DataWeekender v3.1 call for speakers ends in seven days

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DataWeekender v3.1 call for speakers ends in seven days. It ends on April 10th, 11:59PM CEST.

You can still submit potential sessions for it by clicking here.

Recap

Just a quick recap for you all. DataWeekender is a free online conference for the Microsoft Data Platform community.

It was the first online Microsoft Data Platform event to appear last year to make up for cancelled or postponed events around Europe.

Because we are so proud of what we achieved last year we are going do it for a third time. Which will make DataWeekender so far, a trilogy.

In reality, we may make some changes this time around. However, our core values relating to inclusiveness and diversity will remain the same.

Women speakers

Personally, I’d like to see more women speakers submit potential sessions for this DataWeekender. Because we are very proud of the gender balance we had at the last DataWeekender. However, it would be great if it was even better this time around.

With this in mind we encourage all women to submit potential sessions. In addition, feel free to encourage any woman speakers you know to submit sessions as well.

You can find the agenda for the last one here.

Variety

Another good thing about DataWeekender is that it covers the entire Microsoft Data Platform. Including technologies such as SQL Server, Power BI, Databricks and Quantum computing.

However, in the past we have had sessions relating to mental health and racial equality as well. So, more sessions like these are also welcome.

We also welcome other sessions that you do not regularly see at Microsoft Data Platform events as well. If you have a session in mind that you think is too different for other events feel free to submit it. Even if you intend to sing about something whilst playing the banjo.

As long as it’s somehow related to the Microsoft Data Platform community we will consider it.

In addition, some of you have seen as well as the regular sixty-minute session format we also have a new session format you can choose this year. It’s where you present a sixty-minute session based solely on one slide. It’s been a popular format so far. However, we’d love to see more sessions based on this idea as well.

Token of appreciation

Because we appreciate every single person who takes time out to speak at DataWeekender, this time around we will be giving speakers another token of appreciation as well as the stickers.

I’m sure some of you will speculate what it is but you will just have to wait and see. All I’m going to say is that I would definitely want it.

Inclusiveness

I did talk about why DataWeekender is an inclusive event in a previous post here. However, that was to cover the fact that the master-slave metaphor was no longer welcome.

In reality, we do a lot more to make sure DataWeekender is an inclusive event. For instance, like other events we have a code of conduct which you can read in detail here.

In reality, we do a lot more than that though. Our vision right from the start was that anybody around the world has the opportunity to speak. In addition, for anybody around the world to attend.

One of the advantages of doing this is that we can reach more members of the Microsoft Data Platform community.

Because it opens up opportunities for people who have not being able to travel to conferences easily in the past to be able to attend from wherever they are in the world. All they need is an internet connection and a half decent device. Whether that be a computer, tablet or even a smartphone.

Since we started DataWeekender, we’ve been thinking of more ways to make the event more inclusive as well.

Example

For example, I previously read the book ‘Effective DevOps’ book that you can download for free from the Microsoft website here.

After reading it I realized a lot of the content was useful in other areas, as well as getting teams to work in a DevOps related way. Due to the fact that it makes you think more about topics like diversity and the language you use. With this in mind, I have been using some of the concepts in this book during DataWeekender discussions.

In reality, at times it’s made me feel like I’ve been doing some rewiring of my brain. In a good way of course. With this in mind I do recommend reading it.

Badges

Even though the main logo has changed again you can still use the original event badge to show your support for DataWeekender. So, you can use this image for things like blog posts.

In addition, you are more than welcome to use this badge as part of your social media picture as if you so wish.

How to register to attend

You can attend the conference by signing up through Meetup using the link here. Previously, we used Microsoft Teams and we probably will again this time around.

Final word

Now you know for sure that DataWeekender v3.1 call for speakers ends in seven days I hope you consider submitting for it if you haven’t already.

Once again, the link to submit sessions is here.

Of course, if you have any comments or queries about this post feel free to reach out to me.