Welcome and Introduce yourself!

[TheOC]

Welcome to the North East Databricks Community Group!
To help us all connect, I'd like to kick us off with an introductions thread. Please feel free to share a little about you with the group. If it helps, I'd be interested to know:

1. Name and location
2. What you're currently using Databricks for - any current projects on the go?
3. A feature or integration of Databricks you're most thankful for.

Please jump in with your own intro if you get chance. Also - we hope to have in person/hybrid meetings in the future. If you have any talks in mind that you would like to deliver, do let me know. I hope this group will be valuable to all by having increasingly technical conversations.

Looking forward to collaborating and getting to know you all!

Cheers,
TheOC

[TheOC · Accepted solution]

It'd be rude not to introduce myself as well!
Hi all,
I'm Owen Coyle (aka TheOC) based in Newcastle upon Tyne and part of the Technical team at Bulien. I'm currently using Databricks for a number of client modernisation projects, and even a couple of personal projects in the works that I'm hoping to release some content on in the near future. 
One part of Databricks I'm really enjoying is AI-generated documentation and Genie. I'm usually sceptical of "AI everywhere", but in this case it does a fantastic job of the dull work in writing clear table and column descriptions. I find this frees up developer time, allowing for more focus on modelling and performance. I think it's great.

Looking forward to hearing what everyone else is working on and working on growing the group!

[gsonty · Accepted solution]

Hi Owen, Good to know about you and your enthusiasm in starting the group. 👏Cheers 👏 
I'm not in UK!!. I'm in Sunny San Diego, USA. I would like to join and participate in any conversations or online meetings. I've been bitten by " Databricks" bug and ever since been on a rampage of learning and exploring Databricks. My expertise is in Infrastructure and Security. AI and Data had always been a part of it. but hey now I'm INTO Databricks. 🔥💥
Have a great day. 

[TheOC]

Hi @gsonty,
that’s awesome thanks for sharing! The user group is centred around the North East UK but I’m very much hoping it can be a global value, so please do get involved! I hope the time difference doesn’t affect you too much.

Amazing to hear you’re so into Databricks, I look forward to hearing more about your experience.

[Pilsner · Accepted solution]

Hello @TheOC 

Great idea with the intros, and thanks for setting up the group!

I'm Pilsner (aka Roan Pilsworth) and I'm also a technical consultant from Bulien. Although I can't claim to be from anywhere as sunny as San Diego like @gsonty , I too am based outside the North East UK, as I live down in Cambridgeshire. The projects I currently use Databricks for are mainly focused around ML but in my own time I'm exploring the Data Engineering side and also seeing how I can integrate Databricks and Alteryx together.

When I first started with Databricks I realised I could be quite trigger happy when it came to running notebooks during development; my favourite feature has to be the time travel as it saved me on many occasions. I'd like to think that since then I've learnt to be more cautions but this feature is still my favourite.

Excited to hear about others Databricks use cases!

[BS_THE_ANALYST · Accepted solution]

Hey everyone, my name's Ben, a.k.a @BS_THE_ANALYST . I've been working in the data world for over 3 years. For those of you who are well-versed with the Alteryx Community, I'm an Alteryx ACE there. I attribute a significant portion of my success to the Alteryx Community, which has enabled me to deliver numerous innovative solutions. Now, as I move into the world of Databricks, I'm UBER excited. I can't wait to learn, fail, and grow with this product. The Databricks community looks fantastic, and I'm buzzing to be a part of this. 

I've spotted the Databricks MVP programme and I absolutely want to achieve that one day! I'm really looking forward to networking with this user group and just nerding out! 🤓😎

All the best,
BS