In this episode, Simon Morris, speaks about his experience organising the Reading Geek and Science in Reading groups, and offers advice that can be applied to businesses.  

He discusses the differences between the Reading Geek Night and Science in Reading groups, explaining how Reading Geek Night is a more informal event covering a wide range of geeky topics, while Science in Reading is a deeper, more hardcore science-oriented event featuring speakers with science backgrounds from academia or industry.  

Simon details the challenges of managing both groups, including the work involved in organising speakers, utilising technology to streamline processes, and the importance of building and maintaining a pipeline of speakers.  

We also discuss Simon’s experience collaborating with Reading University, highlighting the mutual benefits of these partnerships.  

TIMECODES

00:00 Introduction

00:25 Greeting

00:41 Introduction to Simon

00:59 What Simon likes about Reading

02:17 Introduction to Reading Geeks and Science in Reading

03:22 The difference between Reading Geeks and Science in Reading

04:32 How Simon manages two groups simultaneously

06:50 How Simon finds and organises speakers

09:18 What Simon has learned as he’s grown both groups

11:30 How Simon promotes both groups

15:10 Simon’s collaboration with Reading University

18:46 How Simon has maintained group attendance since lockdown

23:36 How Simon encourages a wide group demographic (genders and ages)

25:50 Format of Reading Geek group meetings and how Simon encourages engagement

27:52 What topics are doing well at the moment

30:46 Plans for topics going forwards

31:21 Final thoughts