Flink Forward is the conference dedicated to the Apache Flink and stream processing communities.
The conference gathers an international audience of CTOs/CIOs, developers, data architects, data scientists, Apache Flink core committers, and the stream processing community, to share experiences, exchange ideas and knowledge, and receive hands-on training sessions led by Flink experts.
If you have an inspiring story, real-world application, use case, best practice, or compelling vision of the future for Flink, we encourage you to present it to a highly skilled and enthusiastic community. The topics below are guidelines and suggestions for a compelling proposal. We would love to hear your creative ideas at Flink Forward!
The Call for Presentations is now closed.
Topics
Use Case
Stateful stream processing enables users to solve problems that were once considered impossible. "Use Case" sessions describe end-to-end Apache Flink applications. They discuss the real-world problem that was solved by the application and highlight interesting details on the solution.
Bonus points for presentations that are able to quantify the positive impact that an application had on an organization.
Technology Deep Dive
Apache Flink provides simple abstractions for many of the most difficult concepts in stream processing, but let’s face it: sometimes it’s necessary (and just plain fun) to understand what’s happening under the hood.
“Technology Deep-dive” sessions should provide unique insights into Flink internals, sharing not only how a given feature works, but also why it was designed the way it was. This is also an opportunity for those using Flink within academia to share their findings. We'd love to hear about your research projects in this track too!
Ecosystem
Today's data processing infrastructure consists of many different systems of various kinds, including deployment and resource management frameworks, message queues, databases, durable storage systems, and logging and metrics frameworks.
Apache Flink integrates with many of these systems already. However, there are still well-known and widely used system out there, that can help expand the use cases for Flink. Every now and then also new systems with interesting characteristics or better performance appear on the radar. The Ecosystem track hosts talks that go beyond the scope of Flink but share insights on how integrating Flink with other systems can provide value for users.
Operations
Expressing complex business logic in Apache Flink is one thing. Running a stateful stream processing application around the clock is another.
These sessions should provide first-hand insight into operations and best practices for Apache Flink. Sessions detailing both lessons learned the hard way and elegant solutions to unique operational challenges are encouraged.
Community and Industry Impact
Apache Flink has an active and diverse user and contributor base and has a profound impact on the organizations where it is adopted.
This track is for anyone that wants to share experiences beyond writing code. Sessions can include anything from increasing involvement and fostering of open source communities, to how the adoption of real-time data processing revolutionized their enterprise. Experiences and lessons learned as they relate to people and processes are encouraged.
Examples
To give you an idea of what we are looking for, here are just a few examples of selected presentations that were given at previous Flink Forwards:
Duration of Talk (20 mins or 30 mins); presentation times should also include time for Q&A
Experience level that your audience needs (beginner, intermediate, advanced)
Important Dates
Call for Presentations closes on June 28, 2021
All proposers notified by the end of July 2021
Code of Conduct
All participants, including speakers, must follow our Code of Conduct, the core of which is this: a Flink Forward conference should be a safe and productive environment for everyone. Please be sure that your presentation, including all supporting materials and informal commentary, is welcoming and respectful to all participants, regardless of race, gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, national origin, ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation.
Tips For Submitting A Successful Proposal
We’ve prepared some tips for those of you who don’t feel comfortable handing in a paper yet, but feel ready to start sharing your knowledge and experience. Please keep in mind that all speakers must adhere to our Code of Conduct. Please be sure that your presentation, including all supporting materials, is respectful to all participants, regardless of race, gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, national origin, ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation.
Pick a catchy but solid title
All presentations must be noncommercial. Product-related submissions will not be considered
Know your audience. Include keywords that attract the right people and are in line with the main subjects of the conference
Avoid beginning your session description with the phrase, “In this talk I’ll…”. Instead use an initial sentence that connects directly with the paper’s title. A rhetorical question, or an interesting industry data point is also a good way to start your abstract
Be thorough and provide enough information to be able to judge your entry, but don’t be too detailed. Keep your abstract short and concise
Tell us one “story” that is part of the larger picture, so the readers know in which direction you’ll be heading
Pick a topic that excites you and that you care about: your enthusiasm will also inspire the audience
Choose a relevant and original subject. Participants want to see new presentations on innovative applications, actual use cases and best practices
Ask a colleague if the topic sounds like something they’d want to see at a conference
Does your presentation have the participation of a woman, person of color, or member of another group often underrepresented at tech conferences? Diversity is one of the factors we seriously consider when reviewing proposals as we seek to broaden our speaker roster.
Interested in being a partner for the next Flink Forward conference?
