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ManchesterWeek of 16 Mar 2026

Mon 16 MarSun 22 Mar 2026 · 9 events

5:30pmFree
Social Refuge, Ancoats

An evening of talks, networking and community-building for LGBTQ+ professionals and allies in Manchester's tech scene. Three speakers — Leon Pelech, Gem Hill and Cam Spicer — plus refreshments and a post-event social at Social Refuge in Ancoats. Travel support available. 77 of 120 spots filled.

Social
6:00pmFree
The Old Monkey, Manchester M1 4GX

CTO Craft's monthly Manchester mixer — a relaxed evening for CTOs and senior technology leaders to share stories, exchange ideas and make connections. No agenda, no slides, just good conversation. Organised by CTO Craft's Dave McKerral and Rob Bowley.

Founders
5:00pmFree
Department Bonded Warehouse, Manchester M3 4AP

Architecting Manchester returns to its discussion-group roots to tackle the defining question of the moment: as AI slashes the cost of generating code, does intentional architecture matter more or less? Led by Simon Kirkham of Partful, the session covers governance tools, rapid code generation implications and the evolving architect's role. Sold out — 40 confirmed, 26 on the waitlist.

AI & MLSaaS
5:00pmFree
SISTER — Renold Building, Manchester M1 7JR

Venture Café Manchester's March session explores how AI and automation are reshaping scientific research and innovation — what's real, what's hype, and what it means for founders and technologists building at this intersection. SISTER at the Renold Building is one of Manchester's most dynamic innovation venues. The conversations here tend to go somewhere.

AI & MLDeepTechOther
5:30pmFree
Slalom (Bloc Building), Bloc

Manchester Databricks User Group with two technical sessions: Allan Doolan, Luca Zugic and Deren Ridley cover unit testing PySpark pipelines with pytest and Docker; James Bentley tackles AI governance frameworks and managing fragmented AI ecosystems. Pizza and networking included. 63 confirmed, 150 capacity.

AI & ML
5:30pmFree
Kraken Technologies, No.2 Circle Square

WIT North's International Women's Day event at Kraken Technologies, Circle Square. A fireside chat and professional empowerment session on owning your expertise — not about being louder, but recognising the value of your experience. Speakers: Denise, Roxy, Prevail and Becks. Over 100 attending.

Social
6:00pmFree
Department Bonded Warehouse, Manchester M3 4AP

Software Crafters Manchester's community problem-solving format — this session focused on engineers growing into leadership roles. Bring your real challenges, share experiences, leave with ideas. No slides, just conversation. Pizza and drinks provided.

SaaS
6:00pmFree
Accenture Manchester, 5th Floor

Ministry of Testing Manchester's first gathering of 2026 at Accenture, Circle Square. Sarah Al-Hawi on system design interviews for test engineers; Siddharth Goyal on AI for Testing vs Testing AI; plus audience-led 99 Second Talks. Food and drinks provided.

AI & MLSaaS
6:30pmFree
AND Digital, Manchester M1 6ED

With James Murphy (Tech Principal, AND Digital) · Parham Majdabadi (Software Engineer, AND Digital)

Manchester's meetup for software engineers who actually build with AI — not theory, but real engineering decisions. Features James Murphy (Tech Principal, AND Digital) on how TDD is becoming a structure for agentic engineering, and Parham Majdabadi on a project where AI wrote 3,000 lines with only 9 written manually. Pizza and drinks included. 47 of 50 spots filled — nearly sold out.

AI & MLSaaSOther