What happens once I submit?

1. You will receive a confirmation email that your proposal has been submitted.
    
2. You will be able to update your submission up until the CFS deadline of Jun 13, 2023
    
3. Once the CFS closes, you will no longer be able to make edits to your submission.
    
4. A committee will conduct a comprehensive review process of all submissions.
    
5. You will receive an email in late August about the status of your submission.

 

I believe I submitted my session but I did not get a confirmation email, what do I do?

We’d be happy to look into that for you! Please contact us at speakersupport@github.com.

 

What happens when I get notified on the status of my submission?

Anyone who submitted a proposal or is listed as a potential presenter will receive an email in late August letting them know if their session has been accepted or declined. If your session(s) are accepted, congrats! You will receive instructions for next steps at that time and access to the Universe Speaker Resource Center with tasks to complete. If your session is declined, we hope you will consider participating in Universe 2023 as an attendee and submit a proposal again for future years.

 

What are the benefits of speaking at Universe?

There are lots of perks to being a Universe speaker! Here's some of what you can expect:

• Get a complimentary pass to both days of GitHub Universe
• Share your thought leadership with our community of 100 million developers
• Receive a speaker honorarium of up to $750 depending on your involvement with the session
• Travel with ease knowing your flights (excluding business or first class) and hotel are covered
• Gain access to a professional speaker coach
• Keep a record of your session to share once it's live on YouTube

 

Do you have any tips for me on how to write a good submission?

1. Think about your session title as the subject line of an email - keep it short and persuasive. What would get an attendee to add it to their schedule?
    
2. Be specific with your key takeaways. What exactly will someone leave your session knowing that they didn’t know before?
    
3. Have a friend outside of your industry review your content before you submit. They might not understand the technical language but a fresh perspective is always helpful.
    
4. Sessions are intended to be educational, not a sales pitch. Keep that in mind when writing your description.
    
5. When using an acronym, spell out the full word and then include the acronym after in parentheses. Ex: software development lifecycle (SDLC). After the initial mention, you can move forward using just the acronym in your submission. Please do this for any new acronym introduced in your submission.
    
6. Use this document to work on your session prior to submission. You must enter your session information via the online submission form to formally apply to speak at Universe, we will not accept this document as a session submission.
    
7. Reference these examples of session titles & abstracts that performed well at last year’s Universe for inspiration

 

Can I submit more than one session?

Yes! You can submit as many sessions as you’d like until the deadline of June 13, 2023.

 

What happens if I do not have all the information needed to complete my submission?

You will have the ability to change, edit, or withdraw your submission until the June 13 deadline. If you are missing a piece of information, your submission will be saved, and you can log back in at a later time to enter the information prior to June 13. All proposals must be complete to be considered. Any proposals left with a status of “Incomplete” will not be considered for GitHub Universe. Each submission you complete will receive a confirmation email, so if you do not receive one you will know your session is incomplete. The Call for Sessions dashboard will also provide you with a list of submissions tied to your account along with their completion status.

 

Why might my submission not get selected?

1. Content is sales-focused. The content committee is very good at spotting when a submission is overtly trying to sell a product or service. Our attendees are not looking to be pitched a product and we will immediately remove those submissions from the review process.
2. Too many submissions on a similar topic. We receive many submissions, and with a limited number of slots, the content committee must pick the sessions and the presenters they think cover the topic in the most thoughtful way. The content committee seeks diverse thought leaders who provide specific details and examples that differentiate them from other submissions.
3. Incomplete submission. If your submission is not complete or is lacking in detail, it will not be considered. The session title, abstract, and key takeaways portion should be complete and thoughtfully written. If your submission is missing presenters, it will not be approved.
4. Quality & Quantity. The Universe team receives hundreds of proposals and the selection process is competitive! Content is selected based on the quality of the proposal as well as diversity in content. Submit a thorough, interesting, and unique presentation that will provide relevant and thought-provoking information to attendees and that will catch the review committees’ eye!

 

Is this a proposal to keynote?

No. Keynote sessions are curated separately and are not a part of our Call for Sessions process. The proposal you submit will only be considered for a breakout session.

 

What are the different session formats that I can submit for?

General Session (40 minutes): Most of these sessions feature presentations and live demos as well as audience engagement through questions, group discussions, polls, and games.

Panel Discussion (40 minutes): A moderated session with experts sharing best practices, lessons learned, and other insights. A significant portion of the session is dedicated to Q&A and audience engagement.

Fireside Chat (40 minutes): Similar to a panel discussion, however, this is a conversation between a moderator and one speaker rather than a group of experts. 

Product Demo (25 minutes): A presentation focused on tips, tricks, and best practices for working in a specific product.

