You know... Old habits don't fall off!

And so, I'm still interested in starting and operating (again) a local user group. This one is more in general about topics according to software development, design and data storage than my last ones back in Germany. Because I was maintainer of a regional user group of the German FoxPro User Group I'd like to use my experiences in this field to kick-off a new user group here in Mauritius. This idea is already since the very first beginning on my mind, but because of my work I didn't have the time yet to get more details and so on....

At the end of January, I already tried to set up such a new user group but because of cyclonic weather conditions we postponed the meeting. Now, I think it's really time for a second attempt to found the user group. Well, you might think: Not another one but actually first I did some research on existing user groups here in Mauritius and yes, there are some (.NET, Linux and probably for PHP) but the current situation is that they seem to be inactive or endagered. At last, I was not able to get recent information about meetings.

And based on this situation, I'm enthuastic about running 'my own' user group for software engineers, developers in general and database related topics. The main focus will be development on the Windows operating systems - to be precise we are going to talk about Visual Studio, SQL Server, Office System and Visual FoxPro - but the topics are not restricted. People that know me, know that even at the dFPUG meetings we also talked about things than VFP.

As you see in the subject of this article the name is already there:

Mauritius Software Developer User Group (MSDUG)

But for sure, I'd like to see way more than just a name, this article and an outdated homepage on the internet. The concepts are there but not fixed yet. Currently, I'm searching a nice location where we can meet regularly. The former user groups seem to have the DCDM in Quatre Bornes as there location. Well, this sounds good, lies central and is accessible from almost anywhere on the island by bus. But I don't like to share the same fate with the others. So, if any Mauritian is reading this article please drop me a mail or leave a comment. Thanks in advance.

Later on this year, I'd like to promote the MSDUG on local events like job market fairs, events at the University of Technology in Reduit and other opportunities. We will see what the future will bring.


This is it at the moment from the MSDUG. Sincerely, JoKi

PS: Any comment is welcome, please don't hesitate...

Sincerely, JoKi

Update: Mauritius Software Craftsmanship Community (MSCC)

Finally, back in May 2013 this whole idea got more serious and the Mauritius Software Craftsmanship Community (or short: MSCC) is alive and operational. Currently, we have our regular 'Code & Coffee' sessions on every Wednesday morning, and from time to time organised gatherings on Saturdays. More details and the ability to join the MSCC is possible via the official community site on Meetup.com.