The Call for Proposals for SHARE Pittsburgh (Aug. 16–20) is now open.
If you have practical experience, lessons learned, or innovative ideas to share with the mainframe community, this is your opportunity to make an impact. SHARE conferences are known for their peer‑driven, deeply technical programming, which means competition for session spaces is strong.
Becoming a session presenter offers direct exposure to peers who influence platform strategy, tooling decisions, and operational standards across industries. As a session presenter it is clear to the mainframe community that your experience and insights are valued, further strengthening your presentation skills and professional gravitas. Additionally, you’re sharing your technical knowledge with your peers who are trying to solve the same problems and expand your professional networks to further collaboration and mentorship.
To help your submission rise to the top, here are five proven tips for crafting a standout proposal that aligns with what SHARE reviewers — and attendees — are looking for.
1. Anchor Your Session to SHARE’s Learning Outcomes
Clearly connect your proposal to the stated theme for SHARE Pittsburgh: “Actionable Intelligence for Mainframe Ecosystems.”
Make sure that your session proposal is clearly mapped to specific learning outcomes:
- Modernizing data management and analytics
- Integrating mainframe systems with distributed and cloud environments
- Ensuring high availability and disaster recovery
- Troubleshooting complex system issues
- Optimizing storage and data movement
- Manage workloads and capacity planning
When reviewers can immediately see which problem your session solves and which learning outcome it supports, your proposal becomes easier to evaluate — and more compelling to accept.
Pro tip: Don’t just select a learning outcome in the submission form. Reference it directly in your abstract and explain how attendees will apply what they learn.
2. Focus on the “How,” Not Just the Technology
SHARE audiences are highly technical, but they’re not looking for theory alone. They want real‑world execution. How is something implemented, what went wrong, and what worked in production environments?
Strong proposals move quickly beyond what a tool or approach is and instead emphasize:
- Configuration decisions and tradeoffs
- Integration challenges and workarounds
- Performance impacts and tuning lessons
- Security, resiliency, or recovery considerations
- Measurable outcomes and metrics
Pro Tip: If your proposal reads like a field guide written by someone who has been on the mainframe system at 2 a.m., it’s much more likely to resonate.
3. Be Specific and Avoid “TBD” at All Costs
Reviewers can only score what they can clearly envision. Vague abstracts, generic session descriptions, or “TBD” speakers make it difficult for the program committee to assess quality and relevance.
High‑scoring proposals clearly define:
- The technical problem or scenario
- The environment or context (scale, platform, constraints)
- Who the session is for (system programmers, application owners, architects, etc.)
- What attendees will be able to do differently after the session
Pro Tip: Specificity signals preparation, credibility, and respect for the audience’s time.
4. Keep It Educational — Not Promotional
SHARE is a user‑driven technical conference, and proposals that feel like sales pitches are quickly filtered out. Even vendor‑led sessions must remain educational, objective, and experience‑based.
To keep your proposal on track:
- Minimize product branding and marketing language
- Focus on lessons learned, not feature lists
- Share what didn’t work as well as what did
- Frame tools and technologies as part of a broader solution, not the solution
Pro Tip: Your session should advance community knowledge, not promote a specific offering.
5. Design for Engagement and Peer Learning
The most memorable SHARE sessions don’t feel like lectures. They are collaborative problem‑solving. Proposals that describe how the audience will be actively involved tend to stand out.
Consider incorporating:
- Live demonstrations or walkthroughs
- Audience polling or scenario‑based questions
- Structured Q&A or discussion time
- Practical takeaways attendees can implement immediately
Pro Tip: Even brief engagement elements signal that your session is designed for the SHARE community. Encourage interaction and shared learning.
Ready to Submit?
SHARE Pittsburgh brings together professionals responsible for running, securing, and modernizing the mainframe and its companion systems, software, and applications.
If your session offers actionable intelligence, technical depth, and real‑world experience, it belongs at SHARE Pittsburgh.
Proposals must be submitted through SHARE’s official platform by April 14, with selected speakers notified by June 1. If you’ve been considering presenting, now is the time to share your knowledge in a session that moves the mainframe community forward.
The Conference Education Committee is hard at work planning a great program for the mainframe community. Registration for SHARE Pittsburgh opens in April.