Why Speak at Data Relay
We’ve opened our 2019 Call for Papers
The Call for Papers for Data Relay 2019 is now open. We’re looking for high quality sessions covering any topic related to the Microsoft Data Platform. If you can think of a topic we’ve either had it or accept it. Over the last couple of tours the topics have included
- SQL Server Data Engine
- Machine Learning
- Azure Data Factory
- R
- Performance Tuning
- Hadoop
- Python
- DevOps
- PowerShell
- Azure Service Bus
So whatever topic you want to talk about, there’s a good chance we’ll be interested in.
While we love our regular speakers we are always looking to welcome new people. Whether you’re new to Data Relay or just new to presenting we welcome you all.
Why should you want to speak at Data Relay?
So why should you speak at Data Relay?
Learning
One of the best ways to dive deep into a technical topic is to write a presentation about it. Whenever I write a presentation, even on a topic I know, I discover a lot more about the intricacies of the topic and writing the demos exposes new pitfalls I’d never thought about
And there’s a good chance you’ll pick up some new knowledge as well. When you have so much Data Platform knowledge in one place, it’s inevitable that you’re going to pick some up, either in sessions or in conversations on the Data Bus
Meeting People
The UK has a great Data Platform community and a good chunk of it comes along to Data Relay. So this is a great opportunity to meet lots of new people and network
Career Development
Lots of employers now want something extra from prospective employees. Showing that you’ve experience of presenting technical content at a national level is a great way to stand out
Fun
Let’s not beat around the bush here. Data Relay is a lot of fun to be involved in. None of use get paid to do it, so there’s got to be some reason we come back every year!
Paying it Forward
Many of us have learnt new things from community events or blog posts that have helped us to get where we are. Now it’s our chance to provide new and update content to the community
We’re here to help
Data Relay is committed to helping new speakers or those stepping up from Usergroup events. Many of the organising committee have years of presenting experience and are members of Speaking Mentors, and want to help you submit. To encourage you to submit we have the following in place
- Mentoring on writing a compelling submission
- Blind session selection to avoid bias
- Code of Conduct to make everyone feel welcome and safe
- Pre event feedback on presentations
- No requirement to do all 5 days, pick those that work for you
- Flexible on schedules, we can work with you to pick slot times
- Transport included between events
And we’re always happy to hear from you if there’s something else that would encourage you to submit. We really do want to make sure we’re presenting the best topics from the best speakers so want to be as inclusive as possible
If you’re still undecided about speaking at Data Relay then please get in touch and we’ll do our best to convince you: