Special Guests Lectures
Attend these lectures to learn from the industry mentors and enhance your skills and project. These sessions will be held on via Hack Node’s Luma: OpenxAI Events · Events Calendar
| Workshop Title | Speaker | Company/Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| From Idea to AI Startup: A Founder’s Playbook | Tim Lea | Fractonium, CEO | Learn how to launch an AI-native business, covering product-market fit and co-founder matchmaking. |
| Building on the Edge: Architecting Distributed Networks | Alison Haire | Lilypad, CEO & Co-Founder | Design decentralized infrastructure for scalable AI projects, including on-chain and Web3 applications. |
| Data Infrastructure for Startups: Scaling Smart from Day One | Penny Wong | The Cypher Network, CISO | Build scalable, secure data infrastructure with insights on cloud-native architecture and AI trends. |
| Philosophy for Chickens - Timeless wisdom for modern day forecasting | Francesco Baldisseri | Motopack, CTO | Create a future-ready data stack and learn about AI industry trends for the next 6 months. |
| Anticipating Accelerating AI Capability for your Startup | Peter Xing | Microsoft, Cloud & AI Specialist | AI isn’t just moving fast - it’s compounding. Peter Xing breaks down how to stay ahead of the curve by spotting what’s coming next in AI capability. |
| Decentralized Agentic AI: Infrastructure for the New Frontier | Robert Moir | HyperCycle, Chief Science Officer | Build decentralized, agentic AI systems for autonomous, interoperable ecosystems. |
Orientation and Hack Node Workshop
These sessions will be held on our Discord (event) and be led by OpenxAI developers.
Workshops
Attend these workshops to enhance your skills and project, delivered as 1-hour live sessions (40 minutes presentation, 20 minutes Q&A).
| Date | Workshop Title | Speaker | Company/Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2025 | Intro to Hack Node Australia & Global Accelerator Program (Orientation) | John Forfar | Openmesh & OpenxAI, DevRel | Kick off your Hack Node Australia journey with this must-attend orientation! |
| Aug 3, 2025 | # Discord Dev Workshop: Kick Off Your App with OpenxAI | John Forfar | Openmesh & OpenxAI, DevRel | Ready to build an awesome app? John Forfar (Dev Rel) shows you how to use OpenxAI APIs and deploy your project, with five GitHub demo apps to inspire you. |
| Aug 6, 2025 | # Discord Dev Workshop: Code Like a Pro with OpenxAI Tools | Sam Mens | Openmesh & OpenxAI, Lead Engineerl | Level up your coding game! Sam Mens walks you through integrating OpenxAI models into your app with a live coding demo and Q&A. |
| Aug 7, 2025 | # Discord Dev Workshop: Boost Your App: UI/UX & User Growth | John Forfar | Openmesh & OpenxAI, DevRel | Want your app to shine? John Forfar (Dev Rel) and Ashton (Founder) dive into tech tips for slick UI/UX design, growing your user base, and prepping your GitHub submission for Hack Node Australia. |
| Aug 10, 2025 | # Discord Dev Workshop: Nail Your App Submission: Final Prep | John Forfar; Ashton Hettiarachi | Openmesh & OpenxAI, DevRel; Founder | Crunch time! John (Dev Rel) guides you through creating killer YouTube walkthroughs, writing clear READMEs, and submitting your app to BlockSeBlock (https://blockseblock.com/hackathon) for Hack Node Australia. |
Mentoring
- Mentorship Starts: August 1, 2025
- Access 1:1 guidance from industry experts, including:
- Ashton Hettiarachi (Founder, OpenxAI/Openmesh)
- Peter Xing (Cloud & AI Specialist, Microsoft)
- Hariharan Suresh (Senior Cloud & GenAI Technologist, NVIDIA)
- John Forfar (DevRel, Openmesh & OpenxAI)
- Samuel Mens (Lead Engineering, OpenxAI/Openmesh)
- Participate in weekly mentor calls and Discord discussions.
- Use community resources, video guides, and documentation to refine your project.
Mentorship Benefits:
- Learn modern AI development workflows.
- Debug code with professional guidance.
- Receive constructive feedback to polish your project.