Starting in June 2016, the /dev/night is celebrating its third anniversary this year. We talked to Niklas Heer, the main organiser of the /dev/night, about the special features of the monthly event. Are you interested in software development? Then read the interview to see why you should take the chance to take part in the /dev/night.

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Tradebyte: Niklas, many thanks that you’ve taken the time for this short interview. You’ve been involved in the organisation of the /dev/night from the very beginning. Could you briefly tell us what the /dev/night actually is?

Niklas: Since June 2016, the /dev/night has taken place in the Tradebyte office every second Tuesday of the month. The /dev/night is organised by the Tradebyte team – in addition to their every-day jobs. I’ve been involved since the first /dev/night and it’s very dear to me. Basically, our event is a meet-up for developers and people from the DevOp area. There’s another motto ever month. We have a talk by one or several experts in connection to the theme and a lot of scope and time for discussions and questions. Depending on the topic, programming languages or programmes are practically implemented in small teams. We’ve had many experts for the talks, e.g. from Hetzner or INNOQ. But, of course, we also have many specialists within the Tradebyte team who are happy to share their knowledge with the /dev/night community. In addition to the main event, we’ve recently introduced the /dev/night/org. That always takes place one week after the /dev/night and serves the purpose of discussing and optimising the organisation of the events. Everyone who wants to participate can contribute ideas and suggestions for improvement. Normally, the /dev/night community meets on the 3rd floor of the Tradebyte office, but sometimes special editions take place. We’ve been in the Hetzner office in Gunzenhausen twice. Furthermore, sometimes we’re part of bigger events such as the Würzburg Web Week, the Nuremberg Digital Festival or the DevOps Camp. All /dev/nights, no matter whether in-house or out at a partner, are streamed live. Everyone who might not have the opportunity to come to Ansbach or who would like to watch the event online at first, can also take part like this and ask questions via the chat.

Can you give us three reasons why people should go to the /dev/night?

  1. Exchange of knowledge: The topics are varied and the speakers are experts in what they do. It’s important to us that participants really learn something new or deepen their knowledge.
  2. Cool people: Our community consists of all kinds of people who are all passionate about developing or DevOp. The Tradebyte team is very international which is why the /dev/night is held in English.
  3. Location & catering: Our office is very modern and cosy and designed with a super hero motto. Additionally, we always make sure there’s enough drinks and food. Usually there’s pizza. And all for free!

Who can participate in the /dev/night?

Basically everyone who wants to register. It’s an advantage if you have at least a bit of prior knowledge so you get as much out of it as possible. Students also regularly come to the /dev/night. The event is a good opportunity to get to know the community and chat with experts. Whether it’s about certain topics or just about the day-to-day work in IT. We are happy to give tips about which subjects to focus on at university or we talk about our experiences at the beginning of our careers. The topics of the talks are very diverse, from beginner talks to web development or Tradebyte products through to profound insights into the different programming languages – there’s something for everybody and you get to know the different aspects of software development. The topics are announced in advance on Meetup and our website. In addition, we’re always open for topic proposals and suggestions. But the /dev/night is interesting for everyone who likes exchange in an open community and with yummy food.

How should the /dev/night develop?

With the /dev/night/org we’ve already launched a sub-event this year. We’re currently discussing not just making the streams of the events available live, but also permanently. Then, previous talks could be watched again. Furthermore, we’d like to try out a podcast. Long-term, we’d like to organise a bigger event in the form of a conference. We’re constantly working on including the community more and more, and on implementing all wishes and suggestions. 

Thank you very much for the chat and have fun with the organisation of this wonderful event.

The /dev/night takes place in the Tradebyte office in Ansbach every second Tuesday of the month.

You can register here.

You can find the live stream here.