The call for sessions for 2026 is now closed

The information below is here for reference only.

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We encourage submissions from anyone with relevant skills, experience or knowledge to share with our community into the art of lean and flow and agile ways of working. 

If you want to submit the best version of your session we recommend...

  • Read our call for sessions information below and see this year's themes. These are not exhaustive so don't be put off if you're session doesn't fit in neatly.
  • Read our guidelines for submitting a proposal for tips on what we like to see and what we don't
  • See last year's programme for examples of how we use your session descriptions and themes

What we're looking for

We want to attract speakers and practitioners working in any area, our participants like to hear a range of perspectives on a subject.

Practical approaches

Our participants love takeaways that can be applied to their own work. This can be by participating in workshops to learn new techniques or case studies of projects demonstrating how you approached a problem.

Authenticity and inspiration

We love speakers who inspire our participants with their real-world experiences. Be bold, teach us something new, make us think, make us smile, but most of all, be yourself.

Fresh perspectives

Participants like a new way of exploring familiar challenges - practical, inspiring sessions that our participants can learn from and engage with.

Topics of Interest: The Age of Disruption

The pace and pressure of today’s world can stretch agile principles thin. While we deal with global uncertainty, the climate crisis, cybersecurity threats, and AI, we need to rethink how we work.
 

We'll explore this in 2026 with our theme 'The Age of Disruption'.

Read our blog to explore the theme in more detail.

Our theme is supposed to inspire you to think broadly on the topic, and the list of themes is not exhaustive. If you have something you think our community needs to hear, please submit it.

  • Rethinking team structures
  • Balancing speed with resilience
  • Building critical thinking into our frameworks
  • Using AI responsibly
  • Planning adaptively
  • Scenario‑based planning
  • Embedding sustainability
  • Prioritising security
  • Strengthening governance
  • Helping teams build broader skills
  • Harnessing AI for insight
  • Tackling legacy challenges

You can also take a look at our archive of past conferences for inspiration.

Our participants like to hear a range of perspectives on any subject. For instance, on transformation you might want to present:

  • a case study on leading transformation
  • a talk about your experience of being part of a transformation programme
  • a group discussion about relationships with stakeholders in transformation 

We want our participants to have an idea of what they will get out of a session before they join it. So it’s essential to think about the clear learning points, or takeaways, your session will offer and include them in your proposal.

Types of Sessions

Our participants want to hear about actions or approaches they can take away and use in their own organisations. 

We encourage interactive sessions that involve the audience in the discussion or give them hands-on experience. You are also welcome to present a session about something specific you've done, but you should try to structure it so people can participate and not simply sit and listen.

Our most common types of sessions are:

  • case studies
  • experience reports
  • talks
  • hands-on workshops
  • informal or format-based discussions 

You can read about these in more detail in our guidelines for submitting a proposal.

We also welcome novel session formats and are supportive of experimental sessions that may never have been tried before. Feel free to contact us if you’d like to discuss it before you submit your proposal.

Want to create a great session submission?

CHECK OUT OUR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Our Participants

Lean Agile Scotland attracts a diverse group of participants. Some are relatively new to agile practices, while others have worked in this sector for many years. Some have very broad experience, while others are specialists in a particular field.

Our participants have specialisms such as:

  • Scrum Master
  • Delivery Manager
  • Developer/Engineer/Architect
  • Product Manager
  • Coach
  • Consultant
  • Project Manager
  • Quality Assurance 

Our participants come from many different industries, including:

  • Technology and IT Services
  • Software and Digital Solutions
  • Consulting and Training
  • Banking and Financial Services
  • E-commerce and Retail
  • Government and Public Sector
  • Media and Entertainment
  • Education
  • Manufacturing and Engineering


Inclusivity and Diversity

We aim to be inclusive and diverse - in terms of our speakers and our participants.

