Project management conferences are a fantastic way to meet new people and improve your skills. I always come away feeling energized about where I am in my career and relieved having met people with similar problems to me.
With the global pandemic, all of these live events have looked very different over the past couple years.
Most conferences are back for 2023 but some have gone completely virtual, opening up attendance to people that may not have the ability to travel.
We’ve updated our annual post to reflect what we know is going on right now and into the far future.
If you are looking to attend a project management conference in 2023, chances are there is something happening near you that will be fun and meet your professional goals.
I’ve compiled this extensive list of conferences both local to me in the UK and around the world.
Do you know of an upcoming event to add to the list? Please fill out this form.
PMI Africa Conference: Nairobi, Kenya, 10-12 September 2023
The theme for this year’s PMI Africa conference is The Africa We Want: Together We Can. It is set to be held in person in Nairobi. It will bring together hundreds of project, program, and portfolio managers from around Africa and the world. It will feature opportunities to network and learn.
Bridge 2023: PM & PMO Conference: Vilnius, Lithuania and Online, 21 September 2023
The annual event has a theme of Projectized-Digitized-Connected and will be dedicated to a sustainable way of working this year. This hybrid conference will bring together project management professionals for education and networking.
34th IPMA World Congress: Sevilla, Spain, 21-22 September 2023
The IPMA World Congress is a two-day in-person conference. It will be held in Spain this year, with a full agenda to come.
The Program Committee of the Congress includes more than 30 experts from Europe, Asia, America, and Australia, heads of large companies, leading scientists, and practitioners representing various areas of management, economics, and digital technology.
Arizona Project Management Summit: Tempe, Arizona, USA, 29-30 September 2023
This hybrid conference will take place at Arizona State University and online. The theme is A New Normal: Reimagine Your PM Career for Success. The sessions will be held both in person at Arizona State University and virtually.
October to December 2023
Global Scrum Gathering: Amsterdam, 9-11 October 2023
The Global Scrum Gathering is an all-levels conference. The conference is three full days of keynotes and break-out sessions to learn best practices and creative applications of
Project Summit Business Analyst World: Boston, USA, 16-19 October 2023
The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.
The Boston, MA Summit is the 4th in-person one of the year.
The PMO Leader Global Conference: Virtual, 18 October 2023
The PMO Leader Global Conference will be held on three different regional schedules, APAC, EMEA, and the Americas, with participants able to attend the sessions that work for them and their interests.
This conference is free to attend. Network and learn with other PMO leaders around the world.
Digital PM Summit: Virtual, 23-24 October 2023
The DPM Summit from Bureau of Digital is a really popular event for digital project managers to attend.
It will be held online this year and will bring together project management professionals for workshops, interactive sessions, lightning talks, and breakout sessions. They are celebrating their 11th year this year!
The Future PMO: London, UK, 26 October 2023
The Future PMO is a day devoted to PMO professionals and this year’s theme is The Final Frontier. This is a fun and unique conference that brings together experts across many industries to learn from each other. Network and meet with your peers, attend the keynote and morning sessions, and in the afternoon attend workshop sessions.
Once again, it is being held at the Novotel London West which is just a 3-minute walk from the Hammersmith Underground Station.
PMO Conference UK: Edinburgh, Scotland, 1-2 November 2023
Completely focused on all things PMO, this two-day event features expert speakers, an exhibition with PMO products and services, plus the chance to connect with other professionals in the industry. There is a sister event taking place in London in June.
I’ve spoken at a previous conference about Stakeholder Engagification. My presentation looked at the differences between management and engagement in a project-led environment and provide practical tips for “doing” engagement and encouraging participation through game mechanics. I also did a similar webinar version you can watch here.
I also attended the conference in 2018 and interviewed Geoff Crane. Watch the video below.
Project Summit Business Analyst World: Vancouver, Canada, 13-15 November 2023
The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions, and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.
The Vancouver, BC Summit is being held at the Pinnacle Hotel Habourfront.
Project Summit Business Analyst World: Chicago, USA, 27-29 November 2023
The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.
The Chicago, IL Summit is the 5th in-person one of the year.
Past events
Check out the replays and event write-ups online for these past events. Many of the organizers will also be advertising their next dates now, so have a think about which ones you want to put on your calendar for next year.
Dubai International Project Management Forum: Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, 23-26 January 2023
Entering its eighth year, the Dubai International Project Management Forum is the largest project management event in the region had a theme of Fostering Wellbeing. This learning and networking event brought together over 2,000 project managers.
APM’s Festival of Education and Research: Virtual, 8 Feb 2023
APM’s Festival of Education and Research is a fantastic networking opportunity spanning across both professionals and academics. At this event, APM celebrates project management academia, education and research.
CHG MGMT Summit: Charlotte, NC, USA, 2-4 March 2023
ACMP’s Annual Conference was held in Charlotte this year, and the theme was Reimagining the Customer Experience.
Women in Project Management (WiPM) Summit: Dublin, Ireland, 9 March 2023
The Women in Project Management event has a great list of speakers lined up at this conference at the Convention Centre in Dublin.
