Call for Proposals

Call for Proposals is closed. Submissions are no longer possible. Sorry.
finished 444 days ago

RustConf 2023

event starts

12 Sep 2023

event ends

15 Sep 2023

location

Albuquerque Convention Center Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

website

rustconf.com


Join us for 2+ days of the best Rust content, plus workshops and a full-day unconference, virtually OR in sunny Albuquerque, New Mexico!

What will 2023 look like?

As more of our audience receives the COVID-19 vaccine and more of the world reports safer communities, we're once again providing an in-person conference.

We also know not everyone is able or willing to travel yet, and the online format significantly increased the accessibility of the conference. With those things in mind, we are excited to once again present a hybrid conference with both in-person and online options.

Although the pandemic landscape is constantly changing and continues to improve, it has not yet reached a point where we can hold a conference entirely without precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As such:

  • In-person attendees will be required to wear a mask at all times while indoors.
  • Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is required.
  • In-person attendees will also need to provide a negative test administered within 48h of the conference.
  • Lunch and happy hours will be held outdoors.
  • Masks will not be required for outdoor events.

The RustConf website will have full details on our COVID-19 precautions and expectations, as well as information on the secure HIPAA-compliant app we'll be using to collect this information while keeping it completely secure and destroying it post-conference.

This year will look very similar to 2022, keeping the hybrid format and providing a remote option for attendees. Specifically:

  • All talks will be live-streamed for remote attendees.
  • The conference will once again feature a Discord for folks to socialize and participate in in-person and remote Q&A.
  • Discord will once again feature live, hosted, break time content (radio-show style), live break-out rooms and virtual "hallway tracks".

We are constantly looking for ways to improve the online experience and will have more details as the conference approaches.

Our program will be a mix of invited and CFP-submitted talks.

finished 602 days ago
Call for Proposals
Call opens at 12:00 AM

14 Feb 2023

Call closes at 11:59 PM

09 Apr 2023

Call closes in Mountain Daylight Time (UTC-06:00) timezone.
Closing time in your timezone () is .

What will giving a talk look like?

Speakers will be given the option to either present their talk live on stage in Albuquerque or virtually by pre-recording their talk. Pre-recorded talks will be aired for the first time live in your assigned slot once the schedule is confirmed, both online and on stage. We'll send accepted remote speakers some basic equipment as needed to help make sure they're able to record top-quality content for our video editors to work with.

Conference talks will be 30 minutes or 15 minutes total. Your reviewers may also suggest alternatives if they feel your submitted topic warrants more or less time.

Speakers will have access to members of the program committee who can provide as much advice or mentoring as you'd like. In addition, all speakers are expected to do two run-throughs of their talk to receive constructive feedback. The final run-through will be in mid-August, so plan on finishing your talk well in advance of the conference.

We'll gladly consider a wide variety of talks on Rust-related topics. Any topic relevant to Rust programmers is welcome, but here's a short list of things we'd love to hear about to inspire you:

  • Rust in New and Exciting Places
    If you're writing Rust for rocket ships, vacuum cleaners, Las Vegas light shows, or anywhere else most programmers don't normally run their code, we'd love to hear from you!
  • Extremely Cursed
    Show us the most cursed code you've written. If your story can be summed up as "I was so focused on if I could I never asked whether I should", we want to hear more about it.
  • Raising All Boats
    How does your Rust code make some other communities better? Other languages, ... other fields entirely?
  • Crab Academia
    Rust in an educational setting. This includes teaching Computer Science, as well as using Rust in teaching other subjects. This applies at all levels of education, and we welcome talks from students, teachers, professors, and educators of all sorts.

How will the CFP review work?

We'll be voting on and reviewing talks on a rolling basis and will attempt to send feedback sooner than our final evaluation, so the earlier you submit, the more chance you'll have to tweak your pitch and improve your odds.

The first several rounds of reviews in our CFP are, as usual, blind. To respect this process, please refrain from including biographical information or linking to previous talks or other material that make your identity obvious in your talk abstract or details. Note that this also means if you receive any feedback, the reviewers don't know who you are then either.

Sweet! What happens if I get accepted?

If your Conference Talk is selected, you'll receive the following:

  • Plane tickets and hotels covered for the duration of the conference (if attending in person)
  • A free pass to attend the conference
  • A TBD speaker honorarium; typically, our allocation is $500 per 30m, but with so many different formats, that likely means we'll need to do some math once the agenda is set to sort out what each slot ends up receiving, proportionally.
  • Special speaker-only gifts, mailed to your address or distributed at the conference
  • Special speaker-only events for in-person speakers (details will be shared once talks are accepted, but trust us—they're really special this year)
  • Recording equipment as appropriate (if presenting remotely)
  • The opportunity to be assigned a mentor or accountability partner to help keep you on track, by request

Anything else?

RustConf is intended to be an inclusive, welcoming conference for everyone. Our Code of Conduct can be found here: https://rustconf.com/code-of-conduct.

NOTE: If you are accepted as a speaker and have already purchased a ticket, we'll refund it 100%. So don't wait once tickets go on sale, be sure you have a seat either way!

If you have questions others might or want to brainstorm with Rust friends, there's an events channel in the Rust Community Discord where folks are likely up for helping.

For those speakers with family obligations: in-person RustConf will have on-site childcare and nursing parent facilities available. If you have other logistical concerns, such as being unavailable for specific times of the live day due to childcare obligations, pumping or nursing schedules, etc., we'll be sure to accommodate those as well <3

Feel free to reach out if you're concerned about anything that isn't spelled out in our event FAQ.

If you or your employer might be able to help sponsor RustConf, please get in touch. Every little bit helps!

Conference information: http://www.rustconf.com/

Questions? Bugs? email events@tilde.io.

FAQs:

We'll add to this as we notice questions coming from multiple sources.

  1. Can I edit my proposal after I submit it?

    Very much yes! In fact, that's the idea—you get feedback, and then you edit to improve, and then you get accepted <3

    Once the CFP ends of course, things get a lot more final fast.

  2. Can I have more than one presenter?

    Our thoughts on this are nuanced. The blanket answer is yes, you can submit a talk with as many presenters as you'd like—the app will allow it.

    Digging in a bit though, talks with multiple speakers are significantly less likely to get accepted. If we have any, it'll probably be limited. In practice, they're just incredibly difficult to do well, and so when there are enough single-speaker proposals, we're more likely to choose the less risky path. They'll also be especially challenging to record since none of us are in the same place... but if you're up for the challenge, we want to hear about it :)

    Please note: we budget for one sum of money per speaker. Talks with multiple speakers will most likely end up needing to split the provided funding.

  3. I submitted a proposal but haven't received any feedback. Is everything alright?

    Yep! Not all submissions will receive feedback. This is partially because our resources are limited, but also because some of them will be 100% clear, and no clarifications will be required. Not getting feedback isn't an indicator of how your proposal has been received.

    Also, of course, the earlier you submit, the more likely it is that you'll receive questions and/or feedback from reviewers.


travel

expenses covered

accommodation

expenses covered

event fee

free for speakers

RustConf will cover up to $1000 in travel expenses, and more as we can. If your employer covers your expenses, we are also happy to award them sponsorship credit in return.