MTF 2024
Call for papers
From Panels to presentations, Manchester Tech festival provides over 200 speaking opportunities to the tech community
Our Call for Papers for MTF2024 is now closed.
Be sure to check back here next year when we open applications for MTF2025!
How to apply
To apply we ask for:
- The proposed title for your talk
- Description of your talk. This should be between 800-1000 characters long (roughly 200 words)
- A biography. This should be between 500-700 characters and outline your past speaking experience and relevant career highlights
- Whether you are happy to sit on a panel. This will not go against you in the evaluation process, it simply helps us to plan the festival!
We will also ask for your personal details including Name, Email, Job Title (Speaker tagline), and the company you work for. These will be used to process your application only.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
Manchester Tech Festival is split into several different tracks, that are showcased across the entire festival. We are looking for presentations in the following core areas:
Leadership, Pathways into Tech, Product, Tech Quality, Software Engineering, UX, Women in Tech, Tech for Good, Diversity & Inclusion, Neurodiversity in Tech, Start Up Scale Up, Cyber, Data and Cloud & DevOps, LGBTQ+ In Tech
In addition, we welcome applications that cover:
AI, AR, Blockchain & Cyrpto, Digital Transformation, Ecommerce, FinTech, Infosec, Innovation, Machine Learning, Mobile, Pathways into Tech, Product, Recruitment, Retail, Sustainability
Manchester Tech Festival is all about inclusion, whether or not you have spoken publicly before or been on a panel makes no difference to us. We encourage you to submit your ideas if there is something you feel passionate about, you’ve made a discovery or want to share your experience in the tech industry. No idea is a bad idea! All we ask is that you are available on the dates shown above – and mark this clearly in your application using the tick boxes provided.
Each year we receive an extremely high volume of speaking applications. Therefore, we are unable to provide feedback on your application to speak. We will keep your application on file for up to 12 months and will only be in touch with successful applicants.
Manchester Tech Festival is a community project that is funded entirely by sponsorship, we are therefore not able to reimburse expenses associated with speaking. This ensures we can reinvest as much money as possible into making our events the best they can be.
Yes! We know that you may have a lot you want to talk about or expertise in more than one area, that’s why we welcome more than one submission per person. However, due to the number of applications we receive each year, we limit applications to a maximum of three per person.
If this is your first time public speaking or you need a refresh, we’ve got you covered! In the lead up to the event we will be providing support sessions for those who are selected. Further to this, we will provide a briefing session; an opportunity for you to meet your panel members and our moderators before the event takes place, so that by the time the main event is here you’re confident and ready to share your knowledge with the MTF community.
Once you have submitted your application, a minimum of three expert judges will score your application in four main areas:
- Relevance. Is your talk relevant to the categories you have chosen and the attendees of the festival?
- Creativity. Is your talk something new? Is it interesting and will it engage the audience?
- Accuracy. Is your talk factually correct and can the content be substantiated if challenged?
- Easy to understand. Is your talk easy for our audience to understand or is it just too tech heavy?
We will also take into consideration any previous speaking experience, but don’t let this put you off applying if you are new to speaking, we will simply use this to gauge where you would be best placed within the festival if you are selected!
Once your applications are scored, they will be compared with other applications by our entire judging panel. If selected, you will receive an email with an offer to speak at the festival and must confirm this offer to us by the deadline given.
Our judging panel is made up of industry professionals from both our sponsors and our organising board. Our strict process ensures that all of our judging panel members remain impartial throughout the process, and their expertise ensures we have the best talks throughout the festival.