From branded gift packages and keynote speakers to muted microphones and glowing laptop screens, conferences have changed a lot in recent times. Online IT conferences have never looked so different, but the restrictions imposed onto us by the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t mean that we can’t appreciate new developments within the industry.
Many conferences and events have moved online, so that we can still hear from professionals within the field to get our software development fix.
So that you don’t continue to miss out on anything during the new year, we have compiled a list of development and design conferences that will be occurring in 2021.
Get your diaries ready!
#1 January 18th-22nd – The Online PHP Conference
This virtual conference starts off with 3 workshops: starting up a new PHP project with modern development tools, Event Storming modelling technique for real life business issues and CQRS architecture patterns.
For the remaining days there will be live coding sessions, discussions and preparing for the new version of PHPUnit. Workshops will run from 9:00am – 16:00pm European time. Examples of workshop titles include ‘Looking at COVID app design: Dos and Don’ts from a Data Protection Perspective’ by Marit Hansen and ‘Patterns for Event Driven Systems’ by Stefan Priebsch.
#2 January 28th-29th – Deep Learning 2.0 Virtual Summit
Frequently described as the 5 in 1 conference experience, it is safe to say that this online conference is jam packed with information. The agenda covers Enterprise in AI, Ethics and Social Responsibility and Generative Models. If you are mad about all things AI, this is definitely the one for you.
With 50 speakers and over 700 attendees, Deep Learning may be the closest you can possibly get to a large gathering during these turbulent times – even if it is via Zoom. Several big name companies frequently attend their events, such as Ford, Nike, The University of Cambridge, Sainsbury’s and Amazon. Well if it’s good enough for them…
#3 February 4th – UX and Product Conference
This conference has an interesting and exciting structure. Speakers come in pairs, beginning with the pitch of an idea from one speaker, followed by a group discussion. This is known as the 1-2 everyone format and is perfect for those of you who love a bit of interaction in your conferences!
As you might have guessed, the conference covers user experience and includes some of the most iconic professionals in the design and development sector.
#4 February 6th-7th – FOSDEM
This free conference is held annually for anyone in the free or open-source software industry. The online event features 400 speakers and around 500 events, so you won’t be short of sessions to attend.
The event aims to encourage developers to share their ideas about software, discuss new issues and collaborate with each other.
Types of events and activities include lightning talks, developer rooms and certification exams. This is not one to miss!
#5 February 17th – DevNexus
This is a conference for professional developers sponsored by the likes of IBM, Microsoft Azure and sonatype. DevNexus aims to create connections between developers and allow professional developers to interact directly with the acclaimed developers within the industry.
#6 February 17th-19th – DeveloperWeek
This is the world’s largest developer conference, with around 8000 attendees. You can dive into the Artificial Intelligence Dev Conference, API & Microservices Conference, or ProductWorld to name a few.
There are also several hackathons throughout the conference, so don’t miss out!
#7 March 4th-5th – UXDX APAC
This conference brings together UX and product developers to discuss how we can build better products. Just one piece of advice that they offer is rather than separating specialities with functional goals, we should have a cross functional team with a mutual delivery goal.
Trusted by brands such as Uber, ASOS and BBC, this is one of the most inspirational online IT conferences. It aims to encourage all developers to take part and succeed together, as a community.
#8 April 12-16th – DrupalCon
Of course, we all know about Drupal and it’s magical properties. Therefore it is no surprise that their conference, DrupalCon provides ‘something amazing, for everyone’. Whether you want to network with other individuals within the development and design community, learn about new developments or train yourself to acquire new skills, DrupalCon will welcome you with open arms.
Their conference is suitable for anyone from a marketing strategist to a software developer.
#9 May 6th – enterPy
The ultimate conference for Python developers. EnterPy covers Python in business, development, products and the web. Get your advice from the best in the industry!
#10 June 17th-19th – SymfonyWorld Online
This conference is perfect for:
- Symfony Developers
- Symfony Newcomers
- PHP Developers
- Drupal Developers
- IT Professionals
This conference consists of workshop days and conference days, covering the latest news about Symfony as well as updates and tools. On the 19th there will be a hack day, which allows everybody and anybody to contribute to Symfony with bug fixes or features. That may be the perfect claim to fame for all developers out there.
#11 July 29th – Conf42: Machine Learning
Share your successes with others at this computer science conference and learn about interesting projects, experiments, papers, practical applications of machine learning and demonstrations.
The fun doesn’t end there! You can also learn about how machine learning is used in games and the arts.
#12 November 1st-4th – EuroStar Software Testing Conference
EuroStar Software testing conference enables the creation of connections, sharing of knowledge and collaboration within the testing community.
They believe that the only thing which grows when you share it is knowledge. We agree with this opinion! Share your issues and you will be more likely to find a solution. Share your successes and you will likely gain more recognition. We are all in this together.
Let’s hope that even more events will be added to our calendars as time goes on!
As you can see, there are plenty of online IT conferences to keep us going throughout what could be another difficult year. Let’s all share our successes, achievements and discoveries to help each other through it. Whether you are a speaker or a participant, we can all contribute to the design and development industry. You can do this by giving support to your favourite tech startup or sharing new techniques that helped you work through tough times. And don’t forget to brush up on web development terms while connecting with like-minded developers, designers and IT experts via social networks for developers and continue sharing your knowledge with others.
The important thing is that we all work together, support each other and help to improve the world of design and development as much as possible.
If you are looking for even more information on design and development, contact us today! Our expert developers and designers have a wealth of experience which can help you create the platform of your dreams.