☃️ January events
1. YouX by User Interviews
- When: Jan 26, 2023
- Where: Online
- Good for: User researchers, ReOps managers, and other folks in the UX community
- ⭐️ Hosted by User Interviews!
Our first-ever virtual conference is rapidly approaching on January 26th. YouX is dedicated to connecting self and community through research, providing lessons from other research professionals and best practices for creating a healthy work environment in research.
At the inaugural YouX Conference, we’ll discuss several obstacles people who do research are facing today, including:
- Best practices for wellness and stress management
- Reframing imposter syndrome
- Navigating mentorship and coaching
- Building healthy teams through democratization
This year, YouX will feature speakers from User Interviews, Google, User Research Academy, and more.
💥 Register for YouX today!
- When: Jan 21–27; Feb 11–24; Mar 13–24
- Where: Online
- Good for: User researchers and designers
You’re probably already familiar with NN/g, the world-leading organization for user experience research. Their live, Virtual UX Conference offers training courses with industry experts, hands-on practice with collaborative exercises, and networking opportunities in the NN/g UX Slack community.
Each UX Conference offers a variety of courses for UX design, research, and management, and these courses are eligible for credits toward the UX Certification.
Here’s what Ian Anderson of the European Commission in Brussels said about the UX Conference:
“At the NN/g seminar, it is like letting a breath of fresh air into your head. My conference notes look like an action plan for what to do when I get back to my desk.”
💕 February events
- When: Feb 21; May TBD; July TBD; Oct TBD
- Where: Online
- Good for: Product designers and managers
Product School is a global leader in Product Management training with a community of 1,000,000+ product professionals. They host ProductCon, the world’s largest product management conference, four times a year.
The conference features a mix of keynotes, breakout sessions, and panel discussions providing actionable insights into all aspects of developing products that users love. The 2022 ProductCon agenda includes topics like the future of product management, how to build diverse product teams, leading through times of crisis, and more.
Here’s what Maryam Shittu, Senior Product Manager at TD Bank, had to say about a previous ProductCon event:
“I attended #ProductCon in NYC to hear top industry veterans speak about the future of Product. The incredible speakers covered several topics including advancement in machine learning, the future of product personalization, building habit-forming products, purpose-driven products, product research techniques, and so much more.“
- When: Feb 15–16
- Where: Online
- Good for: UX researchers
The virtual UX360 Research Summit is organized for UX researchers by the Merlien Institute. With presentations from top UX researchers, interactive panel discussions, and 1–1 networking meetings, it showcases the latest in UX research.
UX360 sessions include topics like creating a culture of constant learning, inclusivity in UX design, upskilling your way to a successful UX research career, and more.
Other events in February:
🌱 March events
- When: Mar 27–29
- Where: Online
- Good for: UX researchers
- ⭐️ Sponsored by User Interviews!
Rosenfeld Media is a highly trusted resource for those interested in user experience research and design. Their annual Advancing Research Conference offers diverse, high-quality presentations and workshops designed by experts in user research, as well as fun networking events and a conference Slack workspace.
Here’s what Susan Mercer, Senior Manager of Research & Usability at TripAdvisor had to say about the Advancing Research Conference:
“I’m super-psyched for this conference because Rosenfeld Media thoughtfully curates its programs to answer the most pressing questions, provides diverse opinions, and coaches speakers so that the presentations are of high quality. I know I will leave with several burning questions that will drive me forward to conducting better research, and I’m aware of no other conferences at this level.”
- When: Mar 8–9
- Where: Washington D.C.
- Good for: UX researchers
Like the UX360 Research Summit, the QUAL360 global in-person conference is organized for UX researchers by the Merlien Institute. With presentations from top UX researchers, interactive panel discussions, and 1–1 networking meetings, each event showcases the latest in UX research and design.
QUAL360 is held in person in North America, Europe, and the APAC region throughout the year and covers a wide range of topics related to qualitative market research. We’ve listed each regional event as a separate entry in the database, so filter by your region to find the one closest to you.
Here’s what a Director of Consumer and Market Insights said about a previous QUAL360 conference:
“You don’t walk away from every conference hearing something new. The speakers at Qual360 spoke about truly relevant topics and started me to think about how I could apply these hearings in my role.”
