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mesh conference

mesh is Canada's digital transformation and innovation event taking place in Calgary and Toronto each year.

Unveiling the mesh Startup Scholarship

By mesh12

When we launched mesh in 2006 (which seems like a long time ago!), one of the things we wanted to achieve was creating a place where everyone could gather to talk about the amazing things happening online. This included the fledgling startup community, which just started to gather steam, buoyed by events such as DemoCamp.

Over the years, however, we’ve had fewer startups involved with mesh that we’d liked or wanted, so we’re excited about going back to our roots with something new called the mesh conference scholarship: A Hosted Startup Program.

It’s an opportunity for startups to attend mesh to expand their connections, share ideas and be inspired, and a chance for us to give back to the community that has supported us.

So, here’s how it works.

Sponsored by Ernst & Young and Microsoft BizSpark, startup entrepreneurs will receive a free ticket to mesh (worth $679). In return, all they need to do is have three 15-minute appointments with participating sponsors and suppliers over the two days of mesh.

So who should apply? If you’re a startup entrepreneur actively involved in the community, tell us about your startup and explain why you should be at mesh. You can apply to participate here.

Once the application process closes on May 9, hosted startups will be hand-picked, recommended and qualified by mesh. Then, vetted and invited hosted startup scholars will be asked to participate in the program free of charge.

For more details, including the qualifying criteria, visit the program’s information page.

Tickets for mesh are now on sale for $679, while a handful of student tickets can be purchased for $99 each.

Panel Spotlight: The Future of Education

By mesh12

How is the Web changing how we teach and learn? Who has access to education? Where does “learning” happen now?

These are all intriguing and thought-provoking questions that will be addressed on May 23 at mesh by a panel that features Victoria Jovanovic-Krstic, Carole Leaman and Mark Ury.

For anyone interested in learning or involved in teaching on a professional or personal level, the panel should provide insight, thoughts and idea about the pros and cons of the Web becoming a more integral part of the educational experience.

Some of the questions to be tackled include:

Are we creating a generation of super-learners or stunting the creativity of students? And could the rise of digital within education see students increasingly take control of their education including choice of schools, teachers, classes, and even curriculum.

Early-bird tickets for mesh can be purchased until April 20 for $579 (+HST), which saves you $100 off the regular price.

Speaker spotlight: Max Shron

By mesh12

You might have heard the term “big data” being dropped at various tech events over the last year or so, but what does it mean, and how does it affect you and your business? Max Shron is joining us at mesh 2012 to answer those questions and more.

Max is a data-strategy consultant and a former data scientist with the online dating service OK Cupid. Online dating may not sound like the kind of thing that would involve a lot of data, but during Max’s time with the company, OK Cupid developed a reputation for bringing the wisdom of data science (and a lot of wit) to bear on the process of matching couples. What are the best questions to ask on a first date? Why do customers who don’t fit the standard definition of beauty get more requests from other users? OKCupid looked into its vast data warehouse and came up with fascinating answers to those and other questions.

The point is that every business with an online presence (and that means virtually every modern business) has an ocean of data underlying how customers interact with the product and/or the website — and within that data are patterns that can help you determine all kinds of things about how to help them, and how to profit from their needs and desires.

Join us at mesh 2012 on May 23 and 24 as Max Shron helps us understand what “big data” really means — and what it means to you. Early-bird tickets are now on sale for $579, while student tickets can be purchased for $99.