PowerShell Summit 2027 - Call for Proposals

We’re excited to invite you to submit your session proposals for the PowerShell Summit 2027, taking place April 5–8, 2027 in Orlando, Florida.

The Summit is where PowerShell and IT professionals come to share knowledge, solve real problems, compare ideas, build community, and level up together. It is a technical conference, but it is also a community gathering. That means we’re looking for sessions that are not only smart, but useful, relevant, and worth an attendee’s time.

If you’re thinking about submitting, ask yourself a few simple questions:

• Will this make the PowerShell community better?
• Is this a session I would attend?
• Can I explain the value clearly and specifically?

If the answer is yes (or even maybe) we want to hear from you!

What kind of sessions are we looking for?

We want a broad mix of content centered on PowerShell, AI, automation, cloud, security, and adjacent topics. We welcome everything from beginner-friendly foundations to advanced deep dives, as long as the proposal is clear about who it is for and what attendees will walk away with.

We’re especially interested in sessions that:

• Solve real-world problems
• Share practical lessons learned
• Teach techniques attendees can apply right away
• Explore timely topics and emerging trends
• Cover the “no one talks about this, but they should” spaces in our community

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• PowerShell : From 100-level sessions for newer users to advanced topics for experienced practitioners, we want sessions that help people use PowerShell more effectively. Show us fundamentals, best practices, module design, testing, performance, maintainability, troubleshooting, or creative automation patterns.
• Automation : Using PowerShell (and more) alongside tools and platforms such as Terraform, Ansible, cloud APIs, GitHub Actions, CI/CD tooling, platforms, services, devices, and anything else that helps automate work across environments, perhaps even cross-platform!
• IT Practices : CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, release engineering, developer workflows, observability, platform engineering, DevSecOps, configuration management, and operational maturity.
• Cloud Computing : Automation, governance, management, cost awareness, and security in Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and multi-cloud environments.
• Security and Compliance : Security practices, secret management, identity, automation for security operations, pipeline security, cloud security, auditing, compliance, and reducing risk through automation.
• AI and Emerging Technology : Practical uses of AI, copilots, agents, machine learning, and automation-enhanced workflows — especially when grounded in real scenarios rather than hype.
• Real-World Solutions : Case studies, postmortems, lessons learned, migration stories, failure analysis, and stories from the field. Tell us what problem you had, what you tried, what worked, what didn’t, and what others can learn from it.
• Soft Skills, Career Growth, and Community : Sessions on mentoring, teaching, communication, team practices, career development, open source, and building healthy technical communities.
• Quality of Life : Shell customization, tooling, workflows, editor tips, shortcuts, dashboards, scripts, and other ideas that make day-to-day work more productive or enjoyable.
• Advanced Topics : We absolutely welcome deep technical content. If you’re submitting a 400-level session, be explicit about the assumptions, depth, and advanced techniques attendees should expect.

What makes a strong proposal?

A strong proposal is more than a good topic. It is a clear pitch.

Remember: reviewers are reading a lot of submissions, and in the first round they are evaluating your words — not your name, title, or résumé. Your proposal should stand on its own.

The best submissions are:

• Clear : Attendees and reviewers can quickly understand what the session is about
• Specific : They explain what attendees will learn, build, or be able to do afterward
• Relevant : They connect to current community needs, real challenges, or timely topics
• Practical : They offer useful takeaways, not just product tours or vague concepts
• Audience-aware : They match the chosen format and the expected skill level
• Honest : They don’t oversell, undersell, or hide the actual scope of the talk

Put another way: write the abstract for the people choosing sessions and the people deciding whether to attend.

Session types

We offer six session types. Choose the format that best fits your content. Please do not submit a 90-minute idea as a compressed 25-minute talk. Reviewers can tell.

25-Minute Fast-Focus Sessions

Short, focused talks built around one key idea, takeaway, or technique. These should be intentionally designed for 25 minutes, not condensed versions of longer sessions.

To qualify for speaker benefits, a speaker must have at least two accepted sessions if one of them is a 25-minute session. The sessions do not both need to be 25-minute sessions.

