Planning for this year’s conference is well underway, and we’re so excited to open Summit 2023 Call for Speakers (CFS) today, through April 13th at 11:59 pm PST. For complete details on how to submit, make sure to read our comprehensive CFS Guide (Please note that the CFS Guide dates will be updated by early next week.)

As you’ve likely heard, PASS Data Community Summit returns to Seattle, Washington, November 14-17, exclusively in person. 

From the Summit 2022 feedback, as well as this year’s in-person setting, we’ve simplified and reduced the program to 173 sessions, broken down into 129 community and 44 sponsor sessions. The submissions we receive from the Call for speakers will help us fill in the following breakdown of the 129 community sessions: 

1 Community Keynote 

4 Deep Dive sessions 

93 General sessions 

25 Learning Pathway sessions 

3 Panel sessions 

3 Lightning Talk sessions (made up of 6 lightning talks each)  

Last year, Learning Pathway sessions were fully curated. This year, we would like to open the opportunity to everyone by accepting Learning Pathways through the CFS. Please make sure to prepare a detailed outline of your pathway sessions and speakers, which will act as your Abstract. Make sure to add all the session speakers in the Add Participant section as you go through the process. We’ll also be looking for interesting panel sessions and, of course, Lightning Talks. If you have any questions about Summit 2023 Call for Speakers, please let us know at speakers@passsummit.com. 

Content 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our Community Insights Survey, that ran from February 9th to the 23rd. Your feedback is invaluable and plays a big part in developing the balance of content for the Summit program each year. Check out the results of the survey here. 

Based on the results of the insights survey, we’ll be aiming for the following breakdown of content by track – we’ve included a brief description of what we’re looking for: 

Analytics 21% 

Topics surrounding the process of analyzing of data including loading, cleaning, and querying of data for purely reporting purposes. 

Architecture 18% 

Topics about how computing processes and systems are structured. These may include high-level system configuration, data structures, internal processing, database design, etc. Generally, these topics should not be about writing code so much as why platforms, languages, etc. are set up or built in a certain way. Note that architecture topics may share some characteristics with other technical topics. 

Database Management 31% 

Tools and concepts about the ongoing management of different data processing platforms. Includes topics on backups and restores, performance tuning, installation, security, and any activities that are required to keep databases running their best. 

Development 18% 

Writing code in any language that is used to do business, including procedural and relational programming, for any reason other than strictly analytics or data platform management. For example, writing code to manage backups would be database management, while writing code to general processes like capture customer data would be development. 

Professional Development 12% 

Typically, non-technical sessions that have a goal of teaching about the processes of developing the attendee as an employee or as a person. Topics could include teaching about things like collaboration, mental health, life-work balance, diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, or accessibility. 

As planning is in full swing, we want to ensure that we make every effort at to ensure a diverse, accessible, and inclusive conference. To support this, we expect all speakers to consider how to make their sessions and content accessible for all by considering the following when applying for Summit 2023 Call for Speakers: 

• Increase representation of diversity, which could be visible or invisible differences – everyone at Summit should feel they can show up as their authentic self. 
• Ensure fair access to opportunities for everyone by spotting individual and systemic biases. Initiate or welcome discussion to recognize and respond to bias. 
• Foster an environment where people with different identities feel welcomed, valued, and safe. 

We’re also interested to know what we can do to support you, our speakers, to make the event inclusive for you, which you can let us know when you register for Summit, or by reaching out to us at speakers@passsummit.com. 

Dates to remember! 

Important note: The Early-Bird deadline is for those interested in being considered for the Community Keynote, Pre-Con sessions, and Learning Pathways. Those not selected as Early-bird picks will still be considered for the main program and will be notified of the final results in June. 

We hope that you’re as excited as we are and will consider submitting a session, or more, for this year’s PASS Data Community Summit Call for Speakers. If you have any questions, or need help with the submission process, make sure to contact us at speakers@passsummit.com.