Highlights from SnowCamp 2024

February 15, 2024

Our Criteos share the main takeaways from the biggest tech conference in Grenoble.

Authors: Luiza, Estelle, Sylvain, Vincent, Eduardo, Concetto & Kini.

SnowCamp 2024 was an incredible experience, and we’re already counting down the days until next year’s event. With tickets selling out in a mere minute and a bustling attendance of approximately 600 participants, the magnitude of SnowCamp’s growth each year is undeniable.

This year’s conference provided an unparalleled opportunity to engage with both familiar faces from Criteo and new connections from the wider community. Exploring technologies and ideas beyond our daily routines is essential for fostering innovation and refining our current approaches.

Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to the dedicated staff and organizers who cultivated an atmosphere of warmth and collaboration throughout the event. One of the best meals ever at a conference! 👏

The relaxed ambience fostered invaluable discussions and knowledge-sharing moments in the halls, enriching the overall experience for all attendees. The seamless blend of insightful talks and vibrant networking opportunities made SnowCamp truly stand out.

Our booth

As proud sponsors, our team from Criteo had a fantastic time engaging with fellow enthusiasts. With our office conveniently located in Grenoble, many of our colleagues were able to join in on the SnowCamp festivities. We welcomed visitors to the Criteo booth and relished candid conversations about our technologies, methodologies, and everything in between. Being an integral part of such a vibrant community is why we cherish our involvement year after year.

Our booth, full of goodies and promoting our speakers

We extend our sincerest gratitude to everyone who stopped by our booth and shared their time with us. Here’s to many more memorable exchanges and collaborative moments at future community events in Grenoble. 🙌

Criteo speakers, our best R&D Ambassadors

We are immensely proud to have featured not just one but three esteemed speakers at SnowCamp 2024. This remarkable achievement underscores our commitment to fostering a culture of knowledge-sharing and innovation within our organization and the broader tech community. Each of our speakers delivered engaging and insightful presentations, elevating the conference experience for all attendees. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to these exceptional individuals for their invaluable contributions to SnowCamp.

Luiza Cicone

Since the first year I joined SnowCamp as an attendant (2016 😮), I dreamed of becoming a speaker someday to share my knowledge and inspire others. This year, I seized the opportunity to present in a “Schuss” session, a new short format introduced this year. My topic was not technical but exploring the various engineering paths and expectations as a manager and beyond the management track. I talked from my personal experience, highlighting three pivotal moments and lessons I learned along the way. I also gave some practical advice, but my main message is encouraging people to take charge of their careers: What is important for you?

Judging by the overcrowded room, I was happy my topic resonated with the community. But I felt a mix of fear and thrill: it had been an eternity since I spoke to a non-virtual crowd, let alone in French. Fortunately, I overcame these emotions and delivered my speech with confidence. I am grateful for all the people attending and the positive feedback. If you are interested, you can find the slides here, with some additional resources.

Every year, SnowCamp is a great opportunity to reconnect with former schoolmates and colleagues, make new connections and discover the latest technical and non-technical trends. This year was not an exception, I enjoyed the powerful discussions during the breaks, on the conference days, and during the speakers dinner on Thursday evening. 😃

A special thanks to the organisers and sponsors for making all this possible!

Estelle Thou

Drawing from my experience within a large tech company, I shed light on the benefits of diversity and the actionable strategies to preserve it. Beyond the statistics, my presentation explores the realities and opportunities that arise from diversity in the tech world.

The opportunity to share my insights and experiences was incredibly rewarding. I’m thankful for the opportunity SnowCamp provided to foster impactful discussions and drive positive transformation within the tech community.

Sylvain Dedieu

My talk aims to explain how modern frontend frameworks (Angular, React, Vue, Svelte, Solid) work under the hood, especially concerning DOM re-rendering (refreshing the view when a displayed variable is updated). This concept is named framework reactivity. This talk helps frontend developers better understand how their favourite framework works and increases their velocity in solving related issues.

I’ve been a speaker at Snowcamp for three years in a row. This conference feels like home to me, I know most of the attendees. I was proud to perform in the auditorium, and it was almost full. The vibes during the talk were awesome, and I think the talk reached its purpose: sharing advanced knowledge and showing that at Criteo, we have strong expertise in frontend technologies.

