Chicagoans may be cutting town throughout December, but there are still a handful of awesome tech meetups left in 2015. Wind down the year with drinks, snacks, networking and brainstorming on the dime of some of the city’s best tech organizations. Try a hands-on workshop with We Design Think, a holiday party with FWD.us or a panel discussion on freelancing with Dev Bootcamp.
We Design Think - How Might We Mentor Each Other Across Tech/Design Groups: This hands-on workshop from We Design Think will apply design-minded thinking to the question of effective and efficient mentoring in the tech industry. Bring ideas and be prepared to sticky-note the hell out of some whiteboards. (Dev Bootcamp, 351 W Hubbard St, December 2, 5:30pm. $20)
Tech in Motion 50K Member Celebration: Tech in Motion is hosting simultaneous celebrations in 10 cities across the country. Join the Chicago crew at Microsoft-Midwest for startup demos, free drinks and simulcast multi-city networking. (Microsoft-Midwest District, 200 E Randolph St, December 3, 6pm. Free)
FWD.us Holiday Party at WeWork: FWD.us is an organization dedicated to the intersection of tech and immigration reform. Join them at hip co-working space WeWork for a holiday party and networking. (WeWork River North, 111 W Illinois St, December 7, 6:30pm. Free)
Girl Develop It: Growing Your Career in Tech with Heather Corallo: Heather Corallo has seen thousands of resumes and conducted thousands of interviews. Hear from this Chicago tech veteran as she shares her best lessons on personal branding and presentation for the tech industry. (Enova, 175 W Jackson Blvd, 6pm. Free)
Freelancing as a Web Developer: A Conversation: Developers of all levels use freelancing as a way to bridge the gap between jobs or as their primary sources of income. At Dev Bootcamp, listen to four devs of varying levels on how they land work, keep contacts and make it all come together. (Dev Bootcamp, 351 W Hubbard St, December 10, 5:30pm. Free)
Community Safety App Development Hackathon: Co-organized by the Chicago Police Department and Chicago Public Schools, this one-day hackathon at 1871 is for high school students to build mobile or web apps using the Chicago Police Department API. (1871, 222 W Merchandise Mart, December 12, 10am–4pm. Free)