Catch all of the talks from MDS Fest 2.0 HERE

MDS Fest started because we wanted a way to bring everyone together and amplify voices within the data community. The result? One packed week of presentations from 60 speakers across the world, over a thousand attendees, and days of quality content in one place. 

Over the span of 40 days, we brought this back-of-the-napkin idea to life and the support from the data community was overwhelming. We had the privilege of hosting an incredible lineup of speakers - some seasoned pros and some who hadn’t had the opportunity to present their work publicly in a conference setting before. 

MDS Fest gave data practitioners a platform to share real problems they were facing and how they solved them across the modern data stack. We had an absolute blast and want to extend a giant thank you to the community for making this week-long celebration of data practitioners an incredible success. 

MDS Fest Opening Keynote ft. Etai Mizrahi, Lindsay Murphy, Taylor Brownlow, and David Jayatillake

Why most data presentations flop the secret equation for storytelling ft. Christopher Chin, Founder at The Hidden Speaker

In this talk, Chris gives you the formula on how to give a compelling data presentation that stakeholders actually want to listen to: Information + Emotion = Insight 

Soft skills are vastly under-emphasized in the industry. To achieve organizational objectives, you need a data literate culture built on effective communication. You need professionals who can convince, persuade, and motivate - professionals who understand presentations are not just about giving information. They're about inspiring action.

Dancing your way through the pathless data career ft. Mehdi Ouazza, Developer Advocate at MotherDuck

In this talk, Mehdi shares experiences and advice on navigating the wild world of data roles. Learn how to blend your unique skills, passions, and industry demands into a dazzling data career performance that'll have you dancing to your own beat.

Building your data stack best practice starter kit ft. Stephane Burwash, Data Ops Engineer at Potloc

Stephane shares examples of common mistakes made and lessons for those building their first data stack. 

In the talk he answers topics like:

- How the first implementation of star schemas was a failure and lead us to create master tables

- How starting without a clear definition of your business objectives can lead us to be dashboard pushers

- Where are the best places to get an answer when you’re completely stumped

Operational analytics on prod: using dbt & SQL Server for operations ft. Jacob Matson, VP of Finance & Operations at Simetric

For operational use cases, replication of tables to your warehouse may not be feasible or possible. This talk explores what is possible using dbt on top of SQL Server in scenarios where full replication would not be possible to achieve company goals.

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Recaps from Days 2-5

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5