Sunday Discussions and Workshops

workshops

Build Your Solopreneur Roadmap: A Workshop for Data Professionals (2 hour workshop)

Clair Sullivan

In this workshop we'll discuss the real stuff people need to figure out when thinking about going solo. I will walk participants through an actual calculation of what they presently make an hour, exploring how this compares to typical hourly rates for contractors from large contracting companies. This exercise will demonstrate that individuals working in a solopreneur capacity are much more competitive than they realize in this market. This will then be the basis for an exercise on setting rates, where a lot of people get stuck. From there we will discuss the nuts and bolts of setting up a business such as legal structures, taxes, and contracts. This will include practical, from-the-trenches advice for getting started. Finally, we will discuss strategies for landing your first client, following the philosophy that it is easier to land your first client than your next job.

discussions

“AI-Ready Data”: Switch, Spectrum, or Just Buzzword?)

Jean-George Perrin

Everyone claims to have AI-ready data — but what does that even mean? Is it about perfect pipelines, labeled datasets, or governance frameworks? Or is “AI-ready” just the new “data-driven” — a shiny phrase that hides more than it reveals?

In this unconference session led by Jean-Georges “jgp” Perrin, chair of the Bitol project at the Linux Foundation, we’ll put the concept of AI readiness under the microscope. Through an open, collaborative debate, we’ll explore questions like:
• Is AI readiness a switch you flip or a maturity model you evolve through?
• Who defines readiness — data engineers, data scientists, compliance teams, or the AI itself?
• What role do semantic layers, ontologies, and knowledge graphs really play in achieving AI readiness? Are they enablers of understanding or just another abstraction layer with good PR?
• Can open standards like ODCS (Open Data Contract Standard) and ODPS (Open Data Product Standard) help transform “AI-ready” from a marketing slogan into something measurable, testable, and trustworthy?

We’ll take inspiration from the community-driven success of Defining Data Products: A Community Effort — a reminder that shared understanding doesn’t come from ivory towers, but from practitioners challenging each other’s assumptions.
Expect sharp insights, respectful arguments, and perhaps a few existential moments about what “readiness” actually means in the age of AI. No slides. No scripts. Just truth-seeking.