Honorarium: $250

45-Minute Breakout Sessions

Traditional conference sessions with enough time to introduce a topic, provide practical depth, and leave attendees with actionable takeaways.

Honorarium: $500

90-Minute Deep Dives

Longer-form sessions for substantial technical depth, richer demos, deeper explanation, or more advanced material.

Honorarium: $1,000

4-Hour Hands-On Labs

Interactive, guided learning experiences where attendees actively work through prepared material. Labs should be designed as instruction plus practice, not simply an extended lecture. Please include any assumptions, prerequisites, and participant requirements in your submission.

Honorarium: $2,000

After Dark

These evening sessions bring a different energy to the Summit: humorous, irreverent, creative, experimental, or delightfully chaotic technical content for a relaxed, adult-friendly audience. Strong language is permitted. Alcohol may be available for purchase during these sessions, pending venue approval. These sessions will not be recorded.

Honorarium: Same as 45- or 90-minute sessions, based on planned duration

Summit Challenge

Design a challenge that sparks creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. Summit Challenges may include code golf, CTF-style exercises, multi-day challenge tracks, scavenger hunts, or community-driven activities that run during or around the event. These submissions should clearly explain format, logistics, and what participants will do.

These sessions or activities will not be recorded.

Honorarium: TBD based on submission

Note on Honorarium: Sunday-Wednesday lodging may be paid for in-lieu of honorarium for speakers with two 45-minute sessions or a 90-minute session. Speakers with 4-Hour Hands-On Lab may request lodging, and receive a $1000 honorarium. Honorarium/lodging conversion must be declared upon session acceptance, and is irreversible.  

What we need from you

Please be prepared to submit:

• Session Title – clear, descriptive, and engaging
• Session Abstract – approximately 150–300 words
• Learning Objectives – 3 to 5 specific takeaways
• Target Audience – beginner, intermediate, or advanced
• Session Format – choose one of the formats above
• Speaker Bio – used in later-stage review, not in blind review

Selection process

We use a two-round selection process.

Round 1 – Blind Review : Submissions are anonymized and reviewed without speaker identity. Reviewers focus on the quality, clarity, relevance, and value of the proposal itself.

Round 2 – Comparison and Curation : Top proposals are then compared to help shape a balanced program across topics, levels, formats, and audience needs.

This process helps us build the strongest possible Summit while reducing bias in the initial review stage. Because the first round is blind, your abstract needs to do the work. Avoid relying on credentials, recognizability, or “trust me, I know this stuff” language. Tell us what the session is, why it matters, and what attendees will get from it.

Important information for submitters

Before submitting, please keep the following in mind:

• Secure any necessary permissions before you submit your proposal.
• If you rely on your employer for travel funding, begin those conversations early. An honorarium is provided, but it may not cover all travel expenses.
• Selected speakers receive a complimentary conference pass and applicable honorarium.
• If there is more than one speaker on a session, only the lead speaker is eligible for the honorarium and complimentary ticket unless otherwise agreed in advance.
• Submitters are limited to ten proposals total. Please send us your best work.
• Speaker expectations
• All selected speakers are expected to review the speaker, travel, and event information before accepting.

Please note:

• In-person delivery only – all sessions must be presented onsite in Orlando, Florida.
• English language requirement – sessions must be delivered in English.
• No additional compensation – there will be no compensation beyond what is explicitly stated in the CFP.
• Preparation matters – accepted speakers are expected to deliver the session described in their proposal and to be appropriately prepared for the chosen format.

A note on good Summit submissions

Summit proposals tend to stand out when they focus on a real problem and a clear outcome.

Good proposals usually answer questions like:

• What problem does this session solve?
• Why does this matter now?
• Who is this for?
• What will attendees be able to do afterward?
• Why is this best as a 25-, 45-, 90-minute session, lab, or challenge?

If your abstract could describe almost any session at almost any conference, it probably needs more specificity.

Deadline

The Call for Proposals for PowerShell Summit 2027 will open July 1, 2026 and close on August 31, 2026. Please submit before the deadline; late submissions will not be considered.

Ready to submit?

If you want to help shape the future of PowerShell, IT, and automation (and share something that makes the community better) we’d love to see your proposal.

Submit your session proposal today!