Session Format

All sessions are scheduled for 60-minutes. We will allow for 15 minutes in between sessions to allow for speaker set up and for attendee migration between rooms.

Submission Guidelines

• Provide a concise description of your session but feel free to include details which help attendees understand what to expect.
• All session submissions must conform to our code of conduct.
• Multiple submissions are welcome, but please limit yourself to 10 submissions maximum.
• Be sure to include concrete details on what attendees can expect to learn during your session.

Topic Tracks

All of the session proposals submitted should fit into one of our nine topic tracks. It's up to you to tell us which track your talk fits best into. We tried to keep them general enough to accommodate most ideas but specific enough to encompass the most interesting technologies today.

• Coding: Topics on the art of programming. Tell us about your software design patterns or introduce us to your favorite new programming language.
• Cloud: Topics on the forefront of cloud-based development and computing. 
• Front End and Design: Any front-end development, including UI/UX design, mobile apps, JavaScript, and application frameworks. 
• AI and Data: Topics such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Data Science, and Big Data. 
• Leadership and Professional Development: Topics that professionals engage with which aren't technical in nature, such as agility, soft skills, business, coaching, and leadership. 
• DevOps and Developer Productivity: Topics around the marriage of operations and development to increase developer productivity and shorten the feedback loop. 
• Cybersecurity, Observability, and System Administration: Topics around information security, cyber forensics, systems infrastructure, incident response, and ongoing observability of your platform.
• Hardware, the Internet of Things, and Edge Computing: Topics surrounding the usage of specialized or single-function devices, standalone or in concert with other services, highlighting the intersection between software and the physical world. 
• Game Development, Hacking, and Open Source: Tell us about your upcoming game release, your home-grown web browser, or even that open source project you'd like to rep!

If you are unsure which track your proposal would fall into, give us your best guess! 

What we're looking for in a speaker:

• Varied backgrounds: We want to welcome speakers of all public speaking backgrounds. If you are a new presenter, do not hesitate to submit. If you need feedback on your session proposal, feel free to email speakers@mitechcon.org.
• Local presenters: MITechCon is designed to showcase the thriving tech scene in Southeast Michigan. We recognize that there has been a lack of technology events in the area for a long time now. We want to showcase our local talent!
• Diverse Voices: Some voices are not heard like others are due to differences in opportunities and open access. Our goal is to even the playing field for all potential speakers. 

Selection Process

Our speaker selection process consists of the following phases:

• Phase One (Anonymous Selection): All submissions will go through an anonymization process to remove identifying personal information such as names or pronouns. The first phase focuses on submission titles and abstracts and intends to select the topics which would fit best in our community and conference.
• Phase Two (Final Selection): In phase two we will look through the talks that are left in a de-anonymized fashion. We will be choosing sessions from here based on the session's fit with our conference and community. In this phase we will be taking factors into account such as diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Our inspirations:

We owe a debt of gratitude to the organizers in the DevOpsDays organization from whom we have drawn great inspiration and knowledge. In the spirit of collaborative development, we want to thank DevOps Days Tampa Bay especially for providing an excellent template for this Call for Speakers.

One night hotel covered per session accepted. All speakers are comped a free ticket.