Last year we realized that there was a need for Web Development related events over by the UCF and Research Park area to help tie in with the amazing downtown Orlando tech community. So in October 2014 we launched our first ever University JavaScript meetup

What we didn’t realize was the demand for this kind of event was extremely high. Our first JavaScript meetup had over 40 people show upThere will be JavaScript.

The JavaScript meetup has now turned into a minimum of 60 people attending each month, in a matter of 10 months. The group on meetup.com also now has over 540 members.

It has been a growth process as we started with just a few chairs and a TV mounted on the wall. Now we have a projector set up with a screen, more seating (yet still not enough) and we live stream the events through youtube.com with our channel called University Tech Meetups.

I am very happy with the members who show up, as they come from all over Central Florida. We have students who are still in school at Full Sail, University of Central Florida and The Iron Yard. We have developers and engineers from companies all over coming in to either learn something new, to meet and possibly hire, and to just network.

I even built a JavaScript app and presented it with 2 other female JavaScript developers to help push the significance of women in tech we named that meetup The Pursuit of JavaScript

The speakers range each month from students wanting to talk about their passions, to Senior JavaScript developers teaching everyone the ropes of JavaScript. We have even had a few of our own JavaScript developers drop some knowledge. I like to encourage everyone and varied range of expertise to get up and talk.

If you haven’t already noticed I like to give each JavaScript meetup title a spin off of a movie title. We are always taking requests for the next one!

Now that the JavaScript meetup has become such a huge part of the Orlando Tech ecosystem and becoming one of the largest JavaScript meetups in Central Florida, we are looking to find ways to expand even more. Get more companies to become part of the community and getting students to expand their horizons with Web Development.