This is going to have to be brief. I’m on a train, batteries dying (mostly mine) and dodgy wifi. I will try harder in future.

The week in brief

• I made a sticker 🏵 - People seemed to like them 😍
• I finished my ODI course 🕺
• I spent 4 days in a classroom learning all about data privacy legislation 🎓

Where my head is at

• The changes brought about by the GDPR are a massive step forward in protecting the privacy of people. The real challenge is ensuring orgs don’t get stuck in the space of just ensuring compliance. True change is only going to be realised by moving beyond compliance to fundamentally ensuring privacy is baked into everything by default (by design) and part of the culture of providing better, fairer, transparent services. There are lots of parallels I could draw between this and the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act. I’ve not had headspace yet to digest it all but I feel like there is also something interesting in the point of intersection between my two data related course experiences. Something that draws a stronger line between data ethics and data related law. Something to mull over 🤔.
• I am tired! Like ridiculously tired. Learning all these new things over the last month or so has been an amazing opportunity and I am very appreciative to FG for the investment. At times I’ve felt overwhelmed by all the new things. I am extremely grateful to a bunch of colleagues & friends who’ve had my back. Checked in on me, given me hugs, shared a beer or just checked in via slack. You all rock!

What next

• A week off 🎉 Spending time with the family, catching up on sleep and hopefully some fun in the sun 🤞
• and then… bounce back - fully recharged! Learning is great but it’s applying what I’ve learnt and sharing it with others that’ll make a difference.

Miscellany

From the gram: How Stu survived 333 slides and learnt to love a flat white made from electronic tears!