Foothill at PyBay, the Bay Area's largest Python conference, Apply by Friday, September 25, 2026

A day at PyBay in San Francisco

$25 for Foothill Students, or free if you volunteer

A Python conference is a day of talks from developers, data scientists, and engineers who use Python professionally - the most popular language taught at Foothill's and used in data science and AI. It's a rare chance to see the field outside a classroom and meet people already working in it.

Saturday, October 3, 2026 - Foothill is taking a group to PyBay, the Bay Area's largest Python conference, at UCSF's Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. Talks run 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and include software development, AI, security, data science, and the people building with Python.

 Two ways in:
    $25 - well below PyBay's own $40 student rate
    Free - work one volunteer shift (1.5 - 3 hours) and your ticket is covered

Aside from saving money, volunteering is a great way to get truly immersed in the community. Transportation from Foothill is available both ways, or you can head to the conference on your own.

PyBay runs under a published Code of Conduct and is entirely community-organized - talks and people, not a sales floor.

Space is limited, we ask that you respond by Friday September 25th so that we have an accurate head count. To RSVP for the $25 ticket, a volunteer shift, or the ride, please register here and we will respond shortly.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVIY4rM9te7t0IWZtCoemYQi6r4QogNnAgfzt8uwjt__qcQA/viewform?usp=header

Questions? Contact Computer Science Department Chair Eric Reed, reederic@foothill.edu 

Minimalist Edge AI Student Competition: Team Registration Deadline: Sept. 6th, 2026

 

Part of the 11th ACM/IEEE Symposium on Edge Computing (SEC 2026) Location: Santa Clara University | Date: Oct 13-15, 2026 

Overview

The future of the Edge is not just decentralized—it must be sustainable. As AI models grow in complexity, the environmental and energetic costs of deploying them on edge devices have become a critical bottleneck.

The Minimalist Edge AI Challenge invites student teams to tackle the "AI Bloat" head-on. This one-day competition challenges you to take state-of-the-art "heavy" models and transform them into lean, green, high-performance machines capable of running on constrained, eco-friendly hardware. Can you maintain intelligence while slashing the carbon footprint? 

The Challenge

Participating teams will be tasked with deploying a complex AI workload (e.g., real-time multi-object tracking or environmental anomaly detection) onto provided low-power hardware (Qualcomm Arduino UNO Q).

Your mission is to optimize for the "Green Trifecta":

1. Model Accuracy: Maintain high predictive performance and reliability while operating under strict resource constraints.

2. Model Compression: Use pruning, quantization, and distillation to shrink the model footprint.

3. Resource Efficiency: Minimize peak RAM and CPU utilization to ensure smooth execution on minimalist hardware.

4. Energy Parsimony: Achieve the lowest possible Joules-per-inference to maximize battery life and sustainability.

Cash Prizes: 

The top three teams from each track will receive cash rewards:

• 1st Place: $1,000
• 2nd Place: $750
• 3rd Place: $500 

Details and registration link are at:

https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/567789