Criteos’ takeaways

Let’s delve into the wealth of insights our team gathered from the diverse array of talks at SnowCamp. With each session offering the chance to discover something new or unexpected, the topics spanned a wide spectrum, including UI, backend development, AI, accessibility, containers, coding best practices, and beyond. From deep dives into emerging technologies to discussions on innovative approaches, there was something for everyone. 👇

Vincent Michau

Attending a conference is a good way to break the routine and take a step back. Snowcamp has the strength to be a local event at the right magnitude level, which allows you to both easily meet many people you know and can ask questions or meet the presenters. There is also a good diversity of topics with good presentations. I learned and discovered a lot during those two days!

Julien Topçu talking about the Conway’s Law

I particularly liked the talk “Loi de Conway: Lorsque les bonnes pratiques ne suffisent pas” by Julien Topçu. Frequently, in our profession, we inherit existing code/architecture and organizations, feeling that something is not right, but we don’t fully realize why. It’s often linked to the Conway’s law. It is good to understand how this law — linking human organization and software structure — affects what we do. I also learned about tools to take advantage of it instead of trying to fight it!

Eduardo Grajeda

This was my second year at SnowCamp, and I greatly enjoyed it. This year, they had some interesting presentations in their schedule, so the two days passed very fast for me. There were a lot of talks about AI (which is expected given the state of the industry), and I heard from my colleagues that some of them were interesting. In my case, I spent most of my time on presentations about new tools or new techniques.

On the first day, I discovered some new tools I didn’t know about: Podman (thanks to Florent Benoit) and how it’s different from Docker (e.g., there is no need for a daemon to be running); also, I learned about Apache APISIX and its integration with OpenTelemetry (thanks to Nicolas Fränkel).

One of my favorites was “Adoptez la clean archigonale” by Christophe Breheret-Girardin. He discussed Hexagonal Architecture and Clean Architecture and how to choose the right tool for the job. I particularly liked that he talked about the different testing strategies and how the testing pyramid may not be the best choice for all scenarios (spoiler alert: there are cases where having more integration tests makes sense. 👀

What I liked the most was that he had the opportunity to discuss this architectural pattern with Alistair Cockburn (who introduced Hexagonal Architecture back in 2005) and share with us some of his overall vision.

Concetto Antonino Privitera

I had a great time attending the SnowCamp, and despite it being a very local event, I had the opportunity to meet people from other companies and countries. The conference featured a wide range of presentations on interesting tech topics. For instance, one of them was the introduction of the QWIK framework, which proved to be a good alternative to Angular.

Compared to the previous year, there have been remarkable advancements in AI, with a significant increase in AI-related topics. Notable mentions include GitHub Copilot, which has revolutionized coding. Thanks to the combination of computer vision and advanced GPS tracking, I was also impressed by the various applications of AI in agriculture, such as crop and soil monitoring. The organization at SnowCamp was excellent, with various sessions, workshops, and activities. Overall, I learned a lot and had fun at this conference.

Reflecting on the myriad of experiences shared at this year’s SnowCamp, it’s evident that the possibilities for growth, connection, and inspiration are boundless. While we’ve only scratched the surface of what transpired during this enriching event, the reasons to mark your calendar for next year are abundantly clear:

First and foremost, networking opportunities abound, offering the chance to forge new connections within our industry and reconnect with familiar faces. The vibrant local community in Grenoble further enhances this ecosystem of collaboration and innovation.
Secondly, the learning never stops. With a diverse array of topics spanning the spectrum of technology, there’s always something new to discover, regardless of your level of expertise. From emerging technologies to cutting-edge programming languages and tools, SnowCamp is a hub of continuous education.
Moreover, SnowCamp provides a welcome respite from the daily grind, offering fresh perspectives and new horizons. By immersing yourself in this dynamic environment, you’ll broaden your knowledge, expand your network, and uncover opportunities for growth.
Last but certainly not least, let’s not forget the sheer enjoyment of it all! The electrifying atmosphere, delectable cuisine, and exceptional staff create an unforgettable experience. In short, SnowCamp is not just an event — it’s an adventure.

So why wait? Join us next year and experience for yourself all that SnowCamp has to offer.