UK VMUG UserCon 2019

One of the highlights of last year was the VMUG National user conference held at the space centre in Leicester.  A fantastic venue for not only the conference event but for the pre event vCurry and quiz, so it’s no surprise that it’s being held there again this year.  The vCurry on the 26th and the conference on the 27th.

There is a great agenda covering a huge range of topics.  From a technical standpoint I’m particularly looking forward to the opening key note from Joe Baguley and the closing “run and manage all the things” key note from Ed Hoppit and Matt Steiner.  I’ve only managed to catch pieces of the “all the things” presentations this year so I’m really looking forward to  catching the full presentation.

There is also a guest speaker to close the event this year Professor Anu Ojha OBE from the National Space Academy, delivering an intriguingly titled session ‘Space – so what?’.  If you are not aware the National Space Academy, describe themselves on their own website as;

“We are a not-for-profit organisation. We engage young people with STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) using the inspirational context of space, and facilitate pathways into the space sector by working with industry and education.”

Sounds like a very worthwhile cause!

I’m not just attending the event this year I’m presenting.  I’m delighted to be presenting with four community colleagues, Dave Marley, Michael Poore and Craig Dalrymple   Together we’re going to be presenting on the vastly important topic of mental health in the community;

“About 25% of the people attending this UKVMUG will experience a mental health problem in 2019[NHS]. In this session four members of the vCommunity will talk about their experiences and the ways in which they’ve worked to manage their mental health and support those around them.”

I’m very proud of the presentation that we’ve put together.  We’ll be sharing personal mental health stories, shining a light on the issues, providing our insights and practical advice   This will be an extremely powerful session and we’ll all be delighted if you would register to attend.

Thanks

Simon