Other events in March:
☔️ April events
- When: Apr 17–19
- Where: Hybrid—online and in-person (Europe)
- Good for: UX researchers
UXInsight is an international organization dedicated to UX research and Europe’s first and largest UX community. Their annual UXInsight Festival attracts UX researchers from all over the world to discuss trends in UX research, case studies, emerging methods and technologies, research maturity, and more.
Each year, the conference centers around a different theme. This year’s theme covers different perspectives on UX research growth—including personal growth for UX professionals, growth in the UX field, and growth in the UX community. Past themes have included learning by failing, creativity in research, and UX research maturity.
Here’s what one 2020 UXInsight speaker had to say about the Festival:
"The organizing committee pays special attention to emerging and interesting topics, and are keen on embracing new ways of looking at both new and existing problems. Many thanks to the organizers for curating an environment that is open, curious and collaborative!"
- When: Apr 25–26
- Where: Online
- Good for: Anyone and everyone in UX
UX Live is an annual UX event coordinated by Tech Circus, an independent company that produces educational events for the digital design, product, and UX community. It provides opportunities for networking with fellow UX professionals, interactive learning experiences, Q&As and presentations by industry experts, and on-demand access to conference recordings and materials post-event.
This event is great for anyone and everyone interested in the UX field, with a varied speaker line-up of user researchers, UX designers, product managers, content strategists, and leadership coaches.
This year, UX Live will occur on the second and third days of a full, virtual Product Design Conference week hosted by Tech Circus.
Here’s what Jenny Grove, UX Research Lead at Google, said about the UX Live Conference:
“The Global Experience Summit provided a great forum for meeting and learning from interesting people active in UX business, academia, and public services in the UK and beyond. Highly recommend!”
Other events in April:
🌸 May events
- When: May 9–10
- Where: Online
- Good for: Female product managers and executives
Women in Product is a global community with the goal of inspiring, educating, and connecting women in the product field while advocating for a more diverse workplace. Their annual conference offers interactive sessions, 1–1 networking, access to post-event recordings, and more.
Previous sessions have covered topics like the intersection between product management and AI, embracing diversity and inclusion, and how the tech industry can influence large-scale social change.
Here’s what a previous Women in Product attendee had to say about the event:
“The mix of career, leadership, and deeper product content made this conference extremely valuable.”
Other events in May:
☀️ June events
- When: June 20–22
- Where: Austin, TX
- Good for: Anyone and everyone interested in UX
User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) is an international organization that supports people who research, design, and evaluate the user experience of products and services. Their annual conference brings together UX professionals from all over the world to discuss new and important UX topics.
The conference format consists of short talks, panel discussions, Q&A sessions, and more. In the past, topics have included things like gaining buy-in for UX requests, fostering psychological safety on your teams, and journey mapping tools and techniques.
Here’s what Luana Ramcharran, a speaker and attendee at UXPA 2021, said about the event:
"That's a wrap on UXPA2021! Thank you so much to UXPA International for the opportunity to do my first UX conference talk on design workshops into agile execution. It was great sharing a playbook on this process with UX design peers and hearing from some incredibly talented folks throughout this experience. Looking forward to attending the next conference!"
- When: June 6–8
- Where: Virtual
- Good for: User researchers
UXRConf 2023 was built by Learners with the goal of celebrating and advancing UX research. The 3-day event attracts thousands of researchers from over 60 countries.
Past talks have included topics like: Coaching the researchers of tomorrow, how colorblind user research produces racist design, setting up a research repository that will actually be useful to your team, and strategies for better quant-and-qual collaborations. You can view past talk recordings on Learners.
Here’s what a previous attendee had to say about the conference:
“This was one of the best conferences I’ve taken part in. Well produced. Great content. Good vibe. Positive but not syrupy. Also loved the critical voices. Important to challenge norms and move beyond the status quo.”
📣 P.S.—Learners is still accepting speaker applications for this event! Applications are open until Monday Feb. 27 @ 11:59pm EST. Apply to speak here.
- When: TBD (typically in June)
- Where: TBD (typically hybrid)
- Good for: Research operations professionals
- ⭐️ Sponsored by User Interviews!
