Popular Aarhus event resurrected: Immersive tech stories without the buzzwords

On Wednesday, November 20, the Tech Tales concept returns. Tech Tales has shown its popularity in the past, but the momentum was slowed by the pandemic. But now the event is resurrected in a collaboration between Co-Coders and Tech City Aarhus.

“Tech Tales started back in 2019, we had a monthly event series with different themes. It became far more popular than we could have imagined. With support from Microsoft, we moved it to Musikhuset in 2020. Unfortunately, corona hit and we had to run the events with limited participants and distance requirements, which took away some of the magic,” says Lise Lystlund from Co-Coders.

Now all tech enthusiasts can once again listen to exciting stories from tech. And everyone can follow, the organizers promise.

“The goal is to create a space for inspiring presentations without the use of buzzwords so that everyone, including tech newbies, can follow along. The idea is that it should feel like going to a stand-up show, where you go home inspired without feeling stupid or disconnected. We have selected speakers who are skilled communicators and can explain technical topics in a way that everyone can follow.” says Lise Lystlund.

Diversity and bias in tech

One of the people you can meet at Tech Tales is Julie Zepernick Jepsen. She is a full stack developer at AI startup Roccai. But her path into tech hasn’t been a straight one. After a number of years in administrative roles at Tesla, she got a taste for tech.

“I had started looking in different directions, and then I was actually at Tech Tales. It was about IoT – and I just thought, that’s brilliant,” says Julie Zepernick Jepsen.

She then started studying mathematics so she could apply for the diploma program in software technology. Now she wanted to learn how to code. Although Julie Zepernick Jepsen hasn’t finished her education yet, she quickly got a career going.
“I was in a coding and knitting club with Nanna (Bach Munkholm, CTO at Roccai). We knitted and talked about coding, and she could use me at Roccai,” says Julie Zepernick Jepsen.

In her Tech Tales presentation, Julie Zepernick Jepsen will focus on diversity and inclusion in tech. Her talk will also explore the challenges of reducing bias in software and recognizing that human influence is always present and must be handled with awareness and purpose.

“There is a lack of women like me in tech. That’s a big motivation for me. So I want to talk about that and try to give an understanding of AI and machine learning. Everyone should be able to participate, and you can easily explain something extremely technical without using a lot of technical words,” she says and continues:

“I hope it will be a fun and exciting evening where people get some perspectives and thoughts on how we use all these AI tools.”

Bringing tech down to earth

At Co-Coders, Lise Lystlund works daily to spread knowledge about IT and tech. Technology is becoming an increasingly integral part of both our lives, and she experiences a great interest in gaining insight into the tech universe. That’s why Tech Tales must be down to earth and be an informal and cozy entrance to tech.

“Tech Tales grew out of our CodeNight concept, where we visited companies that held professional presentations and networking sessions. What we quickly realized was that most participants already had an IT background, while those without a background in tech rarely attended, even though there was a lot of interest. The barriers were too high to attract them,” says Lise Lyslund from Co-Coders.

She hopes that Tech Tales can open the door to more tech enthusiasts who aren’t necessarily world champions in AI or black belts in coding.

“We are primarily aimed at people who are curious about IT but feel that it is a difficult field to enter. At the same time, it’s also for IT professionals who may already know about the topics, but attend for the atmosphere and networking,” says Lise Lystlund.

You can read more about Tech Tales and buy tickets here.