“just back from Qt conference in Munich. An awesome, inspiring 3 days. ..but now am so tired!!! #ilovemyjob #qtdd10” @ben_forster
“Qt simply rocks. #qtdd10” @AVGP
“#Qt developer days. Day 2: it was an amazing day so far. #qtDD10” @nokia_fan
Developer Days Munich has just come to a close, and to say it was a success would be selling it short. This event was unquestionably the biggest and best Qt event that has ever been held.
Such bold claims are not usually our style on this blog, but there really is no other way to describe it.
Every conversation I had with a Qt troll, customer, partner or journalist contained that same theme – this show was bigger, deeper, of higher quality, and simply on a different level to any other Qt Developer Days we have had in the seven years of the event.
So on behalf of the team at that organised this event, thank you to everyone that supported, attended and participated. It was exciting, rewarding and inspiring to have so many of you there to talk, learn and experience Qt.
Over 1000 registered attendees were at this event. To put that in context, we had 520 at this same event two years ago. The venue, Dolce in Munich, was near-perfect. Seeing its wonderful new auditorium overflowing with 1000 Qt developers at a keynote being given by Nokia’s CTO Rich Green was symbolic of how Qt is growing in stature, and how there is still an enormous amount of growth potential to be realised.
Too much occurred over the three days to give a comprehensive account in a single blog post, so here is a quick recap.
Monday was training day. Over 500 trainees took part in four training streams, including two new ones - a dedicated Qt Quick stream and a Forum Nokia hosted stream called Qt Mobile Development for Nokia Software Platforms. All four streams were booked solid.
A new Advanced Qt Certification exam (beta) was also announced, and offered for free at the show. Many attendees also took the Qt Essentials Certification exam on-site during their time in Munich.
It was a great start – notable was the number of new faces in the training crowd. When the assembled crowd was asked “who is at their first Qt Developer Days?”, a large pack of hands went up. It was brilliant to see so many new attendees.
Qt in Education was another focus on day one, with sessions that brought together educators, trainers and our Qt Education specialists. Qt is currently being taught in some of the world’s top 100 universities, and we have plans to progress into more and more of these institutions.
After our Platinum event partner Tieto hosted an official welcome party at the hotel, all was in readiness for day two.
First thing Tuesday morning the top technical mind at Nokia, CTO Rich Green, was introduced after a welcome by Applications Services and Frameworks VP Sebastian Nyström, to an expectant ovation. It was the first time a Nokia CTO had attended or spoke at a Qt event, and Rich delivered a visionary address on how Nokia and Qt interrelate, and what that means for Qt developers.
Our official videos are unpublished at the time of writing this blog, so until then please enjoy this youtube video of the address (courtesy of Mobile Living Room).
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL21JJtrRMM
QML demo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om3ghPikHAs&feature=related
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JuCTqIUA3A&feature=related
The address was followed by two compelling keynotes from Kenn LeGault of DreamWorks Animation and Mark Sage of Orange, and topped off by a roadmap presentation by Sebastian Nyström and our R&D head Lars Knoll, who was brave enough to do a live QML coding demo for 1000 people.
The conclusion of keynotes signalled the beginning of our technical track (we had over 50 sessions – most of them taken by our own developers) and Qt in Use sessions.
Some amazing companies presented Qt in Use sessions – HP, Intel, DreamWorks, Netflix and more. It really showed the breadth of Qt’s reach. Over 500 different companies were represented at the event, spanning a large percentage of the 70+ industries Qt products are currently found in.
The technical sessions were very well received. Qt Quick sessions proved very popular. On day three I poked my head in to look at a Qt Quick session only to see I could barely get through the door. The session was in such high demand there was a standing room contingent at the back that almost stretched out into the corridor.
New, exciting products and designs such as the WeTab MeeGo tablet and Pelagicore’s in-vehicle-infotainment (IVI) solution were on show in our product pavilion, our TechLab solved problems, our partners worked their exhibition stands and networked with the mass of developers and decision makers. As per 2009, we had a very valuable licensing discussion over breakfast on day three. .
It was a large, engaged, motivated group, and the overwhelming feedback has been that the event gave attendees all of the insights, knowledge and experience they were hoping for – and maybe even more.
Now is not the time to bask in the success of the event however. We are already at full pace preparing for Qt Developer Days San Francisco (November 1-3). The entire team is really looking forward to delivering another world class event. An exciting change to the program is the addition of Cisco Senior Vice President of Strategy and Planning for Worldwide Operations, Inder Sidhu. A New York Times best-seller list author, he will deliver an address on balancing a business so it can both Capture Today’s Profit and Drive Tomorrow’s Growth.
So onwards to San Fransisco. It’s going to be another great opportunity for the Qt community to come together and keep our momentum building.
To all who attended Munich, thank you and we will see you next year for an even bigger and better event.
You can see how the Munich event was received by searching the #QtDD10 hashtag on twitter.
