GitHub Universe 2026 Opens Call for Speakers with May 1 Deadline

GitHub has opened speaker submissions for Universe 2026, its flagship developer conference returning to Fort Mason Center in San Francisco on October 28-29. The deadline for proposals and speaker nominations is May 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

The Microsoft-owned platform is soliciting sessions across three formats this year: demo-style presentations including product showcases and a new "Ship & Tell" format aimed at startup founders, thought leadership tracks featuring breakout sessions and panels, and interactive workshops where attendees build alongside presenters.

Ship & Tell represents a notable addition for 2026. The format targets builders who want to share scaling stories—what shipped, what broke, what worked—rather than polished product demos. It's a recognition that failure narratives often teach more than success stories.

GitHub highlighted several past sessions as examples of what resonates with Universe audiences. A 2025 talk by Pillippa Pérez Pons framed Git troubleshooting through a "cat's nine lives" metaphor, covering sparse checkouts, partial clones, and reflog recovery techniques. Another session cast CI/CD security as a fantasy quest, with "ancient scripts" as monsters and supply chain vulnerabilities as dragons.

Martin Woodward's 2025 keynote challenged conventional productivity metrics, arguing that the shrinking gap between idea and shipped product demands a shift in how developers think about experimentation. "If you can dream it, you can build it," he told attendees.

The 2024 conference featured a Kubernetes security session delivered entirely through tabletop RPG roleplay, and a cinematic "mission briefing" on GitHub Copilot's AI-powered security remediation tools.

For those submitting proposals, GitHub's guidance emphasizes combining genuine engineering lessons with distinctive presentation styles. Sessions that simply rehash documentation rarely make the cut. The selection committee looks for speakers with a clear point of view and willingness to show personality.

Prospective speakers can submit proposals or nominate others through GitHub's submission portal. The company's guide breaks down content tracks, session types, and what distinguishes strong applications from the pile.