DevConf.CZ has always welcomed first-time speakers as well as seasoned pros. If you're a first-time speaker or just want to make sure you learn as much as possible before submitting a proposal, you're at the right place! We're going to cover all you need to know to get your proposal accepted at DevConf.CZ 2022.

Don't miss the deadline

First and foremost, make sure you submit your proposal on time and sooner rather than later. The DevConf.CZ 2022 Call for Proposals ends on October 24, 2021 EOD. We always remind the date on our social media channels and you can also make sure you have the latest information on our website.

Make it relevant and engaging

DevConf.CZ 2022 is built around a list of themes we believe are attractive for attendees as well as speakers but we're also open to other high-quality talk suggestions. We are interested in technical sessions and speakers who are not afraid to dive deep into details of the area of their interest. Sessions with a lot of audience interactions and demos are highly encouraged. We're not looking for an overview or high-level topics. Make sure to avoid product pitches and marketing presentations.

Those with a keen eye for detail might have noticed the crystal ball in DevConf.CZ logo. The motto of the conference is “#define future” and the future is what we're interested in. We'd like to see emerging topics that might hit mainstream engineering in 1-2 years. Talking about new and upcoming work generally increases your chance of acceptance.

Select the right session type

Since we're a hybrid event in 2022, we made a few changes in the session types to adjust to the new format based on what we’ve learned from past conferences and virtual events. While we will stick to talks, workshops and meetups. We want to make sure the content is focused, tells the whole story, and is structured in a way that allows engagement for both in-person and virtual audiences.

• Talk (25 minutes) - A talk is where you present with slides and demos to an audience. We recommend reserving some time in the end for Q&A, e.g. a 20-minute talk and a 5-minute Q&A. Feel free to recruit your colleagues to interact with people in chat while you are talking. A talk has one primary speaker, optionally another (secondary) speaker. It should be bite-sized and focused on a certain topic. This means that you should not expect to be able to cover multiple broad areas in one talk. You can submit more than one proposal, to cover a set of topics, but we cannot guarantee their final scheduled order. Therefore, we recommend you submit topics that are independent and do not need to be presented in a specific order.
• Deep dive talk (50 minutes) - A deep dive talk is the same as a talk, but this is considered a two-part session (you will talk during two 25 minute time slots). You should consider that different audiences may join each part due to different timing of parallel talks in other rooms and tailor the content accordingly. This option is recommended for deep technical dives that include a demo.
• Discussion (50 minutes) - A discussion is where you lead/moderate a conversation with a group of knowledgeable panelists who answer prepared questions or questions from the audience as selected by you for appropriateness to your topic and session goal. It is an interactive session and you’re asked to engage with the audience during the session.
• Lightning talk (5 minutes) - A lightning talk is a short presentation focused on getting people interested in something new. The goal of the lightning talk is to convey key information in a clear and concise manner. You can talk about things that excite you, challenges you overcome, or insights into your work that you wish you knew before you started.
• Workshop (60 minutes) - A workshop is a hands-on demo where you and other workshop leads interact with each other and with audience members on chat, sharing your knowledge and experience on a focused topic. The goal of a workshop is to teach or practice a skill. You should not expect the audience to follow each step of the workshop live, however, they should have all necessary instructions if they wish to. As a result, workshops should be actionable and goal-oriented. We allow up to three active presenters in a workshop. You must designate one of them to be the primary session leader. We give in-person workshop leads a choice to decide whether they want to stream the content online. If yes, it is up to you to cover both channels and we recommend you recruit your colleagues to interact with people in chat while you are talking.
• Meetups - Meetups are open to all participants, they serve as a place for open discussions during a dedicated time, sharing the latest project developments and interaction with contributors and attendees. Meetups are organized as virtual chat rooms or in-person meetings. Meetups are either 25 or 50 minutes long, although we will consider exceptions.
• Booths - Based on our experience from last year and possible capacity limitations at the venue, we decided we will NOT have booths. We encourage everyone who would normally set up a booth to submit a meetup proposal instead.

Do you need help with your submission?

If you still aren't 100% certain about your proposal we invite you to the DevConf.CZ 2022 CfP office hours on Thursday, October 21 from 3 - 5 PM CEST on our discord channel. You can discuss your proposal or get some tips from session reviewers and past DevConf.CZ speakers.

You can also join the #CfP-help discord channel and chat with event organizers about anything related to CfP anytime or take a look at following presentation.