# MLC Orga meeting

June 1, 2021

## Details

https://bbb.hzdr.de/b/ste-zfr-2rk
passcode: 548883

## Agenda

- new faces, why are you here?
- HH: Helmholtz AI @HZDR, because PS asked for help; want to see if I can provide ideas what to improve
- CL: scads member, because PS asked for help; like the idea of a community (share workload)
- NS: MPI CBS, ties to DD, keep connection up -> provide suggestions
- DQ: PhD in DD -> climate change downscaling; hope to help the community
- PW: scads member, curious about new ideas, tricky to keep community alive during pandemic
- PS: Helmholtz AI @ HZDR, been involved in MLC since 2018ish

- PS+HH: Mandat der MLC?
- on the website:
> We are a grass-roots movement of Machine Learning practitioners in Dresden, Germany. Exchanging experiences and knowledge, approaching and using machine learning as a community as well as supporting each other beyond institutional boundaries are at the heart of our mission.
- during the pandemic, we did "exchanging knowledge" (1/5 items)
- how to fulfill this mandate that we gave ourselves?
- HH:
- guided by the notion of a community
- getting to know each other? (to find out if we do something similar)
- projects to work on together?
- NS:
- maybe the situation will improve once we can meet in person
- hackathons or brainhacks are always nice
- facilitate the community?
- HH:
- disagree a bit, also remotely we can build a community
- CL:
- agree, it is more easy than ever before to meet (even virtually)
- a lot of people in scads, here often the challenge is to have a reason to meet (many different topics and interests)
- PW:
- original idea of MLC was to find out who is doing what and to find out what businesses are present
- personal view: larger VCs are demotivating
- HH:
- 1h meeting, 30min presentation, 30min with breakout sessions -> on the long run
- on CL, for some people it is easier to get in touch in small groups online
- NS:
- attended a workshop where community worked well
- workshop AI+X (https://tu-dresden.de/mn/math/geometrie/lordick/schnittstelle/veranstaltungen/workshops/artificial-intelligence-exchange-2021/index?set_language=en)
- something playful would be cool
- HH:
- attended a conference based on gather.town
- organizers designed the place with tables to simply chat
- great to get to know people; good tools available
- DQ: agree to most of what has been said
- NS: (I forgot what you said :-/)
- PS: proposing a community mixer with a purpose
- CL: split 2 aspects
- what is the community?
- do we have a membership? - we do not have, but that is a characteristical aspect
- what do we need?
- What are expecations of the "community"? How to find out?
- PS: people will always get in and out -> the carpentries have a concrete product (working on shared teaching curriculum), MLC perhaps doesn't
- HH: goal is to be a community without a product or concrete goal
- PW: good ideas, but would be cool to have this as a constant community?
- HH: combining both worlds (presentations and community)
- PS: in the carpentries, 2 types of events (coordination event and coworking hours)
- MLC tried hacky hours
- PW: driver of the event back then was fighting with contract end and submission time
- PW: hackathon with physical meeting -> hacker space in SLUB is easy to book
- PW: current rules differ from institute to institute

- PS+HH: June Meeting: Community Building Activity
- time scale: 3rd or 4th week of june
- topic:
- DQ could present something to attract feedback
- agenda:
- start with community activity to emphasize
- PS: many people perhaps have an unfinished project that they need feedback on
- could structure as a unconference, ask people well in advance to prepare presentations to something they need feedback on
- HH: challenge to provide low-level explanations by speakers
- PW: important to get the invitation right (so people know what to expect)
- DQ: maybe split the meeting and do the unconference idea another time
- our ideas and votes:
- PS: 10 min icebreaker in parallel, 5 min transition to talks, 30 min talks in breakouts, 10-15 min wrap to share thoughts +1 +1
- HH: 15 minutes get to know each other (break-outs), 20+10 minutes talk+general discussion (by Dannell), 15 minutes break-outs again for further discussion and community building +1 +1 +1
- PS: introduction to talk should highlight CoC and motivate people to provide constructive/supportive feedback
- action items:
- identify date (PW) -> Tuesday June **22nd** or 29rd (check with TUD science calendar)
- announcement on the webpage (CL), text + MR
- announcement by mail (HH+PS), text -> fix email issue
- announcement on twitter (PS)

- PS: next seminars
- July Meeting: Surrogate Models and Beyond at HZDR - Nico Hoffmann
- August: Summer Break?
- September: https://github.com/ISorokos/SafeML by Vock, Silvia <[e-mail]> ?
- October: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.tu_chemnitz.mi.kahst.birdnet ?
- PS: networking with business in Dresden