DrupalCamp Scotland 2024: The Rohallion Perspective

DrupalCamp Scotland made a return to the Scottish tech calendar, bringing together nearly 50 members of the Drupal community at the University of Edinburgh's Paterson's Land building. The Rohallion team played an active role in the event, with our founder Duncan Davidson serving as master of ceremonies, while Chris Wales and Marek Golebiewski joined the audience to gain insights from the diverse range of presentations.

A Journey of Digital Transformation

The keynote presentation from Billy Wardrop, Web Development Team Manager at the University of Edinburgh, detailed their ambitious migration of over 600 websites from Drupal 7 to 10. Chris Wales found the university's journey particularly enlightening: "I enjoyed hearing about the migration process and the journey that the university had taken to get there."

International Perspectives

The event attracted an impressive international audience, with Marek noting the presence of attendees from Germany and the US alongside UK-based practitioners. "It was pleasant to see some familiar faces from Drupal's community in Scotland and the UK as well as a strong number of international members," he reflected. The sold-out attendance demonstrated the continuing appetite for Drupal events in Scotland.

Practical Innovation

Chris was particularly impressed by Christoph Breidert's presentation on AI integration with Drupal. "The use cases he highlighted were novel and I loved that his examples weren't just play demos -- they are actively used and are achievable by anyone who wants to do the same," he observed.

Diverse Content for All

The event covered a broad spectrum of topics, from technical discussions about APIs and batching to user experience improvements and accessibility considerations. Marek highlighted Maria Young's session on making Drupal sites more accessible and Emma Horrell's work on opening up Drupal's terminology as particularly valuable contributions.

Community Connection

For the Rohallion team, the intimate setting of around 50 attendees created perfect conditions for meaningful conversations and knowledge sharing. As Chris noted, "The cherry on top of the event was running into people from the community. I saw some old friends and others that I had only ever met online."

The success of DrupalCamp Scotland 2024 signals a strong future for Drupal events in Scotland. With high-quality presentations, excellent hospitality, and a central Edinburgh location, the sold-out event demonstrated the continuing vitality of the Scottish Drupal community.