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Meetups

Meetup events are one of the core activities you will be doing. So it's important to make sure you do it properly.

Determine your type of event

Types of big events you could have:
  • A technical demonstration for engineers/ scientists, i.e. “let’s show our professors those models we built”
  • “Public Demo Day”
  • Show and Tell for hackers within the group. A few people sign up to give demos or explanations of what they’ve built. “Group Demo Day”
  • Large speaker event - scientists, CEOs, etc give talks for a more general audience
If you are short on theme ideas, try the following:
  • Startups in Neurotechnology
  • VR and Neurotechnology
  • Serious Gaming / Neurogaming
  • Citizen science / crowdsourcing
  • Art / music
  • Neural Ethics
  • The future of Neurotechnologies
  • Brain stimulation and Nootropics
  • Clinical BCI
  • BCI in Healthcare
  • Quantified Self
  • DIY projects Demo Day

Preparing an event

Here is a checklist to follow when putting together a good event:

      (6 weeks prior) Choose a theme, identify speakers and potential dates
      (4-5 weeks prior) Create the preliminary agenda
      (4-5 weeks prior) Reach out to list of venues and book a space
      (4-5 weeks prior) Create the Meetup.
      (4-5 weeks prior) Identify and reach to out to speakers
      (4-5 weeks prior) Reach out to list of venues
      (every week) Post on twitter, slack, facebook, other meetup groups...
      (2 weeks before) Make sure to post the Location on Meetup if you haven't yet
      (1-2 days before or day of) Get food for event

Tips & Tricks: You should aim for events with between 30 to 80 people. More people require a bigger space and more logistics. Less people seems a little empty, unless it is intended to be intimate and more personal. Keep in mind that if your event is free to register, you will have ~40% no show. It is too easy nowadays to simply say "Yes, I will attend" and then change your plan. That's why we suggest to always charge a minimum amount of $5 (or more) for your events, it will help quite a bit for the logistic. If people aren't willing to pay $5 for your event, you should review the quality of your events (it might not be up to NTX standards).

During the event

For the best type of event, make sure you do the following during an event

      Have an event greeter to welcome guests
      Have a designated picture taker. If someone has a good camera, see if you can borrow one!
      Have a MC to guide the event
      Make sure to have your snacks and plates visible to people
      Make sure the MC mentions to follow us on twitter and on slack.
      Tweet during the event with relevant hashtags and tag @NeuroTechX, the speakers and the sponsors.

Tips & Tricks: Don't forget that NTX focuses on people. Engage your audience, get to know them. Help them. Make connections and introductions. They don't just come for a Lecture. The speakers and presentations is only half of the event, don't forget the other half -> the audience. If you are doing a smaller event with less than 50 people, consider doing an introduction rapid fire. "Say your name, your interest in neurotech and what you are looking for in 20 seconds."

After the event

      Send a Thank you message for dropping by on Meetup
      Reiterate if they would like to get involved, how they can reach out
      Upload the pictures of the event on the drive

Tips & Tricks: Building a local neurotech ecosystem starts with people, with the community. Listen to your local community, engage with them to align your events and activities. There is no perfect formula for building a thriving neurotech community. But being "agile" and adapting to what the community wants certainly helps! After the event, engage new people, make connections between members, etc. If you are putting the community (people) first, magic will happen.