PMI Sweden Passion for Projects: Stockholm, Sweden 13-14 March 2023
The PMI Sweden Chapter holds this annual event with inspiring speakers, professional colleagues, and companies in different sectors gathered with the goal of sharing their knowledge and experience in project, portfolio, and program management.
23rd European Pharma & Medtech PPM Conference: Basel, Switzerland, 22-23 March 2023
This PPM conference is focused on Project, Program, and Portfolio Management for Pharma & Biotech. This year’s theme is New Ways of Working, and speakers will be covering the latest innovations. This is a great opportunity for learning and networking.
2023 AIPM National Conference: Sydney, Australia, 24 March 2023
The Australian Institute of Project Management holds an annual conference. The theme is Leading through Disruption, with a focus on the factors driving disruption and how to lead through it.
Project Summit Business Analyst World: Orlando, USA, 3-5 April 2023
The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.
The Orlando, Florida Summit is the first of the year to kick things off.
11th IPMA Research Conference: Nanjing, China, 22-23 April 2023
The theme for the IPMA research conference was is Research Resonating with Project Practice. This will be staged around thematic workshops and round tables, targeting innovations, networking and building trust in the science and project management community.
The host is the International Project Management Association (IPMA) which is a Federation of 72 Member Associations (MAs) worldwide.
Virtual Project Management Symposium: College Park, MD, USA, 20-21 April 2023
This two-day event is hosted by the University of Maryland’s Project Management Center of Excellence. The Project Management Symposium gathers Project Management Professionals from all over the United States and across the globe to discuss trending topics, best practices, case studies, and academic research.
18th American Pharma & Medtech PPM Conference: Philadelphia, PA, USA, 25-26 April 2023
This is the east coast global Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Summit with a focus on Biopharma Portfolio Strategies. This year’s conference is in person over 2 days, planning 30 speakers across 28 case studies of the latest innovations.
Project Challenge: London, UK, 27 April 2023
Project Challenge is an independent event for project, program, and resource management. It’s part exhibition, part conference, held at the QEII Center in Westminster, London, so nice and easy to get to.
I spoke at the event this year, on behalf of Planisware, talking about Managing Multiple Projects.
Project Summit Business Analyst World: Toronto, Canada, 15-18 May 2023
The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.
The Toronto, Ontario Summit is the 2nd of the year.
APM Project Management Conference: Birmingham, UK, 8 June 2023
The APM PM Conference will have a theme of Change Changes and focus on success in a world of uncertainty and complexity. It is set to be held at the Vox and features an opening keynote by Carmel McConnell MBE and a closing keynote by Langley Sharp MBE.
Resource Planning Summit: St. Louis, MO, USA, 11-14 June 2023
This an annual four-day event for industry experts and Resource Planning professionals at all levels. The Resource Planning Summit covers a wide range of topics that appeal to anyone trying to navigate resource capacity vs. demand.
Project Summit Business Analyst World: Washington, USA, 12-14 June 2023
The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.
The Washington, DC Summit is the 3rd of the year.
Agile and Beyond: Detroit, MI, USA, 13-14 June 2023
The Agile and Beyond conference is back again, and it will be in person at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit. This two-day conference, starting with a keynote each day, will have sessions focused on Agility, Software Engineering, and Lean Business.
PMO Conference UK: London, UK, 14-15 June 2023
Completely focused on all things PMO, the two-day PMO Conference features expert speakers, an exhibition with PMO products and services, plus the chance to connect with other professionals in the industry. There is also an event in November taking place in Scotland.
Project Management in Practice: Boston, USA, 23-24 June 2023
Project Management in Practice is once again being held in person at Boston University. Earn up to 12 PDUs and get up to speed on the latest topics in project management.
EVA Performance: Virtual / London, UK, 10-14 July 2023
This year they are currently planning an in-person conference with an online component as well. It will be held at the BCS London office, as well as being presented on Zoom.
The theme EVA Performance is the use of new and emerging technologies.
Agile 2022: Orlando, FL, USA, 24-28 July 2023
Save the date for the Agile Alliance’s annual conference. Learn about latest practices, ideas and strategies and connect with other project managers. They are also offering a parallel conference in Scotland with some shared sessions from Orlando.
PGCS Project and Program Management Symposium: Canberra, Australia, 22-24 August 2023
This is the PGCS Symposium, and this year’s theme is Competent People Craft Project Success. This is advertised as a hybrid event bringing together the foundations of both project and program management working towards delivering successful projects.
Project Delivery Conference: Virtual & Chicago, USA, 13 April 2022
This annual conference is back in 2022 after last year’s hiatus. Hosted by Built Worlds, the Project Delivery Conference hosts leading construction experts to explore innovative technology from preconstruction through to turnover.
PMI Melbourne Conference: Melbourne, Australia, 16 May 2022
This year’s theme is Rebuild & Reconnect and will bring together project managers, program managers, and many others to network and learn. The PMI Melbourne conference is a great way to earn PDUs to maintain your certifications. There will also be a day of masterclasses held on 15 May. The conference ends with an Awards & Gala dinner.
This article first appeared at Rebel’s Guide to Project Management
