The User Groups That Keep Australia & New Zealand Learning

MVPs across Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) gathered together to celebrate MVP Connection party during AI Tour Sydney

How MVPs across Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) sustain connection, learning, and local community impact all year — through User Groups, informal networks, and continuous contribution — with Microsoft AI Tour Sydney as a recent snapshot. 

 The most important thing Microsoft MVPs do in Australia and New Zealand doesn't happen on a stage. It happens in the weeks and months between the big events — in local User Groups, meetups, group chats, and first-time talks. Across ANZ, MVPs show up as User Group leaders, speakers, mentors, and trusted local voices who keep a community learning long after any single event ends. 

Global events come and go. What lasts is the community they leave behind — and in ANZ, MVPs are the ones who build and sustain it, all year round. 

The Heart of It All: ANZ User Groups

If there's one place the ANZ community's momentum lives, it's the User Groups. They're where a developer asks a first question, attends a first meetup, and eventually gives a first talk. And they're only a click away, thanks to a community-built resource that keeps them all in one place.

“The best community experiences don't end when the event ends — they continue through local user groups, meetups, and ongoing connections.” — Loryan

That's the whole idea behind Loryan Strant's community-maintained ANZ User Group directory — aka.ms/anzusergroups — a single, up-to-date listing of Microsoft-related User Groups across Australia and New Zealand. It's fast, local, useful, and built by someone who knows the community firsthand. Community members have used it to find and join a local group on the spot, turning a moment of inspiration into ongoing participation.

MVPs, All Year Round

MVPs in AI Tour Sydney helping audiences to be connected

Behind many thriving User Groups is an MVP — often several — doing the unglamorous, essential work: organizing venues, lining up speakers, mentoring newcomers, and keeping the calendar full. It's the same pattern the MVP Program recognizes worldwide: MVPs create content, speak at conferences, share product feedback, mentor others, contribute to open source, and support communities in countless ways.

“Technology is important, but community is what helps people keep learning.” — Kirsty and Leon

ANZ leaders like Kirsty McGrath and Leon Tribe embody that — creating approachable spaces for technical discussion, peer networking, and mentorship not just at events, but as a habit.

“The value of MVPs is bringing real-world experience and independent

perspectives to technical conversations.” — Luke and Priyanka

MVPs including Luke Murray and Priyanka Shah bring field lessons and community-driven best practices to every conversation, bridging product capability and practical implementation. And Loryan Strant keeps the connective tissue — the directory — current, so the whole ecosystem stays discoverable.

Sustained community also runs on lightweight, always-on channels. The APAC online community led by Luke Murray — 129 members and counting — helps MVPs share local speaking slots and stay connected in real time. These informal networks look casual, but they close real engagement gaps fast — often faster than formal systems can.

A Snapshot: AI Tour Sydney 

You could see all of this in action at Microsoft AI Tour Sydney, held in April — a free, one-day, in-person dive into Microsoft Cloud and AI. Local MVPs — including Kirsty McGrath, Leon Tribe, Loryan Strant, Greg Nash, Priyanka Shah, Daniel Brown, Bronwen Zande, Sam Alavi, Arafat Tehsin, Akanksha Malik and many other MVPs— powered Community Spaces, Connection Hubs, and workshop proctoring, and ran lightning talks and 1:1 sessions on Copilot Studio, Microsoft Fabric, and Azure AI. 

But the most telling moment was a simple question from attendees: “How can we keep learning after today?” The answer wasn't another event — it was the User Group directory, and people joining local groups on the spot. The one-day event mattered most for what it pointed people toward: the ongoing community waiting on the other side. 

Your Move, Build the Community That Lasts 

The ANZ story is proof that the real work — and the real reward — is in the ongoing community, not the one-day high. If you're an MVP, or want to be more active as one, here's where the lasting impact is made: 

• List your User Group in the directory at aka.ms/anzusergroups so people can find and join you year-round. 

• Run or attend a local meetup. Consistency — not any single event — is what builds belonging. 

• Mentor a newcomer and help someone give their first talk. Today's first-timer is tomorrow's User Group leader. 

• Volunteer at the next local User Group event — then connect with other passionate community members and User Group leaders. 

If you're looking for a local User Group, hoping to keep learning after an event, or wanting to connect with technical leaders in your region, start with the MVPs around you. They're the bridge between inspiration and action — and in ANZ, that bridge runs all year. Come help build it. 

ANZ MVPs who love to help communities to grow together.

Want to Learn More About the MVP Program?  

To find an MVP and learn more about the MVP Program visit the MVP Communities website and follow our updates on LinkedIn or #mvpbuzz. Join us for a future live session through the Microsoft Reactor where we walk through what the MVP Program is about, what we look for, and how nominations work. These sessions are designed to help you connect the dots between the work you’re already doing and the impact the MVP Program recognizes — with time for questions, examples, and real conversations.  

 Resources 

• Microsoft MVP Program  ·  Find your local MVPs, and around MVP Program 

• ANZ User Group Directory by Loryan Strant (aka.ms/anzusergroups) Find and list Microsoft Tech User Groups in Australia and New Zealand. 

• https://aitour.microsoft.com/ Stay Turned for your city’s Microsoft AI Tour