In the summertime, when the weather is...oh
Ah yes. 'Summer.' Soggy barbecues, envious tans, and frazzled families. Not at ODI Leeds though...
For us, this summer is all about the refit and the months ahead. Earlier this year, we were awarded a portion of the Leeds Tech Hub Fund to improve the space and services for the benefit of the Leeds tech and digital industry. We love our space and we've always tried to provide the best possible experience that we can with what we've got. There were limitations though. With this funding, we are now able to bring improvements to the space that will make it more comfortable, flexible, and adaptable to all kinds of events and needs. As many people have already said 'Don't change it too much!', we've thought long and hard about the new furniture, colour scheme, equipment, etc. We don't want to say too much now, you'll have to wait for the big reveal in September ;) If you want a few sneak peeks, we will be sharing videos and progress photos as we go along, so please follow us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. This does mean that throughout August and parts of September, the space will not look its best and in some cases, it will be unavailable to meetings, coworking, events, etc. If you want to use the space, please email us :)
Our sponsors are important to us - they help fund some of our amazing projects, and share our mission to improve lives and create value using open data. As part of our continuing commitment to them, we hold regular review sessions where we can discuss potential future projects, our strengths/weaknesses, etc. We have that same commitment to our friends, collaborators, partners, and all of the fine folk we have met or interacted. So we'd like to extend this review out to you. What do you want to see us work on over the coming months? What project would you absolutely love to get involved with?
Events like #TravelHack and #HighwaysHack, which are heavily transport and infrastructure based, have been so successful that follow-up events are already in the planning stage. We visited environmental data and issues via #AirHack and #DefraData, not forgetting the colossal effort of so many amazing people at #FloodHack back in 2016. And we have to mention the growing Things Leeds/Bradford network that we have been developing - a perfect platform for Internet-of-Things projects. Is it time to revisit an older project? Or is there a pressing issue that desperately needs an injection of time, passion, and innovation?
Look out for the celebration when we open the refurbished space in September/October, where you can come and check out the new look for yourself. Have a great summer!
