Is this event free to attend?

Yes, the event is free. Food and drinks are also provided after the challenge wraps up at 10am.

Enablis, 1 York Place, LS1 2DR, Leeds city centre.

Do I need to register in advance?

Yes — the event is listed on Meetup via the EnableTech group. Sign up through the Meetup page to secure your place.

What do I need to bring?

Just your laptop. The organisers say they'll provide everything else you need on the day.

Is this suitable if I'm not a developer?

Yes. The event welcomes non-technical attendees who want to pair with developers and contribute to solution planning and assessment rather than writing code.

workshop · one-off

Release Notes: Live - AI seating planner challenge

Name: Release Notes: Live - AI seating planner challenge
Start: 2026-09-29T07:00:00.000Z
End: 2026-09-29T09:00:00.000Z
Location: Enablis

Build an AI seating planner in a morning — prizes included

When

Tuesday 29 September

Time

07:00

Venue

Enablis

City Centre

Price

Free

Reserve a spot →

Release Notes: Live is a hands-on AI workshop running as part of Leeds Digital Festival 2026. The premise is deliberately daft: a wedding planner has gone AWOL, the big day is approaching, and you need to build a working seating planner before time runs out. That means keeping feuding relatives apart, pairing couples together, handling dietary requirements, sorting top-table protocol, and making sure no chair is left empty. The fictional scenario — called Top Table — is the vehicle for something genuinely practical: building an AI-powered application under realistic time pressure.

Attendees work in small teams, guided by the Enablis team and their current AI engineering setup. The tool of choice is Claude. You'll move through application assessment, feature planning and solution development, and at the end hand over a seating chart that actually works. There are prizes on the line, which keeps the competitive edge sharp. The event runs from 8am to 10am on Tuesday 29 September 2026 at Enablis, 1 York Place, Leeds city centre, followed by networking with food and drinks.

The format suits people with hands-on technical skills at any level. It also explicitly welcomes non-technical attendees who want to pair with developers and contribute to the solution-building side. You just need to bring a laptop.

EnableTech is the organiser behind this, running it as an official Leeds Digital Festival partner event. They operate out of Enablis in the city centre and put on technical events focused on practical AI and software development skills. Release Notes: Live is their format for getting people building things rather than just watching slides.

Why attend

You'll get a couple of hours of genuine hands-on time with AI-assisted development — not a demo, not a talk, but actually building something that has to work by 10am. The challenge is scoped tightly enough that you'll finish it, and the competitive element means teams stay focused.

The room will have people across the technical spectrum, from developers to those pairing in on the product and planning side. Networking with food and drinks follows the challenge. It's free, it's in the city centre, and it's part of Leeds Digital Festival — so the crowd will be broader than a typical Tuesday morning meetup.

Agenda

08:00 – Welcome and introduction to the latest AI capabilities
08:30 – AI challenge begins (Top Table seating planner)
10:00 – Networking, food and drinks provided

Organiser

EnableTech

EnableTech runs technical events from their Enablis base at 1 York Place in Leeds city centre. They focus on practical AI and software development, putting on workshops and meetups aimed at people who want to build things rather than watch presentations. Release Notes: Live is their hands-on challenge format.

Venue

Enablis, City Centre

Enablis sits at 1 York Place, LS1 2DR, in Leeds city centre. It's the home base for EnableTech and hosts their regular programme of technical events.

FAQs

Is this event free to attend?: Yes, the event is free. Food and drinks are also provided after the challenge wraps up at 10am.
Where is the venue?: Enablis, 1 York Place, LS1 2DR, Leeds city centre.
Do I need to register in advance?: Yes — the event is listed on Meetup via the EnableTech group. Sign up through the Meetup page to secure your place.
What do I need to bring?: Just your laptop. The organisers say they'll provide everything else you need on the day.
Is this suitable if I'm not a developer?: Yes. The event welcomes non-technical attendees who want to pair with developers and contribute to solution planning and assessment rather than writing code.