Dear All,
Welcome to the latest update for the 2009 QA Hackathon.
ACCOMMODATION
Just to keep everyone updated with the progress of the 2009 QA Hackathon plans, JJ and I have now reserved hotel rooms for those that have previously informed us of their attendance and accommodation requirements. Any further room bookings will need to be made with the Jury's Inn hotel directly [1].
TRAVEL GUIDE
A travel guide is being prepared and we will hopefully put this online next week. It will have details for those arriving at Birmingham Airport (BHX) and Birmingham New Street, and will also include some additional information for those arriving at London Heathrow (LHR).
EVENT LUNCH
During the event itself, the venue will be providing lunch for all 3 days. They have provided us with a selection of choices, which includes a vegetarian option. However, we need to make sure we can accommodated any special dietary requirements. If you are planning to attend, and haven't already told us, please let us know by Tuesday 10th March, of any allergies or dietary requirements you have.
We currently have 20 people committed to attend [2] the QA Hackathon. If anyone else plans to attend, please could you let us know as soon as possible, as we need to supply the venue with the number of attendees.
If you are not listed on the Attendees [2] page as 'committed', then you are currently not included in the numbers, so please let us know if your situation changes.
EVENING FOOD & DRINK
On Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, we are planning to book tables at different restaurants each night, and suggest a local pub before finally heading back to the hotel bar. Please note that all evening meals and drinks will need to be paid for by attendees themselves. We will list details of the restuarants and pubs on the wiki next week.
SPONSORSHIP & FUNDING
Unfortunately we haven't had as much sponsorship and funding as we would have liked. We suspect the current economic climate has been the biggest impact, but we are still looking for further sponsorship, for at least 2 people who would like to attend if they can be funded. If you can suggest anyone for us to contact, please add details to the Sponsors page [3] on the wiki, under Suggested Sponsors, or contact us at the email address below.
QUESTIONS
If you have any further questions, please email us at organisers@qa-hackathon.org.
LINKS
[1] http://birminghamhotels.jurysinns.com/
[2] http://qa-hackathon.org/wiki/Attendees
[3] http://qa-hackathon.org/wiki/Sponsors
THANKS
Many thanks to our sponsors who have donated funds to help us put on the event, Birmingham Perl Mongers for underwriting the whole event, to $foo Magazin and Nestoria for providing funding, and to PROCURA B.V. and Booking.com for funding their employees to attend.
More news soon...
Thanks,
The 2009 QA Hackathon Organisers.