 

How long is each session type?

General sessions, panel discussions, and fireside chats will be 40 minutes. We recommend 30-35 minutes of content and 5-10 minutes of Q&A (or incorporating audience participation throughout the session). Product demos will be 25 minutes.

 

What are the different tracks that I can submit for?

AI: From chatbots to coding assistants and so much more, AI has transformed how we work. It frees us from the toil of boilerplate and allows us to be our most productive, creative, and happy selves. Developers are coding faster than ever before, closing skill gaps more efficiently, and finding their work more satisfying. The next frontier in the development of AI is happening now and we want to hear from experts and practical leaders on the impacts of AI on developers and organizations, issues of trust, and where they see AI headed next.

Security: Security is integral to every stage of the software development cycle. This means protecting your software supply chain from dependency-based vulnerabilities, using AI-powered and proactive security features to prevent and fix vulnerabilities in your own code, and understanding the latest compliance standards, threats, and research. If this is your area of expertise, we invite you to share your knowledge with our attendees.

Developer experience: What does developer experience mean to you? Less friction, more productivity? Finding more time for creativity, collaboration, and innovation? How do you stay in the flow? How do you leverage GitHub’s platform and features? We are looking for industry experts and impactful practitioners who are driving collaboration, simplifying tech stacks, reducing onboarding times, and prioritizing developer-first security for the betterment of their teams, their customers, their careers, and their communities.

 

Can I submit a presentation on behalf of someone else?

Yes, however, that person must be aware of and approve your submission. If your session is accepted and it is discovered the presenter was not aware, the session will be canceled, and you will not have the opportunity to submit another session in its place.

 

Am I allowed to have co-presenters? If so, how many?

Yes. For general breakout sessions, you can have up to two presenters. For a fireside chat, you can have one moderator and one panelist. For a panel discussion, the limit is one moderator and up to three panelists.

 

Is consenting to a speaker agreement a requirement in order to speak at Universe?

Yes. All accepted presenters are required to review and agree to the speaker release form.

 

If accepted, will I be delivering my presentation in-person or virtually?

The majority of session content will be delivered at the in-person event. If there are any ancillary materials (demos, etc.) that need to be pre-recorded, we will work with you to produce that content.

 

If accepted, when will I find out the date and time of my session?

We will be notifying speakers of their session schedule in early October 2023. We ask that if your session is accepted, you plan to attend Universe for the entirety of the event (November 8-9).

 

Will the event offer presenter training opportunities for speakers?

Yes, we will provide complimentary access to a professional speaker coach. You will be able to book time with this coach to both aid in storyboarding your content as well as to practice delivering your presentation. We also recommend checking out the apps Speeko and Yoodli if you are looking for additional public speaking resources.

 

Will I be reimbursed for travel and is there an honorarium?

Yes to both! Hotel nights will be included as part of the hotel block at the conference hotel. If you need to fly to the event, we will cover that ticket (excluding business or first class tickets). In addition to travel expenses, we will provide an honorarium of up to $750 depending on your level of participation in the session. You will also have the option to waive your honorarium and have it donated to a cause important to you instead. Please note: GitHub employees are not eligible for an honorarium.

 

Is diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging a priority for GitHub Universe?

Yes. The GitHub events team does everything possible to ensure that we are:
 

• Looking for opportunities to elevate voices and perspectives from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and regions with our speaker outreach and selection.
   
• Approaching and encouraging participation from speakers identifying as members of underrepresented or historically excluded communities in technology.
   
• Approaching professionals and members of our community who conduct themselves in accordance with GitHub’s event and community code of conduct.
   
• Supporting our speakers and spokespeople in preparing high-value content for our events.
   
• Providing financial support to speakers in the forms of an honorarium and travel to make it possible for everyone to participate.

 

What is the GitHub team doing to ensure the event is accessible for both speakers and attendees?

We are taking all of the latest standards into consideration, both as we design the website and build out the in-person experience. GitHub Universe has taken the following steps:
 

1. GitHubuniverse.com has gone through site accessibility review.
    
2. All speakers will be provided with accessibility guidelines for presentations.
    
3. Closed captioning is available for all livestream and on demand content.
    
4. Live audio translation in Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Russian, Mandarin, and Japanese will be available for the main livestream.
    
5. Space will be provided in the agenda for taking a break from deep engagement and for finding a place of focus for your work.
    
6. We collect any accessibility accommodation requests during the registration process and during the CFS process.
    
7. After registration, requests can also be made or updated in your attendee profile.
    

If you have any additional questions regarding accessibility accommodations, please email us at events@github.com.

 

I have another question that wasn’t addressed here. Who do I contact?

Happy to help! Please contact us at speakersupport@github.com.