| Proposal Submission Period | April 3, 2023 - May 9, 2023 |
| Proposal Notification | Mid-July 2023 |
| Conference Dates | February 7-9, 2024 |
Please review the important information below to ensure you meet the proposal requirements.
Proposal Types
There are six (6) proposal types: Active Learning Session, Byte-Size Learning Session, Classroom Session, Hands-On Learning, On-Demand and Panel.
- Active Learning Session - These are 60-minute interactive sessions. Attendees will participate in conversations, activities, and experiential learning in real time to gain practical knowledge and ideas. These are NOT lecture driven.
- Byte-Size Learning Session - Less formal, hyper focused sessions that are 30-45 minutes in length consisting of facilitated conversations with subject-matter experts and attendees.
- Classroom Session - These 60-minute sessions should provide knowledge that can be applied immediately. It can be delivered individually or with up to two co-presenters.
- Hands-On-Learning - These are 90-minute computer-based learning labs Ideally, attendees will leave with practical applications they can utilize back on the job. Attendees will be asked to bring their own device. You will be required to outline the necessary specifications and requirements for attendees to successfully complete this session.
- On-Demand - These are pre-recorded education sessions available at any time throughout the duration of the conference.
- Panel - These consist of a moderator and up to 4 panelists. You MUST provide all panelists' names and information in the submission in order to be considered. Omission of any panelist will disqualify the submission.
Session Development
ATD education sessions are learning experiences first and foremost, and as such must be noncommercial in content and delivery. Your primary goal should be the attendees learning experience rather than a showcase for your ideas, products, and services. You will gain exposure for those things by providing something tangible for participants to take away. The more you can put yourself in their place in developing your session, the better your chances will be of being selected and of receiving good evaluations from participants.
When developing your session, make sure the content is informative and relevant, with clear and immediate application to the learner's work. Be sure the content corresponds with the applications to the job. Consider including interactive and/or hands-on methods to support learning within the conference session framework.
Proposal Submission Fields
There are several required fields that must be completed before submitting a proposal. These fields include: Session Title, Speaker(s), Description/Abstract, Application on the Job, Session Description, Tracks/Target Audience/Attendee Level. Be prepared to enter information into each field. Please review the Proposal Template and information below for details on the fields.
Session Descriptions
We require two types of session descriptions. The first description is the Abstract Description and is used for internal review use only. It should explain the basic background on your subject matter/topic, what you will discuss in your session and what prerequisite would be needed to attend. This description should be written so the selection committee can understand exactly what will be delivered to attendees. The second description, Session Description, designed to be a short description of your session that, IF SELECTED, would be used for the publicly facing program guide, app, website and any potential marketing pieces. Please consider the impact this requirement has, and you should NOT simply repeat what you entered Abstract Description. Think of this area in terms of what would encourage an attendee to come to the session. Text is limited to 750 characters, so please be succinct.
Please write both descriptions clearly and concisely making sure to include all necessary information. The focus of the descriptions should be on the content that will be delivered, not an editorial on the topic or an advertisement for the speaker or topic. Please write in the second person (you) and avoid references to the speaker and his/her published work by title. Commercial presentations for products or services may be delivered as Exhibitor Solution Sessions. For information on exhibiting and these session opportunities contact your ATD Sales representative.
Application on the Job
Your application on the job should show how the learner will be able to apply your session content back on the job. Session participants evaluate sessions positively or negatively according to how much they can use the information on the job. Begin your application with action words like apply, analyze, develop, examine, assess, evaluate, etc. to ensure your applications are action-oriented statements. You are required to submit at least one Application on the Job and may have up to three. Text is limited to 125 characters for each application.
Tracks and Topics
In order to create a well-rounded conference program and respond to feedback from attendees, ATD has done a significant amount of pre-planning for the conference education program. The topics listed within the tracks are a result of this planning and cover core and current topics, as well as trends.
For your proposal, you are required to select one Track and one Topic within your chosen track.
ATD TechKnowledge Tracks and Topics (PDF)
Target Audience and Attendee Level
The majority of the conference participants are e-learning practitioners with a wide range of experience levels. Please carefully consider the attendee level at which your content is appropriate. The expected attendance for the ATD TechKnowledge® Conference is more than 1,200 participants. For your proposal, please specify up to two target audience groups from this list of options and one attendee level from the list of options.
Honoraria, Travel Expenses & Complimentary Registration
ATD is a nonprofit educational association with a responsibility to its members to carefully manage its resources.
Delivering an education session is done on a voluntary, unpaid basis. Speaker's individual travel and living expenses are at his/her own expense.
ATD provides one complimentary full conference registration per session. Additional session speakers receive a Session ONLY Pass, which will provide admission to their session and to the Expo floor and they may register for the full conference at their own expense.