2025 Pittsburgh TechFest

Call for Proposals

Pittsburgh TechFest is a one-day event designed for technologists, developers, and engineers from Southwestern Pennsylvania to convene, explore and elevate. The event will feature keynotes, technical talks, and panel discussions covering a broad range of topics in AI, software development, security, and career growth. The conference aims to provide a platform for learning, networking, and collaboration among professionals.

What you can expect in programming:

• Present Problem – Solution – Impact
• Storytelling with Data
• Live Demo and Discussion
• Engage with Big Ideas
• Interactive Demo, Challenge, or Tech Workshop
• Unconference – take away the structure and engage in an informal exchange of information and ideas between technologists

When: Friday, October 24, 2025
Where: Carnegie Mellon University | Tepper School of Business

Agenda: 8:30am-4:00pm

Call for Proposals is OPEN! The submission deadline is July 10, 2025, and all speakers will be notified of their acceptance on July 17, 2025.

Submit Your Proposal HERE.

Topics are listed below and all development stacks are welcome!

• UX as an Agile Role
• Using AI tools in Business and Development
• Keeping it Human (AI Related Ethics)
• Career Progression and Managing Up
• Home Labs and DIY Tech
• Data Science
• Mapping and Robotics
• Developer Tools for Immediate Use
• Front End Development (HTMX, Angular, React, Svelte, Vue, etc.)
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Engineering
• Personal Privacy and Security
• Social Web (Fediverse)

Keynote Speaker:

Karen Lightman | Executive Director, Safety 21

Karen Lightman is Executive Director of Safety21 and Metro21: Smart Cities Institute at CMU. Karen is an internationally recognized leader in building and supporting communities based on emerging technologies. Karen has expertise with commercializing academic research, building industry-based consortiums and strategically leading teams to explore market-based opportunities. Her diverse background spans the consumer, military, healthcare, manufacturing, and automotive sectors. Karen was once ranked by EETimes as one of the top 25 “Women in Tech” and is in the MSIG/SEMI Hall of Fame. She is a passionate advocate and spokesperson for technology solutions to real-world problems and has held several board positions both locally and nationally.

Schedule:

Thank you to our host sponsor:

Thank you to our sponsors:

Contact Information:
For content or logistics questions: Megan Colf, Director, Event Management, mcolf@pghtech.org
For registration questions: Lauren Lowen, Event Coordinator, llowen@pghtech.org
For sponsorship questions: Ashley Steckel, Vice President of Business Development, asteckel@pghtech.org