Why Speak at MITechCon 2026?

MITechCon 2026 is built for practitioners working across IT, software, engineering, and robotics. As a speaker, you’ll be part of a growing regional conference focused on real-world application, not theory.

• Reach a high-quality audience: Connect with professionals actively building, integrating, and operating technology across Michigan’s core industries.
• Be part of a cross-industry conversation: MITechCon brings together IT, engineering, and robotics in one place, creating opportunities to share ideas across disciplines that rarely intersect.
• Grow your professional presence and refine your ideas: Share your work, build credibility, expand your network, and gather feedback through real conversations with peers.
• Lead deeper learning through workshops: Workshop hosts can run full-day, hands-on sessions and receive a 50/50 revenue share from paid workshop attendance.
• Support and visibility for your work: Selected speakers receive conference access and hotel accommodations, and sessions may be recorded and shared publicly.

Timeline

All applicants will be notified of their submission status by June 1, 2026.

Session & Workshop Format

Conference Sessions

All standard sessions are 60 minutes, with 15 minutes between sessions for speaker setup and attendee movement.

Workshops (Full-Day)

MITechCon 2026 will feature 6 full-day workshops designed as deep-dive, hands-on experiences for smaller groups.

• Run approximately 6–7 hours (including breaks).
• Designed for interactive, practical learning, not lecture-style delivery.
• Expected to support ~20–40 attendees.
• Should include clear structure, exercises, or guided implementation.
• Ideal for topics requiring depth, tooling, or step-by-step instruction.
• Priced at $249 per attendee.
• Revenue split: 50/50 between organizer and workshop host.
• May include additional fees for specialized equipment or materials.
• Preference for workshops that include hands-on labs, code, or guided exercises.

Workshop Expectations

Workshops are a premium, paid experience and require a higher level of preparation than standard sessions.

We are looking for proposals that demonstrate:

• A clear full-day structure or agenda.
• Defined hands-on components (labs, exercises, guided work).
• Content that is practical and executable, not conceptual.
• Familiarity with the material, even if it has not been delivered before.

Workshops do not need to be fully built at the time of submission, but proposals should clearly show the ability to deliver a complete, high-quality experience.

Preference will be given to workshops that demonstrate a clear, structured plan and hands-on learning experience.

Session & Workshop Topics

MITechCon features six concurrent session rooms with a curated mix of IT, software, engineering, and robotics content. All proposals should align with one of the topic areas below.

We are primarily looking for practical, real-world content aimed at working professionals. Select the area that best fits your talk. Topics are intentionally broad to accommodate a wide range of ideas while focusing on the most relevant technologies today.

Topic Areas

💻 IT / Software

• Software Engineering and Architecture: Design and build modern systems. Includes system design, distributed architectures, frameworks, and scalability patterns.
• Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems: Applied AI and machine learning in real-world environments, including implementation challenges and lessons learned.
• DevOps, Cloud, and Platform Engineering: Tools and practices that improve delivery and operations, including CI/CD, cloud-native systems, and platform engineering.
• Cybersecurity, Privacy, and System Resilience: Security, observability, and resilience strategies, including threat detection, incident response, and reliability.
• Product, UX, and Digital Experience: Building products that deliver value, including product strategy, UX design, and aligning technology with user needs.

🔧 Engineering

• Systems Engineering and Cyber-Physical Systems: Design and integration of complex hardware/software systems, including IT/OT convergence.
• Advanced Manufacturing and Industry 4.0: Technology transforming manufacturing, including automation, smart factories, and data-driven environments.
• Embedded, Edge, and Real-Time Systems: Systems operating under constraints, including embedded development, edge computing, and real-time performance.
• Simulation, Modeling, and Digital Engineering: Design and validation using simulation tools, modeling techniques, and digital twins.
• Reliability, Safety, and Engineering at Scale: Building dependable systems, including safety engineering, fault tolerance, and operating in critical environments.

