This weekend’s DrupalCamp London wasn’t my first Drupal event at all, I’ve been to 3 DrupalCon Europe, 4 DrupalCamp Dublin, and a few other DrupalCamps in Ireland and lots of meetups, but in this case I experienced a lot of ‘first times’ that I want to share.
Sponsor perspective
This was the first time I’d attended a Drupal event representing a sponsor organisation, and as a result the way I experienced it was completely different.
Firstly, you focus more on your company’s goals, rather than your personal aims. In this case I was helping Capgemini UK to engage and recruit people for our open positions. This allowed me to socialise more and try to connect with people. We also had T-shirts so it was easier to attract people if you have something free for them. I was also able to have conversations with other sponsors to see why did they sponsor the event, some were also recruiting, but most of them were selling their solutions to prospective clients, Drupal developers and agencies.
The best of this experience was the people I found in other companies and the attendees approaching us for a T-shirt or a job opportunity.
New member of Capgemini UK perspective
As a new joiner in the Capgemini UK Drupal team I attended this event when I wasn’t even a month old in the company, and I am glad I could attend this event at such short notice in my new position, I think this tells a lot about the focus on training and career development Capgemini has and how much they care about Drupal.
As a new employee of the company this event allowed me to meet more colleagues from different departments or teams and meet them in a non-working environment. Again the best of this experience was the people I met and the relations I made.
New member of the local Drupal Community perspective
I joined Capgemini from Ireland, so I was also new to the London Drupal community, and the DrupalCamp gave me the opportunity to connect and create relationships with other members of the Drupal community. Of course they were busy organising this great event, but I was able to contact some of the members, and I have to say they were very friendly when I approached any of the crew or other local members attending the event. I am very happy to have met some friendly people and I am committed to help and volunteer my time in future events, so this was a very good starting point. And again the best were the people I met.
Non-session perspective
As I had other duties I couldn’t attend all sessions. But I was able to attend some sessions and the Keynotes, with special mention to the Saturday keynote from Matt Glaman, it was very motivational and made me think anyone could evolve as a developer if they try and search the resources to get the knowledge. And the closing keynote from Danese Cooper was very inspirational as well about what Open Source is and what should be, and that we, the developers, have the power to make it happen. And we could also enjoy Malcom Young’s presentation about Code Reviews.
Conclusion
Closing this article I would like to come back to the best part of the DrupalCamp for me this year, which was the people. They are always the best part of the social events. I was able to catch up with old friends from Ireland, engage with people considering a position at Capgemini and introduce myself to the London Drupal community, so overall I am very happy with this DrupalCamp London and I will be happy to return next year. In the meantime I will be attending some Drupal meetups and trying to get involve in the community, so don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any question or you need my help.
