About CTS-NL

Who we are?

The Computer Technology Society Newfoundland Labrador, generally known as CTS-NL, is a community group for people who work in or have an interest in software development, technology, and computing in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We meet weekly at our Thursday Project and Meetup Night, hold regular social events, and host a talk series.

CTS-NL values inclusion. We offer a friendly atmosphere regardless of race, culture, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationality. While we are not targeted towards youth, we do welcome young people who are engaged in computer technologies.

CTS-NL encourages the development of individuals as software developers, hobbyists, and enthusiasts. While we support and work with businesses, we are not a group for them. We discuss and mentor on skill development, project management, and more. We are a place for people of all levels of experience, from a novice just starting out, to the experienced grey beard. All are welcome!

CTS-NL interacts with existing community groups and organizations to build and strengthen the computer technology community in the province. We work with governments, universities, industry, schools, and youth to further the goals of the group.

History

After a discussion at a CodeNL talk in 2014 displayed a lack of a developer community in the province, a few alumni from the Computer Science Society at Memorial University decided to form a community group to fill the void. The group spent it’s first year meeting at various coffee shops and bars every 2-3 weeks. During that time, we consisted of a small number of regulars who usually discussed the purpose of CTS-NL and what it could be.

After some time bouncing around various venues we finally settled on Jumping Bean Coffee on Elizabeth Avenue and have held a regular project night there since early 2016. The group has grown considerably over the years and we now host weekly events with attendance of about a dozen people. In cooperation with other local community groups, we plan to expand our talk series in 2018.