Held on 14th May 2009 in the impressive new Informatics Forum of Edinburgh University, the organising team were thrilled when tickets to the first Girl Geeks dinner started selling fast. The University's booking system was tested when the number of tickets available was increased due to heavy demand for places, and the event sold out completely. Morna Simpson, the instigator of the Girl Geeks concept in Scotland, is quoted as hailing the audience as "the largest number of Girl Geeks ever in one room in Scotland".

Girl Geek Dinners only began in Scotland this year, with an atmospheric champagne reception at Dundee Contemporary Arts in February and sister events kicking off in Aberdeen.

A record number of sixty women attended Edinburgh's event, travelling from as far as Belfast to hear two speakers and to engage in the all important networking these dinners are designed to facilitate across industry and academia.

Edinburgh were very pleased to be able to welcome Polly Purvis, Executive Director of ScotlandIS, the trade body for women in technology and IT, and Danielle Wilde, a wearable technology artist studying for her PhD at Monash University and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Despite the current financial climate, Girl Geeks are extremely proud to have attracted support from a number of high profile sponsors, including Google, New Media Scotland, the British Computer Society, Informatics at Edinburgh University, and Interconnect. As the organisers run the events on a volunteer basis, this support is absolutely vital to the success not only of the network but also for the strength of the sector as a whole.

The Girl Geek Dinners network in Scotland now looks sure to gather pace with three new events already in planning in Dundee, including a walk along the Dundee Women's Trail (http://www.dundeewomenstrail.org.uk/), and the next Edinburgh evening scheduled for 1st October, to be hosted by Edinburgh Napier University. Although the organisers are not giving away too many details as yet, helium balloons have been mentioned.

You can make sure of a place by keeping an eye on the Girl Geeks Scotland website at www.girlgeeksscotland.co.uk, or by joining the Edinburgh facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49225247010.

For further details and comments, please contact
Sarah Kettley (sarahkettley@me.com) and
Morna Simpson (morna@computing.dundee.ac.uk).