🤖 Robotics

• Robotics Systems and Integration: Building and deploying robotics systems, integrating hardware, software, and sensors.
• Autonomous Systems and Intelligent Robotics: Navigation, perception, and decision-making in real-world environments.
• Industrial Robotics and Automation: Robotics in production environments, including automation strategies and scaling deployments.
• Human-Robot Interaction and Deployment: How humans and robots work together, including cobots, usability, and deployment challenges.

If you are unsure which topic area your proposal fits, give us your best guess!

Audience & Experience Level

MITechCon sessions are designed for a mix of experience levels:

• Primarily intermediate practitioners.
• Some beginner-accessible sessions.
• Select advanced, deep technical topics.

Please indicate the intended audience level for your session or workshop.

What Makes a Strong Submission

We prioritize proposals that:

• Focus on real-world experience, not theory.
• Include clear, actionable takeaways.
• Share lessons learned, tradeoffs, or failures.
• Avoid overly broad or vague topics.
• Avoid sales pitches or product demos without clear educational value.

Submission Guidelines

• Clearly indicate whether your submission is a conference session or a full-day workshop.
• Provide a clear description of your session or workshop, including what attendees should expect.
• All submissions must conform to our code of conduct.
• You may submit up to 10 proposals.
• Include specific learning outcomes.
• Workshop proposals require additional detail (agenda, interactivity, tools).
• Submissions that are primarily sales or product-focused will not be accepted.

What We're Looking for in Speakers

• Varied backgrounds: We welcome speakers of all public speaking backgrounds. If you are new to presenting, do not hesitate to submit. If you would like feedback on your 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 some time, and we are committed to highlighting and supporting local talent.
• Diverse voices: We aim to create opportunities for speakers from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to contribute to the program.

Selection Process

Our speaker selection process consists of the following phases:

Phase One (Anonymous Selection):

• The first phase focuses on submission titles and abstracts and is intended to select the topics that best fit our community and conference.
• Due to the volume of submissions, we are unable to manually anonymize each entry and rely on speakers to submit content suitable for anonymous review. Please do not include any personally identifiable information (PII) in your session title, description, or related fields. This includes names, company names, or identifying details. Submissions that include PII may be disqualified.

Phase Two (Final Selection):

• Remaining submissions will be reviewed in a de-anonymized format. Final selections are based on overall fit with the conference and community, along with building a well-rounded and balanced program.
• Preference may be given to speakers who are able to deliver more than one session.

Speaker Support & Compensation

We are committed to supporting our speakers while keeping MITechCon 2026 accessible to the community.

• Hotel Accommodation: We provide 2 hotel nights for domestic speakers and up to 3 hotel nights for international speakers. Accommodations cover room rate and standard taxes only. Any incidentals (parking, room service, etc.) are the responsibility of the speaker.
• Travel & Fees: We do not provide speaker fees and do not cover travel expenses. Many speakers attend with support from their employer’s professional development or training budget.
• Conference Access: Accepted speakers receive complimentary access to the session days of the conference. Workshop access is not included and requires a separate ticket. Discounted workshop access may be available to speakers based on capacity.
• Workshops: Workshop hosts receive a 50/50 revenue share based on paid workshop attendance. Revenue distribution will occur after the event.

Speaker Expectations

• Standard A/V will be provided (projector, microphone).
• Speakers are expected to bring their own laptop.
• Sessions may be recorded and shared publicly.

Our inspirations:

We owe a debt of gratitude to the DevOpsDays community, whose work has helped shape MITechCon 2026. In particular, we thank DevOpsDays Tampa Bay for providing a strong foundation for this Call for Speakers.

Hotel: 2 nights (domestic) / up to 3 nights (international), room and tax only; incidentals not covered. Conference: Complimentary access to session days (workshops require a separate ticket; discounted access may be available based on capacity). Travel: Not covered. Workshops: 50/50 revenue share based on paid attendance.