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Stuart Clark
Senior Developer Advocate
Lincoln, United Kingdom
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Stuart is a Senior Developer Advocate, public speaker, author and DevNet Expert #2022005
Stuart is a sought-after speaker, frequently gracing the stages of industry conferences worldwide presenting on his expertise in programmability and DevOps methodologies. Passionate about fostering knowledge sharing, he actively creates community content and leads developer communities, empowering others to thrive in the ever-evolving tech landscape. In his previous role as a network engineer, he became obsessed with network automation and became a developer advocate for network automation. He contributed to the Cisco DevNet exams and was part of one of the SME teams which created, designed, and built the Cisco Certified DevNet Expert. He lives in Lincoln, England, with his wife, Natalie, and their son, Maddox. He plays guitar and rocks an impressive two-foot beard while drinking coffee. You can find him on social media @bigevilbeard.
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Beyond Isolation: Lessons from Darmok on Overcoming Communication Challenges in Human Connections
This session, inspired by Star Trek, explores how to build genuine connections despite communication barriers. Learn how to bridge the gaps and find your place, just like Picard and Dathon in "Darmok."
Beyond Isolation: Lessons from Darmok on Overcoming Communication Challenges in Human Connections
In a world where the inability to communicate leaves individuals feeling like failures and outcasts, the quest for connection often leads to sacrificing pieces of oneself in the desperate hope of inclusion. Drawing inspiration from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Darmok," this session explores how the Tamarian language metaphorically mirrors our struggles to connect authentically. Through the lens of this iconic episode, we examine how the characters overcame communication barriers and learned to forge genuine connections. Join us as we unravel the transformative power of shared narratives and metaphors in fostering understanding and unity within communities. Discover actionable insights from the Star Trek universe that can empower individuals to navigate the complexities of human connection, enabling them to build bridges across communication gaps and find true inclusion.
From Behind the Chair to Behind the Keyboard: How Hairdressing Prepared Me for Developer Advocacy
In today’s increasingly digital business environment, the need to continue honing and upgrading skills is a given. Whether you’re a CTO reimagining a corporate technical strategy, or a developer creating systems that bring that plan to life, to improve your IT acumen you will need to translate the “people skills” you’ve built through your own unique experience —even if you started out as a hairdresser, like me. Those 15 years behind the chair taught me that success is 50% technical skills and 50% communication skills.
In this talk I will share three “soft skill” lessons from my salon days that have shaped my developer career and will help you apply your own personal experiences in furthering your professional journey.
The Power of Storytelling for Cultural Impact and Community Building
In this session we will explore the pivotal role of storytelling, focusing on its capacity to shape culture, drive change, and foster empathetic connections within communities. How anyone speaking to communities are urged to refine their storytelling skills, emphasizing the three critical capabilities: story-listening, story-triggering, and story-telling. This narrative advocates for a three-act structure and strategic emotion selection, employing carefully curated anecdotes to evoke empathy and inspire commitment. Emphasizing the importance of consistent practice, the article positions storytelling as an accessible and potent tool for anyone seeking to create positive community outcomes through impactful communication.
Crafting Applications That Stand the Test of Time
As developers, we tend to focus intensely on features, deadlines, and technical debt when building applications and code. However, with the rapid pace of technical change, it’s also crucial we consider sustainability in our software architecture. So how can we design systems that stand the test of time and avoid collapse under future pressures? This reminds me so much of how I used to design network architecture in the past, allowing room for growth, scale, and increased traffic at the spur of the moment. Much like everyday items have specialized to their environmental niche, software must fit long-term business contexts rather than just current constraints. With careful attention to these fundamentals, our applications can sustainably support users over years and decades rather than through short-lived releases. By learning from durable products evolving around us, architects can craft resilient systems standing the test of time.
![](https://sessionize.com/image/e435-400o400o2-JAGFVJcxZkCW3poTRUQq9D.jpeg)
Stuart Clark
Senior Developer Advocate
Lincoln, United Kingdom
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