Dr Amara Osei
she/her
Principal engineer, reliability
- What incident reviews are actually for Fri 09:30 AM
Better software, built by people who talk to each other
A society for engineers working on reliability, tooling, and the practice of building software.
The society in numbers
Years running
42
First met in 1984
Members
1,240
Across 18 countries
Would attend again
96%
2025 delegate survey
About the society
We exist to raise the standard of engineering practice: through the annual meeting, a programme of workshops run by members, and a quarterly review that publishes work our members would otherwise never write up.
Our members are engineers, researchers and the people who support them, working in industry, in universities, and increasingly alone. Anyone doing the work is welcome, whatever their job title says.
Welcome from the President
Paste the President's address here.
— President
Speakers
Dr Rowan Whitfield
they/them
Research lead
- Workshop: reading a postmortem you did not write Fri 01:30 PM
Kwame Boateng
he/him
Independent consultant
- The migration you started in 2023 Fri 01:30 PM
Priya Raghunathan
she/her
Staff software engineer
- Very large maps, and the people who are not GIS specialists Fri 11:00 AM
Sofia Lindqvist
she/her
Director of engineering
- Four time zones and no handover document Sat 10:00 AM
Tomás Ferreira
he/him
Head of platform
- Saying no gracefully: platform teams and their users Fri 11:00 AM
Programme
Two tracks across the day. Sessions running at the same time are shown together.
Friday, October 2
- 9:15 AM –9:30 AM
Opening remarks
PlenaryMain auditorium
- 9:30 AM –10:30 AM
What incident reviews are actually for
Keynote PlenaryDr Amara Osei
Main auditorium
- 11:00 AM –11:45 AM 2 in parallel
Saying no gracefully: platform teams and their users
Track oneTomás Ferreira
Main auditorium
Very large maps, and the people who are not GIS specialists
Track twoPriya Raghunathan
Seminar room A
- 1:30 PM –3:30 PM 2 in parallel
Workshop: reading a postmortem you did not write
Workshop Track twoDr Rowan Whitfield
Seminar room A
The migration you started in 2023
Track oneKwame Boateng
Main auditorium
Saturday, October 3
- 10:00 AM –10:45 AM
Four time zones and no handover document
PlenarySofia Lindqvist
Main auditorium
- 11:15 AM –12:00 PM
Lightning talks
PlenaryFive minutes each. Sign up at the desk on the morning.
Main auditorium
Tickets
Rates held from last year. Student places are subsidised by the society.
Member
For society members in good standing. Both days, lunch included.
Until 1 Oct
£95.00Non-member
Both days, lunch included. Includes a year of membership.
Until 1 Oct
£165.00Student
Subsidised by the society. Bring your student card on the day.
Until 1 Oct
£25.00Day pass — Friday
The second day only, for people who cannot make Thursday.
Until 1 Oct
£60.00
Prices include VAT. Invoices for institutional payment are available on request.
Rates for 2026
Member rates apply from the day an application is approved.
| Ticket | Member | Non-member | Booking closes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full conference | GBP 210 | GBP 340 | 2 October |
| Day rate | GBP 95 | GBP 150 | 2 October |
| Student | GBP 45 | GBP 70 | 25 September |
| Workshops only | GBP 60 | GBP 90 | 18 September |
| Conference dinner | GBP 55 | GBP 55 | 11 September |
Rates held until the next AGM. Prices include VAT.
Membership
One society, three ways in. Every tier votes on the annual programme.
Student
£30 a year
For anyone in full-time study, including postgraduate researchers.
- Access to all member events
- Conference at the member rate
- Quarterly journal
Most chosen
Full member
£95 a year
For practising engineers and anyone working in the field.
- Everything in Student
- Voting rights at the AGM
- Discounted training days
- Listing in the member directory
Institutional
£450 a year
For teams and departments. Covers up to eight named people.
- Eight named members
- Two free conference places
- On-site training discount
- Invitation to the partners dinner
Rates held until the next AGM.
Call for speakers is open
Twenty-minute talks and half-day workshops. Reviews are double-blind and close on 30 September.
What our members say
I came for one talk and rewrote our whole on-call rota on the flight home. The programme is unusually honest about what does not work.
Rosa Villanueva
Head of Engineering, Meridian Freight
The only conference where I have seen a speaker walk through an outage they handled badly.
Daniel Okafor
SRE, Halden Energy
Small enough that you actually talk to people, big enough that the talks are worth the trip.
Ingrid Sandoval
Platform Lead, Aurora Labs
Our two juniors got more out of the hallway track than a year of internal training.
Marcus Delaney
CTO, Fernwood Systems
Supported by
GitHub
Figma
Linear
Vercel
Gallery
Three days in Lisbon, and the year before that in Porto.
Committee
Elected at the annual general meeting. Terms run three years.
Dr Helena Marsh, PhD
President
Imperial College London
2024–2026
Chairs the standards working group and edits the quarterly review.
Samuel Adeyemi
Hon. Secretary
Newcastle University
2023–2026
Keeps the minutes, the membership roll and everyone else on schedule.
Wei Lin Foo, FCA
Hon. Treasurer
Foo & Partners
2024–2027
Dr Priya Raghunathan
Programme Chair
Lumen Payments
2025–2027
Runs the call for papers and the review panel.
Oskar Lindberg
Ordinary Member
Nordic Rail
2025–2028
Papers
Abstracts, minutes and the forms members ask for most.
Abstracts 2026
Scientific committee
PDF March 2026 · 84 ppAbstracts 2025
Scientific committee
PDF March 2025 · 71 ppAGM minutes 2025
Hon. Secretary
PDF Approved September 2025AGM minutes 2024
Hon. Secretary
PDF Approved September 2024Speaker guidance
Organising committee
PDF 16:9 slidesTravel grant application
Membership subcommittee
PDF Closes 30 June 2026
Papers and minutes
The full programme and the minutes of the last annual general meeting.
Questions
If yours is not here, the secretariat answers email within two working days.
Who can join?
Anyone working in the field, including people who have moved into adjacent roles. Student membership needs proof of enrolment; nothing else requires a sponsor.
When do rates change?
Rates are set at the AGM and hold until the next one. Early conference rates end six weeks before the event.
Can my employer pay?
Yes. Choose institutional membership and we invoice directly — name the finance contact in the application and we will do the rest.
What happens after I apply?
You get an acknowledgement immediately and a decision within ten working days. Membership starts the day it is approved, not the day you applied.
Apply for membership
Applications are reviewed monthly. Membership starts the day it is approved.
Where to find us
The dates and the address, straight from the event.
NorthStar Summit
Two days on reliability, tooling, and the practice of building software.
- When
- Oct 2 – Oct 3, 2026
- Where
- The Assembly Rooms 54 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LR
Getting around
Rooms as they are laid out on the day.
Main auditoriumQuiet roomSeminar room AThe gallery
- Main auditorium Ground
Plenaries and the keynote.
- Quiet room First
No talks, no conversation.
- Seminar room A First
Track two, and the workshops.
- The gallery Ground
Exhibitors, coffee and posters.