ReOpsConf is the first-ever conference hosted by the ResearchOps Community, providing a full day of learning and growth dedicated to the field of Research Operations. Now in its second year, the ReOpsConf is held online and in-person to support the global ReOps community. User Interviews is proud to be the presenting sponsor of ReOpsConf!
Past talks have covered topics such as ReOps metrics to benchmark your progress, the right way to use research repositories, pathways to a career in Research Ops, and more.
Other events in June:
🎆 July events
- When: July 11–14
- Where: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Good for: Product designers, service designers, and business strategists
Service Design Days is a cross-disciplinary conference for professionals involved in product and service innovation, organizational transformation, and value creation through design. By bringing together business and design, the event’s organizers hope to challenge and inspire attendees to innovate in a design-led way.
The multi-day event offers both live and digital masterclasses, case studies, workshops, and networking opportunities. In previous years, the event’s theme has centered on staying fit for the future, delivering value, adapting to change, and more.
Other events in July:
🍉 August events
🍂 September events
- When: Sept 26
- Where: Hybrid—online and in-person
- Good for: Interaction designers and researchers
World Interaction Design Day is an annual interactive design conference presented in partnership with Adobe XD and the Interaction Design Association (IxDA). Taking place in September every year, the conference offers presentations, workshops, and design showcases focused on celebrating and elevating the work of interaction designers.
Past workshops have covered topics like ethical and inclusive design, measuring and communicating the value of UX, culture and sustainable product development, and more.
Here’s what one UX researcher had to say about the 2019 World Interaction Design Day Event:
"Thoroughly enjoyed World Interaction Day in Bos thanks to the Ladies That UX Bos, Women Talk Design, and Car Gurus team. The speaker selection was impeccable - I learned so much from each lightning talk and the panel on how I can build trust and protect the users I build products for."
- When: Sept 11–13, 2023
- Where: Boulder, CO
- Good for: UX researchers, designers, and product professionals
UX STRAT brings together experienced design and product professionals from around the world to discuss trends and best practices in product design strategy. Because UX STRAT is offered online and in-person in the United States, Europe, and Asia, attendees have control over their experience and can participate no matter their location or comfort level with in-person events.
Previous UX STRAT sessions have covered topics like the current state of strategic design, frameworks for mixed methods product design research, designing for human-centered AI, and more. You can view highlight reels from past presentations here or view presentation slides here.
Other events in September:
🎃 October events
- When: Oct 7–10
- Where: Chicago, IL
- Good for: Ethnographers and researchers
EPIC People is a nonprofit membership organization, global community, and annual conference that supports the professional development, learning, and leadership of people who practice and promote ethnography. Their annual conference offers tools, skills, and expertise to advance the value of ethnography in business and help ethnographers grow their careers.
This year, EPIC2023’s theme is “friction.” As EPIC2023 co-chairs Marta Cuciurean-Zapan and Evan Hanover say in their announcement:
“We experience friction everyday as researchers, designers, teachers, students, UXers and more...as people. To do good work and to function in our organizations, and to advance specific insights and innovations to the larger context of organizational strategy. This also happens in the specifics, in how ethnographic and other research knowledge surfaces the tensions and the tradeoffs of specific decisions about which products, services, and features to develop and why. For those of us working in systems and strategy, it emerges in the choices that are made in what to invest in, whether it is a research initiative, a portfolio choice, or standing up a new team.”
- When: TBD (typically in Oct)
- Where: Virtual
- Good for: UX researchers, product people, and designers
DiscoConf by Maze is a new conference which offers a journey into discovery, design, product, and research. It’s an all-virtual conference by design, welcoming folks from a global community.
Last year’s talks at DiscoConf cover topics like:
- The Art and Science of Asking Questions
- How to Spot Opportunities for High Impact Research
- Creating Equitable Futures in Design
- Product Research, from Insights to Code
… and more!
Other events in October:
🦃 November events
👋 Happy event planning!
Hopefully, you’ve spotted a handful of events on this list that you’re excited about for the coming year—but if you can only attend one, I hope you join myself and other people who do research at YouX, User Interviews’s inaugural online event.
YouX is coming up soon on January 26th, so register now.
👩💻 Looking for more ways to learn?
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