An Insight into the 2026 Poland Frontend Meetup

The 2026 dev.js Wrocław #9 meetup was held recently after the success of the QA Tester Meetup Wrocław last year.

Sponsored by TDS, the event saw three of our software developers take to the stage to discuss their expertise in the technology sector. These talks highlighted frontend development and how we support clients operating in several industries at TDS, as well as our developers’ knowledge of and expertise in the technology sector.

From Barriers to Bridges: Improving Web Accessibility with WCAG

Delivered by Senior Software Development Consultant Daniel Tate, the presentation entitled From Barriers to Bridges: Improving Web Accessibility with WCAG explored the importance of web accessibility and how inclusive web design benefits everyone, not just users with disabilities.

First, it introduced key principles such as perceivability, operability, understandability and robustness before explaining how these concepts shape accessible digital experiences. The session highlighted common barriers users may face on websites that are inaccessible, ranging from visual and auditory impairments to cognitive and motor challenges and demonstrates practical strategies to address them.

“Accessibility is something I’ve worked closely with for a long time and is a topic that is consistently underestimated at the planning stage of a project,” Daniel explains. “My talk focused on the real benefits of building with accessibility at the forefront: not just as a compliance exercise, but as a way to bring more users to a product and deliver something genuinely better for the client.

“Getting the foundations right from the start creates a much stronger platform going forward and significantly reduces the cost and effort of retrofitting it later.”

The presentation also covered elements of WCAG and how this framework helps guide developers in making more accessible content.

For Daniel, this trip to Wrocław for the dev.js meetup was his first time in the Polish city, and not only was he impressed by the beautiful architecture, but he met other likeminded developers.

“Attending the Tech Meetup in Wrocław was a brilliant experience,” he continues. “Being surrounded by other speakers and attendees was genuinely valuable. Hearing different perspectives across a wide range of topics, and having my own thinking challenged, was a reminder of why these events are worth attending.”

QA’s Secret Menu: How Tiny Code Tweaks Eliminate JS “Silent Killers”

Senior Quality Assurance Automation Engineer Yuliia Nowakowska is extremely passionate about sharing her expertise with fellow developers and other young women who are working towards breaking into the technology sector. As well as taking every opportunity to share her understanding of tech, she often also discusses the power of women in IT and how acknowledging the importance of women in tech is shaping the way forward.

Her talk at the dev.js meetup – QA’s Secret Menu: How Tiny Code Tweaks Eliminate JS “Silent Killers” – focused on the changing testing landscape. All developers and quality assurance experts know the feeling of pushing a new feature with flawless-looking local UI, but then, a brittle E2E test fails, or a QA bounces the ticket back a day later because of an obscure race condition.

Yuliia highlighted how testing shouldn’t be a painful bottleneck at the end of the release cycle and discussed bridging the gap between Dev and QA to share the “secret menu” of testability. The presentation explored how writing code with testing in mind doesn’t just help automation engineers, but how it’s a cheat code for building bulletproof JavaScript components.

“I’m so grateful to TDS for hosting this event and giving me the platform to share this session,” Yuliia says. “It was amazing to step out from behind the screen and connect with so many brilliant developers and QA professionals in person.

“Bridging the gap between Dev and QA is something I’m incredibly passionate about, and the energy and discussions around the “secret menu” of testability were unmatched. Thank you to everyone who showed up, asked questions and made it such a memorable day!”

Ashamed of the Prototype? Why We’re Hiding JS Superpowers Behind Class Syntax

For many years, JavaScript developers have lived in the shadow of “class-based” languages, trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Jakub Brambor, Software Engineer at TDS, delivered his talk – Ashamed of the Prototype? Why We’re Hiding JS Superpowers Behind Class Syntax – to highlight how developers have embraced the class keyword as a security blanket and ask an important question: are we sacrificing the language’s true potential for the sake of gaining “architectural legitimacy”?

During the presentation, Jakub looked past the syntax and discussed:

• The Identity Crisis: understanding “class envy” and why we feel the need to mask JavaScript’s unique nature with patterns from other ecosystems.
• The Mechanics Under the Hood: a look at how class is just a wrapper and how its hidden complexity can lead to unnecessary coupling.
• The OLOO Pattern: analysing the pros and cons of prototypal inheritance to understand OLOO – a cleaner, more natural alternative that aligns with JavaScript’s true DNA.
• Why Classes Won: a pragmatic look at why we will continue to use classes (standardisation, TypeScript and onboarding), despite their limitations.
• Reclaiming the Superpower: how to practically reintroduce prototypal inheritance into our workflows and advocate for JavaScript’s native strengths to make our code more flexible.

“This talk stems from a passion for understanding the core execution model of JavaScript,” Jakub says. “While modern ES6 class syntax is a great tool for readability, it’s vital for developers to look under the hood and embrace JS’ true prototypal nature rather than treating it like a carbon copy of Java or C++.

“It’s not about avoiding classes, but instead, it’s about mastering the dynamic DNA of the language we use every day.”

Delivering this presentation was Jakub’s first time stepping up as a speaker.

“Presenting at the dev.js #9 meetup was a fantastic experience,” he explains. “The energy from the local tech community was great and I felt comfortable and genuinely enjoyed the opportunity to share my knowledge with the community.”

TDS can support your next project

At TDS, our team of developers, quality engineers and other technology specialists are located in Newcastle, Scotland, Wrocław and Calgary. We build trusted, long-term partnerships with clients across a range of industries, combining deep technical capability with a transparent way of working. Some examples of this include our work in powering the future of iGaming technology and staying ahead of UX evolution.

Learn more about our Polish team by gaining an insight into TDS Poland and contact us to discover how we can support your next project.