3 #highered conferences to submit your presentation proposal TODAY

The call for proposals for the Higher Ed Content Conference is now closed – and the program is now available.

While it’s too late for the online conference I will be hosting on April 30, 2014, you can (and should) submit a proposal to one (or more) of the 5 3 great higher ed conferences with open calls for proposals (You’re game? Skip the next session to get the list).

Why should you present at higher ed conferences?

Since I’m racing against the clock to get this post published in time, I’m going to quote a blog post I wrote last year to exhort higher ed professionals to submit their 1st conference proposal:

Let’s look at it from your point of view. You might:

• be more interested in spending more time working on your projects than talking about them
• not be sure you have anything interesting to share
• never have presented before
• be too busy to write a conference proposal?

Really?

Well, I’m sure you can find even more excuses.

I did when I declined my first invitation to speak in 2005 (“I have an accent” topped my list of excuses at that time ;-) Fortunately, when Andrew Careaga asked me to come speak at the CASE conference he was chairing in 2006, I had gotten this out of my system (not my accent, though, sorry ;-). And, boy, am I happy I did! I’ve learned a lot over the years working on – and giving – conference presentations.

Speaking at conferences will do a lot for you.

It will help you learn more and meet colleagues with similar interest. It will also look pretty good on your resume when it’s time for the big promotion or the new job!

It’s not too late to present: 5 3 calls for proposals are still open

I’ve recently launched the Guide of Higher Ed Conferences. It’s regularly updated, so you can always know about the next great conferences and their targeted audiences. It uses smart tagging, so it’s super easy to maintain.

After a quick check, I found 5 3 top conferences with open calls for proposals as of Feb 28, 2014. You can get a bit more information about the targeted audiences before you submit your proposals from the following links. The deadline for the call for proposals is in parenthesis for your convenience:

• HighEdWeb Regional Michigan Conference (CFP closes: February 28, 2014)
• HighEdWeb Regional SouthEast Conference (CFP closes: April 3, 2014)
• #PSEWEB Conference (CFP closes: March 16, 2014)
• eduWeb Conference (CFP closes: February 28, 2014)
• HighEdWeb Annual Conference (CFP closes: April 4, 2014)

Please take 1 minute to help your higher ed colleagues

If you attended in the past any of the conferences featured in the 2014 Guide of Higher Ed Conferences, you can help your colleagues make their selection by sharing a quick comment about it on the guide.

Your comments will be VERY useful in the future to help your colleagues working at other institutions make the case and get the budget to attend this conference. The public reviews will remain available beyond this year as I plan to update the content/dates on all conference pages in the guide.

My goal is to offer a a reference and record of all the great feedback about these conferences in a convenient online spot.

Want to help? Take your pick and post a quick comment on your favorite conference!

Please help me help the higher ed community make this happen. Many of you have told me how much 3rd party validation is important when it’s time to fight for a conference budget. :-)