Tech Madness: Join Chicago Inno for the kickoff party for their annual bracket-style tournament ranking the best Chicago tech companies. Readers vote, and one company wins. The kickoff event is, appropriately, at HQ Beercade in River North. (Headquarters River North, 213 W Institute Pl, Wednesday, March 2, 6pm. $25.)
The Hacked World Order: Technology is shifting the global system of nation states and creating a new world order, according to author Adam Segal. Segal, director of the digital and cyberspace policy program. He will share his hypotheses with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs at 1871. (1871, 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, #1212, Tuesday, March 8, 5:30pm. $10–$20.)
Women Tech Founders Live: Meet women entrepreneurs at varying stages of success at this event from Women Tech Founders. The speakers, including keynote Chicago Innovation Officer Brenna Berman and PackBack CEO Jessica Tenuta, will share the untold stories of their entrepreneurial journeys. (Merchandise Mart, 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Tuesday, March 15, 5:30pm. $15–$75.)
Baseball Hack Day: The 5th annual Baseball Hack Day in Chicago (hosted by Dev Bootcamp) coincides with the same event in several other cities. Join hackers of all levels and languages in hacking on some baseball data for a day of friendly and fast-paced creative thinking. (Dev Bootcamp, 351 W Hubbard St, Suite 700, Saturday, March 19, 9:30am. Free.)
Write/Speak/Code Hack Night: Attend a monthly hack night with Write/Speak/Code, an organization dedicated to getting more women into software development, writing open source code, and speaking publicly at conferences and events. Bring a project or a question. (ThoughtWorks, 200 E Randolph St, 25th Floor, Thursday, March 24, 6:30pm. Free.)