RustLab is a comprehensive conference on the Rust programming language, established in 2019 and organized by Develer, a software company based in Florence, Italy. Designed by developers for developers, RustLab brings together experts and enthusiasts to share knowledge and innovation.

RustLab will be an in-person event. In this edition you will find talks and workshops.

Talks will last 45 minutes and can either present and explain a topic of expertise or showcase something innovative to inspire other developers.

They are structured in 30 mins talk + 10 additional minutes for a Q/A session + 5 minutes to switch rooms. Speakers can modify the ratio between the talk and the Q/A session as they like. 

Workshops can be 3 or 6 hours long, focusing on practical case studies in an interactive format.

Topics

RustLab is receptive to proposals on any Rust-related subject matter, including but not limited to cloud computing, networking, programming languages, ecosystems, devices, platforms, and security. Additionally, we encourage submissions that span multiple topics.

Even if your talk is not strictly Rust-related, we encourage you to submit it. We welcome challenging and unconventional proposals!

Language

All presentations will be in English.

Content Guidelines

We would like our speakers to present original content. If your talk has been presented at another conference, please indicate this in your submission.

We expect a common baseline of respectful tone from everyone (see the Code of Conduct for more details).

Presenters can include a company logo on the introduction slide only. Talks about commercial products are allowed as long as they focus on the technical aspect.

If you would like to speak about your company's product with more freedom, please consider giving a sponsored talk. You can contact us for more information at sponsors@rustlab.it.

Given that we have only one slot per day allocated for sponsored talks, please consider that the likelihood of your sponsored talk being featured on the schedule is lower than that of a regular talk.

After you have sent your proposal

We'll review your proposal as soon as possible and give you some feedback.

We welcome first-time speakers

In the coming months, we will offer weekly online office hours for all accepted speakers, where you can talk to us and ask your questions directly.

We will offer 1 to 1 rehearsals, either online or in person at the Develer offices (Calenzano, near Florence), where you can practice your talk and get suggestions.

General advice

RustLab receives a lot of proposals, so the team must make a choice. We will review the proposals based on the selection criteria below, please ensure your talk or workshop meet all of them. 

Write a presentation that is long enough to let us understand what’s the goal you want to achieve with the talk, that you have real practical experience on the topic, that you discovered new things that are valuable to share with the community. Moreover please ensure your proposal matches the conference topics and that you’re able to present your talk in the given time slot.

A typical structure of your proposal may be:

[title/outline] 
Please not too long: it would be nice if it could fit in a tweet.
Remember also that the schedule should be readable on smartphones too.

[kind of session] 
The kind of session your presentation can apply to (choose among talk, half-day workshop or whole-day workshop)

[level]
Please specify the level of the audience your presentation is addressed to (choose from Introductory and Overview, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert)

[abstract]
This is how your session will be described to the attendees in our schedule. So please be concise on what you are talking about but also try to spice up the interest of your audience by giving them evaluable reasons to attend your presentation.

In case you are making a proposal for a workshop, you may want to specify some technical requirements that your audience should meet to ensure a satisfying experience, such as some devices (a laptop) or a certain version of some software installed on their computer.

Ticketing

Submitting a talk or workshop proposal allows you to get an Early Bird ticket price. If your proposal is rejected, we’ll send you a discount code to buy a Regular ticket at the Early Bird price. Please make sure to purchase your ticket before the Regular fare deadline (October 15th, 2026, at 1:00 PM, CET) otherwise the discount code won’t apply properly!

Of course, in case you'll be appointed as a speaker, you'll get a free Speaker ticket which is equivalent of a Premium one. In case you already bought a ticket for the conference you may choose between reassigning that ticket to somebody else or have it refunded.

This year RustLab will be held together with GoLab, so your ticket will be valid to attend both conferences as well!

IMPORTANT: Visa documentation

According to the Italian Laws, we are not authorized to produce a document in support of people requesting a business visa for coming to speak to our conferences. You must request a simple touristic visa and the only document we can produce in support is a declaration you will attend our conference and you will stay in the venue hotel in the conference period.

Please check if you can get your visa in your country in time for the conference before submitting your proposal.

Benefits for speakers 

If your talk is accepted, congrats: you will be officially a RustLab 2026 speaker!

This grants you a free Speaker ticket for the conference (free access to all talks and workshops) and free access to the social dinner.

Plus, we also offer a room* at the Savoia Regency Hotel in Bologna (GoLab’s venue) for all the conference duration (2 nights for talks, 3 nights for workshops presenters).

We regret that we can only cover accommodation; travel expenses are not reimbursed.

* = the room we offer is a double room for single use. In case you need different requirements, please e-mail us at info@rustlab.it and we will help you out to meet them. This will be the lodging offer covered by the conference organization anyway: in case of further extras (more nights, bigger room, etc.) they will be on your charge.

Let's have a great conference together!

Accepted speakers will have a reserved room at the venue hotel for the 2 days of the conference (3 days for workshop speakers).