Le Wagon global community is thriving, thanks to our 30,000+ alumni who keep learning, growing, and generously sharing their knowledge. Some go even further by creating communities of their own. This is the story of Aishu, a Tokyo’s Data Science & AI graduate who joined Virtusize as a data scientist after bootcamp, and then went on to co-launch one of Tokyo’s grassroots data communities.
Read more: From antennas to data science: the story of Aishu
Sure! DataMinds is a community for data professionals and enthusiasts focused on connection & sharing. We organize casual mixers, networking nights, and small seminars to get things going. As of now, we’ve organized 5+ events, and there are about 150 members combined from LinkedIn and our Luma community, but our goal is to grow the community across Tokyo and eventually all of Japan. We’d love to reach at least 1,000 active members within a year!
I remember when I was new to my first data science job after Data Science & AI bootcamp, I had no idea how data scientists collaborated with designers, or what product managers expected from us. That’s when I thought that having a space where we could meet, share ideas, and talk about how data science is actually applied in real companies could be such a valuable resource.
Many of the senior data scientists I knew were from the academia world and not very active in the local tech scene. For someone like me who was new to the field, it felt a bit isolating.
My co-organizers & I did think about launching DataMinds seriously. We observed how other successful communities were run, like Creative Tokyo or Product Tank Tokyo.
We wanted to create a similar space built by people who were motivated, and not just doing it for recognition. We also knew we didn’t want a space where people felt nervous or judged, or where ideas might be stolen. Our community was designed as a place where people, whether they’re experienced or just starting out, could share ideas freely without fear.
Two years ago, AI wasn’t such a big part of our daily work. But things like ChatGPT had just started gaining traction, and during our early events, we’d have a casual “data science hour” to try new tools, and then literally go back to work the next day and tell our team about it.
We get a lot of people from core data fields: data scientists, ML engineers, DevOps engineers working with machine learning, data analysts, business analysts… But we also have folks who don’t work directly in AI but collaborate with data teams in their companies. They come to understand our world better, and that’s exactly the kind of bridge we want to build.
Most attendees are men, which is something I really want to change. One of my personal goals is to host more women-focused or women-only events in the future, just to create space and confidence for women to join the conversation.
When we first started, our events were mostly seminars. We’d invite people working at AI startups in Tokyo or in advanced fields like quantum computing to give presentations.
But we noticed that in big seminars with 50 or 60 people, most attendees were too shy to ask questions or speak openly. So we introduced group discussions, limited to 15 participants. The structure is simple: everyone introduces themselves first, and then we let the conversation unfold naturally. And it’s been great with people opening up, asking questions, and even challenging each other. It feels safe, inclusive, and very human.
Oh yes, definitely.
First, it’s made me more proactive. Organizing events means I need to stay on top of things. I’m constantly learning, staying up-to-date, and building leadership skills. I know people look to me to guide discussions, so I have to be prepared and focused.
Second, through these events, I’ve been exposed to so many new domains. Before this, I didn’t even know quantum computing and data science overlapped. Now I’m learning from people working at the cutting edge.
Oh, definitely! For example, in summer we held an event from 4 to 6 p.m., and hardly anyone showed up because it was just too hot.
We find that seminars are more effective on weekday evenings, while group discussions are better suited to weekend mornings when participants are refreshed and more engaged.
My advice is first to find your “why.” Your passion has to be strong because it will keep you going when others might drop off. Once you have that, the rest like venues, participants, co-organizers – it all falls into place. And just in case, you can always use your alma mater Le Wagon Tokyo campus – as a venue for your first meetups, as we did!
Want to join an upcoming DataMinds event in Tokyo? Follow them on LinkedIn /Luma/Discord!
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