Program
Our call for proposals for talks will come later in the year. Right now, though, you can apply to run a PyCon AU Specialist Track! Submissions for Specialist Track proposals will close on the 10th of May, 2025.
Specialist Track Call for Proposals
PyCon AU 2025 will run in Melbourne from the 12th to 16th of September, 2025. We are looking for expressions of interest from people willing to run specialist tracks!
Specialist tracks run on the Friday of PyCon AU. This year, that will be Friday 12th September, 2025. Each track is centred around a central theme, with a schedule selected by independent organisers.
In 2024, we had tracks on:
In 2025, we have space for three specialist tracks.
Our specialist track organisers always do an amazing job, but we want to provide our attendees with the most awesome experience possible, and we believe that means opening the doors to potential new ideas. We want to hear from our previous specialist track organisers and others with similar experience, as well as people keen to get started in conference organising. We’d love to see submissions for tracks we’ve had in the past as well new suggestions for tracks we could feature.
Examples of other ideas for specialist tracks include:
- DjangoCon
- Something specialised within tech trends & recent innovations, for example Artificial Intelligence
- Information security/cybersecurity
- APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)
If you’ve run a specialist track before, we encourage you to submit ideas again and also to invite new faces as co-organisers. Succession planning and new ideas are always welcome.
What to expect when you’re expect(ed to run a specialist track)
PyCon AU runs an integrated Call For Proposals (CFP), where speakers can submit to both the main conference and to the specialist tracks through the same process.
As a specialist track organiser, you will promote the CFP, and help us make sure that the CFP makes its way in front of as many people as possible - including all the ones that you want to have on your track’s stage.
Once the CFP closes, you will participate in the CFP review process, where you’ll need to review all talks submitted to your track, and may (but don’t need to) review talks submitted to the main conference and other tracks too.
You will then select and plan your program, in consultation with the core team and other track organisers. Talks can be moved between the tracks (and the main conference) as needed, after discussion with the presenter, core team, and relevant track organisers.
On the day, you will be the face of your specialist track. You will present opening and closing remarks, introduce speakers, and moderate questions. All of this will happen with the support of the conference and AV volunteers.
All of the other infrastructure (venue, catering, ticketing, marketing, scheduling, sponsorship, AV, volunteers, and all those other fun things) will be handled by the PyCon AU core team. You will be working closely with us, so that we can all make sure your plans turn into reality. (Sadly, this sometimes means we have to say “no”, but hopefully not too often!)
If you’ve got an idea that doesn’t follow the “standard” track-of-talks format, please let us know! We’d love to try new and interesting ideas. As noted above, we’ll need to work together to make sure they’re doable, and that the day runs as smoothly as possible.
It is also important to note that as a specialist track organiser, you’ll be a part of the team working to make the conference happen, and one of the public faces of the conference. This means that we need to be able to trust that you’ll not only follow the code of conduct, but provide a model for the best behaviours we all wish to see in each other.
How to apply
To propose a track, please email us at program@pycon.org.au before the end of Saturday, the 10th of May, 2025 anywhere on earth (UTC−12), and provide us the following information:
- What is the focus of the track?
- Who will be running the track (including contact details)? You must have at least two organisers.
- If you want to get involved but don’t have a co-organiser: we can’t accept a formal proposal from one person, but email us anyway and we’ll do our best to put you in touch with someone.
- Will you follow a “normal” track-of-talks structure, or a different structure?
- Do you need any support from the PyCon AU committee, outside what you outlined above?
We’ll acknowledge your proposal as soon as possible once we receive it. We’ll be in touch if we have any further questions or need any clarification.
(Anywhere on earth means that this CFP is still open while the current date is the 10th of May, 2025 in any time zone.)