Time to pop up your calendar and plot out a little fun and networking.
As we do every week, we've explored dozens of Austin area tech and startup events and curated a list of what we think are the best picks. You can also learn about new networking events and catch up on tech news by subscribing to the Beat.
Now, let's check out the upcoming Inno Approved events.
This Weekend
It's going to be raining data on Saturday. Data Day Texas, a day-long conference dedicated to emerging trends in big data analytics, starts at 8 a.m. The conference features a variety of data experts from across the nation, including Patrick McFadin (DataStax), Stefan Krawczyk (Stitch Fix), Michelle Casbon (Qordoba), Alaa Mahmoud (IBM), Brendan Herger (Capital One) and Jacob Su Wang (OjoLabs).
Also this weekend, Girl Develop It is running a two-day course on responsive web design.
And, for music lovers, Austin Free Week continues with several shows this weekend.
Monday, January 16
It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day. So some folks will have the day off while others dive into the work week.
The Austin AI meetup group will be kicking back at a happy hour at The Ginger Man starting at 6 p.m. In addition to the brews, the group will hear from Brad Knox, creator of bots_alive.
General Assembly will be celebrating MLK Day with a "I Have A Dream: Start Ups + Big Ideas" trivia contest at the Dog + Duck Pub. So bring your MLK knowledge -- along with your tech and Austin startup knowledge. It's at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, January 17
Help make Austin a better place by bringing you ideas, skills and insights to Civic Hack Night at Industrious. This is part of a regular meet up that tackles everything from Austin's transportation issues to sustainable energy use. Check out the projects on their GitHub page.
Wednesday, January 18
Just two days before Donald Trump is sworn in as president ABC News Chief Political Analyst Matthew Dowd will join a panel on what a Trump presidency means for politics, policy, and innovation. The discussion at Capital Factory will include Ainee Athar (FWD.us), Omar Gallaga (Austin American-Statesman), Shalini Ramanathan (RES Americas), and Ian Clarke (The Freenet Project).
Thursday, January 19
Gigaom CEO and Publisher Byron Reese will be speaking at StartupGrind Austin's meet up at ATX Factory. Reese, who lives in Austin, has been working on a book on artificial intelligence that will be published later this year. His prior book was called “Infinite Progress: How the Internet and technology will end ignorance, disease, poverty, hunger and war.”
Friday, January 20
It's Inauguration Day, so many will be watching President-elect Donald Trump get sworn in during the ceremony in Washington D.C. Aside from that, there aren't many tech events going on. But there's a LGBTQ Human Rights Rally at the Capital in the evening.
Friday is also the grand opening of the Art for the People Gallery, which features work by Austin's homeless and formerly-homeless population.
Coming Up
January 21: Austin Startup Games
January 24: Urban Co-Lab Diversity Panel
January 25: Rice Alliance-Austin CTAN Pitch Competition
January 25: The State of EdTech In Central Texas