We’re committed to creating a safe space for everyone to share ideas, try something new, get feedback, and engage with a knowledgeable, open-minded audience. We want to ensure participants can connect, network and learn from their industry peers in a positive environment. 

We provide a safe and fun place to share ideas and try something new. Our 'Code of conduct' describes expected behaviour.

Our review process is anonymous - to ensure selection based on merit and not how well a speaker is known. We want to hear your story - the first step is to submit it.

Our Review Process

After the deadline closes, our selection panel will review all submissions. This usually takes around 4 weeks.

The review process is anonymous - all speaker names, biographies and other details are removed - to ensure the panel selects sessions on their merit and not on how well a speaker is known. To help us ensure personally identifying information is not included in the process, do not include this information in your session descriptions. These include links to blogs or recordings.

We’ll let you know the result of our panel’s review, even if you’re not successful this time. If you are interested in receiving any feedback our reviewers have about your proposal, let us know. 

Factors that are considered when reviewing a proposal include whether:

  • the session will align with the conference themes and complement other sessions
  • the subject to be covered is clearly defined
  • the subject will be of interest to the audience
  • the content is of high quality
  • the session will be well organised and well delivered

How we support our speakers

Lean Agile Scotland is organised by Software Acumen, professional conference organisers since 2007.  Our experienced, full-time team is there to ensure you get the most out of participating in the event.

 

Free speaker tickets

We offer at least 1 free ticket to the whole event for each session selected to be in the programme. The number of free tickets will depend on the number of named speakers and the session’s duration. We give:

  • 1 free ticket for a session between 45 and 60 minutes
  • up to 2 free tickets for a 90+ minute session

We allocate free tickets to speakers in the order they are named on the proposal, unless you tell us otherwise. We also offer a discounted ticket for any named speaker who does not qualify for a free ticket.

Your speaker ticket includes:

  • participation in the full event programme, including social activities
  • lunch and refreshments at scheduled breaks
     

Expenses

We cover speakers’ travel and accommodation expenses in line with our speaker expenses policy. We will consider the financial cost of a session as part of our decision on whether to select it for the programme. If we accept your session, we’ll suggest a financial amount to cover expenses, depending on your location. 

See our expenses policy
 

Session Practice

We like to help develop speakers and provide a platform for a range of backgrounds, experience and perspectives. 

This year we will be asking speakers to give a dry run of their sessions before the event takes place, if your session is accepted you will be asked to do this in order to help refine the sessions and be given feedback ahead of time.
 

Supplies

We provide standard supplies for sessions, like sticky notes, markers, pens and paper. We’ll cover the cost of, or supply directly, any additional materials you need to run your session, for example printing (if submitted to us in advance). Just tell us what you need when you submit your proposal.
 

Audiovisual equipment

We provide screens and connections to display material from speakers’ own laptops.
 

Local knowledge

We’ve run conferences in Edinburgh for over 10 years and know the local area well. Contact us if you have any questions about travel or accommodation, or if you want to know more about what to do or see in and around Edinburgh when you visit. You can also check out our location page.

We cover speakers’ travel and accommodation expenses

SEE OUR EXPENSES POLICY

Submit your session

We will be accepting session proposals via 'WeReview', a submission and review platform.

Go to WeReview to submit your session: https://wereviewhq.com/

Need some help?

Read our guidelines for submitting a proposal.

What we expect from our speakers

If your session is included in our programme, there are a few things we need you to agree to as a speaker at Lean Agile Scotland. Do not submit a proposal if you feel you cannot agree to these.

As a speaker you will:

  • abide by our Code of Conduct 
  • promote your session in the build-up to the event
  • deliver your session and otherwise participate in the event
  • respond to any requests we make to ensure your session is ready, such as making sure the review panel’s feedback has been addressed, or reviewing the programme or your slides 
  • avoid any activity before the event that would bring it into disrepute or violate the code of conduct
  • ensure you have the correct visa if you are traveling from outside the UK

Our full terms and conditions are set out in the submission form.