Monthly Community Meetup
One evening a month, the whole community in one room: a main talk, a handful of five-minute updates from around campus, and unstructured time to actually meet people.
The format
What happens in 90 minutes
The shape is deliberately the same every month, so nobody has to wonder what they are walking into. Roughly half the time is presentation and half is conversation — because the conversation is where the collaborations actually start.
Talks are pitched for a mixed audience: a materials scientist should be able to follow a talk given by a software engineer, and vice versa. Speakers are asked to spend their first two minutes on “why this problem matters” before touching a method.
Food and logistics
Refreshments are provided. The room does not need an access card
- 3:00 – 3:10Arrive & welcome
Coffee, name tags, and a one-slide summary of what is coming up in the community this month.
- 3:10 – 3:40Main talk (20 min + 10 min questions)
A member, a guest from another university, or a practitioner from industry. Research results, an engineering war story, or a tutorial — all three are welcome.
- 3:40 – 4:05Lightning round (3–5 × 5 min)
Five minutes, no more than three slides. “Here is what I am building.” “Here is what broke.” “Here is what I need help with.”
- 4:05 – 4:15Open floor
Requests for collaborators, new group announcements, upcoming deadlines, and anything the community should know about.
- 4:15 – 4:30Stay and talk
The most valuable fifteen minutes of the evening. Nobody is asked to leave.
First time?
What to expect
You will not be the only newcomer
Every meetup has people attending for the first time. Turning up alone and knowing nobody is the normal case, not the awkward one.
Nobody will put you on the spot
You are welcome to sit, listen, and leave. Presenting is always an offer, never an expectation.
Come with one question
The single most useful thing you can bring is a question about your own work. It is how most collaborations here have started.
Speak at a meetup
Propose a talk or a lightning update
The programme is built from what members propose. You do not need finished results, a paper, or permission from anyone — a clear question and an honest account of where you have got to is often the most useful thing in the room.
- Send a title, two or three sentences, and your preferred format (20-minute talk or 5-minute lightning) to alaa.rashwan@kfupm.edu.sa.
- We confirm a date, usually within a week, and slot you into the next available meetup.
- Send slides the day before if you would like them shared afterwards. Optional.
Talks that work well here
- “We tried agents for X and here is what actually happened, including the costs.”
- “A 20-minute introduction to evaluating agents, for people outside CS.”
- “This paper changed how I think about planning — here is the core idea in plain terms.”
- “Our lab has a problem that looks agent-shaped. Is it? Who wants to find out?”
- “A live demo of a tool the rest of you could use tomorrow.”
What we ask of speakers
Assume a mixed audience. Define your jargon once. Be honest about limitations and cost. Leave time for questions — the discussion matters more than finishing every slide.
Calendar
Upcoming meetups
| Date | Main talk | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 3, 2026 | Agentic Engineering | Dr. Alaa Khamis, ISE Department | TBD |
Explore. Share. Connect. Build.
See you at the next one
Join the list and you will get the date, room, and programme a week in advance.