Building Connections, Sharing Knowledge, and Growing with the Community

Sarah Guest

September 2025

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of attending three incredible community events – right here in Manchester and further afield in Poland. Each one offered a unique mix of learning, networking, and inspiration

A large group photo from the Baltic Summit 2025

Building Connections, Sharing Knowledge, and Growing with the Community

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of attending three incredible community events – right here in Manchester and further afield in Poland. Each one offered a unique mix of learning, networking, and inspiration. They also highlighted something I’m particularly proud of: how Robiquity actively supports its people to stay at the forefront of technology, invest in professional development, and bring that knowledge back to benefit our clients.

Manchester: Two Days of Insight and Opportunity

The first stop was Manchester, where I attended two fantastic events: the UK AI User Group and the UK Dynamics 365 & Power Platform User Group (D365PPUG).

The UK AI User Group delivered thought-provoking sessions from industry leaders including Rosie Djurovic, Dawn Kelso and Chris Huntingford. These sessions sparked valuable reflection on how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of work — and how organisations can prepare today.

‍

Two women and two women presenting in front of a projector screen, displaying a diagram about unblocking sessions.

‍

At the D365PPUG, the energy was equally high. Highlights for me included:

Meeting my mentor, Damien Bird, in person for the first time.
Delivering my very first in-person session as part of HeuristicDev: The Mentoring Hub, alongside Keith Atherton, Sharon Smith and Damien Bird.
Learning from excellent sessions by Matt Collins-Jones, Sarah Jones, Melissa Hale, Navya Vallurupalli and Damien Bird, covering Copilot Studio, Power BI, career switching and Power Platform Pipelines.

The atmosphere was buzzing with conversation, and the breaks were just as valuable as the sessions. I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with some end users, other developers, inspiring speakers and career switchers too. Events like these remind me how vibrant and supportive this community is, and how much knowledge sharing drives innovation.

For Robiquity, the message was clear: our clients are asking big questions about AI and Power Platform adoption. By being part of these conversations, we can not only keep pace with the technology but anticipate what’s coming next, ensuring the solutions we deliver are future-ready.

From Manchester to Poland: The Baltic Summit

From Manchester, I headed straight to Gdańsk to attend the Baltic Power Platform Community Summit. The two days in Poland combined deep technical learning with powerful discussions on community, diversity, and mentoring.

One highlight was taking part in a panel discussion, “The Power of Mentoring in the Microsoft Power Platform Ecosystem.” Together with Sharon Smith, Keith Atherton, Victoria Barrington, Bethany Marshall and Sarah Guest, we explored how mentoring is more than just a conversation. Structured support, regular check-ins, SMART goals, and co-presenting opportunities all make mentoring a powerful tool for professional growth.

A team of five sat in front of a Baltic Summit projection.

‍

The charity received fantastic feedback for its work in supporting women and people from disadvantaged backgrounds to progress in both their tech careers and speaker journeys. We were also proud that The Heuristic Dev Mentoring Hub Charity was a Silver Sponsor of the event — and it was wonderful to see our lanyards and sticker designs come to life throughout the day.

The Summit also featured an all-day workshop with Tomasz Poszytek on Hyperautomation — a perfect fit with Robiquity’s focus on intelligent automation. Tomasz shared hands-on strategies for combining AI, RPA and Power Platform tools to create seamless, scalable business processes. These insights translate directly into the conversations we’re having with clients who want to streamline operations and unlock new efficiencies.

Other memorable sessions included:

A high-energy keynote from Chris Huntingford on Responsible AI and innovation.
Multi-Page Wizards in Model-Driven Apps by Björn Zahnow.
Practical insights on organisational readiness for Power Platform adoption from Michael Megel.
Document Processing with AI Foundry and Power Platform from Jan Chlebek.
Creative Canvas App design from David Lorenzo López.

And of course, there was time to connect with fellow community members — including finally meeting Nick Doelman in person who presents The Boost Podcast – I was so lucky to get a Boost Duck!

Why These Events Matter

Attending these events is about more than personal development. For me, it’s about being part of a wider ecosystem that challenges, inspires, and equips us to bring even more value to our clients. By engaging directly with thought leaders, end users, and community builders, I gain insights into where the technology is heading and how we can apply it in real-world scenarios.

On the evening we explored the beautiful area of Gdańsk but all conversations were about the different sessions we had attended in the day and which conferences we were meeting up at next.

A group of six people posing by water in Gdansk.

‍

At Robiquity, our mission is to help organisations unlock the power of AI and automation. By staying close to the latest innovations in Microsoft technologies, we can ensure that our clients benefit from solutions that are not only cutting-edge but practical, scalable, and designed for the future.

I’m grateful to Robiquity for supporting me in attending these events, and I look forward to continuing to share what I’ve learned — with both my colleagues and our clients.