Theme: BECOMING A SUPER (S)HERO

Every (s)hero has a learning journey

It is no secret that I am really into (s)heroes – I love to read about their sometimes unusual development. Starting a journey with inexperienced (s)heroes and see how they grow into the person they are supposed to be. And every (s)hero faces obstacles like doubting if they are worthy, feeling out of place, struggling with their place in the group or fighting a serious illness.

On top of their own struggles super (s)heroes fight villains, who attacked them for being themselves or for just being on a journey. And while some villains can be fought individually, when those villains grow stronger, super (s)heroes know they need to team up to fight them.

While I’m into reading comics for more than a decade now – it is not the classic super (s)hero stuff I am reading. I prefer graphic novels, which have a start and an end over everlasting stories which always come back to an illusion of change.

My first and still favourite comic is Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman”. I love the change of the character and his vulnerability combined with a wonderful story and a lot of real world anecdotes. A lot of other comics followed, and I enjoyed the endless possibilities provided by the combination of drawn pictures and the storyline. And then I entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and they had me way before the famous “I am Iron Man”.

It was fun to watch and to analyse – until today I cannot name my favourite super (s)hero. The Hulk – what’s not to like about a doctor who turns green when he is angry ;) – or Black Widow – who is so wonderful human in between all the enhancement – or Captain America, whose willingness to fight for others and freedom “all day” gave me an interesting view on leadership.

These characters who were fighting for a cause and still struggling with their personal issues resonated with me – as this is what I realised applies also in other aspects of my life and those of others. Also I really enjoyed the meta-level on why we as a society like to hear about (s)heroes and why we might need so many of them.

Some people don’t like the term “super (s)hero” when talking about everyday humans. They criticise that these are people who set an unreachable standard for others, won’t play along and will foster an unhealthy work environment. This is not what I think about when I talk about real super (s)heroes.

For me super (s)heroes are people who :

– take on responsibility for themselves and if necessary others

– fight villains

– focus on their strengths instead of weaknesses

– set an example for others

– are not ashamed of their vulnerability

– need other super (s)heroes to trust to have their backs and fight on their side

I know a lot of super (s)heroes!

I know people who fight their personal villains every day, who struggle with their place in a group, who take on a lot of responsibilities to make this world a better one. I see them struggle and I see them win those fights! Not all of them and not every day, but they will win eventually and sometimes even in very small steps.

For this conference let us hear about your learning journeys and how you fought a villain. How you focused on your strengths and how it felt? How you mastered a new skill to become a better tester? How you teamed up with other super (s)heroes and what you learned by doing so? When we talk about these topics we might all learn something new and become better super (s)heroes at the end!

Conference chair: Vera Gehlen-Baum

Dr. Vera Gehlen-Baum is TeamLead for QualityLearning and CEO at QualityMinds. She believes that Captain America might be a good role model for leadership – as courage, responsibility and freedom are important values to fight for. When not offered enough food she can sympathize a lot with the Hulk. If she could choose some pets it would be definitely Rocket and Groot. A talking and inventing racoon and a tree – what’s not to love. She did her cosplay as black widow in 2016. Currently her favorite shero is WonderWoman – as she also believes in humanity and supporting other people makes her happy!!

Remember the feeling of watching a talk at a conference and thinking: “I have done something great and revolutionary, too!” or “Hmmm, I would have done that differently”,  ooor “I wonder how it feels like when a room full of people clap at the end of your own talk…” Well, you don’t have to wonder anymore, because you now have the chance to experience it yourself!

We invite you to join us for Romanian Testing Conference 2020, by sharing your experience and thoughts related to this year’s theme “Becoming a super (s)hero. We appreciate proposals from every area of software testing, based on personal experience.

SESSIONS: TALK, WORKSHOP OR TUTORIAL

We are looking for submissions for all 3 types of sessions:

• Talk sessions – 45 minutes including Q&A session.
• Workshop sessions – 2 hours session with 15 minutes break in-between
• Tutorial sessions – 8 hours or full day, hands-on classroom activities. Includes lunch break and 4 coffee breaks.

TOPICS: REVOLUTIONARY, CHALLENGING, NEW, CHANGING

You can chose from a large variety of topics:

• Testing in relatively new technological situations (VR/AR, IoT, drones, oil extraction platforms, medical devices, wearables, etc.)
• Career development in a changing industry
• Challenging the status quo
• Testing beyond what is viewed as “normal” testing
• Testing at the limits of our current understanding – new experiences and techniques
• New testing implementations, new strategies, new challenges

YOU CAN SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL IN TWO WAYS

This year we want to try something bold, something new and we offer you the possibility to apply using Youtube recording. How does that work? Instead of having to write all the details of your session, you can record yourself and send us the link. You’ll still need to write down a couple of contact details, but we promise it’s the bear minimum to help us promote your session. And if you’re talk is selected, we will use the video to help you promote your session. The link below will take you to a Google Form page

SUBMISSION: DEADLINE, CONFIRMATION, PROGRAM

We are currently receiving your papers for submission for Romanian Testing Conference 2020. Please note that submission deadline is November 25th, 2019, midnight (Romanian Time – GMT + 2)

Beside this, below you can find all the other important dates regarding the paper submission and announcements:

• Announcement of call for papers results – December 9th, 2019
• Speaker’s Confirmation deadline – December 16th, 2019
• Official program going live – January 10, 2020

EXPERIENCE: SHARING

• We provide you the opportunity to share your ideas, experiences and challenges to a large internal and international public.

• Learn and inspire others to follow your vision in testing.

• Become a well known speaker and a testing world hero!

COMPENSATION: OPERATIONAL

RTC covers the following:

• • Travel costs in the limits and conditions stated in our travel policy. You’ll get a Flight Booking Assistant that will guide you through the process and help you to hop on your preferred route. He will offer you several options to choose from, and do all reservations for you. Shall you have a frequent flyer that will be taken into consideration when you’ll get your options presented. If the speaker is insisting on purchasing his/her own ticket, we will reimburse the ticket cost in maximum 3 weeks after conference day.
  • We have a maximum travel cap of 500 euros/session for Europe based speakers and one of 800 euros/session for the ones coming from another continents. The amount includes as well the accommodation price. The venue offers special prices for the conference participants (the prices can be found here). The cap includes (bullets 1 to 3).
  • Please note that these expenses are shared if the session is delivered by more than one person. The expenses and rewards will have to be split between the speakers.
  • Hotel accommodation in a 5* hotel (breakfast included) starting with 1 day before your first session (workshop or talk) and to the day after your last session (workshop or talk). We’re not covering the additional costs with the mini-bar and other hotel expenses that might appear, for example extending your stay.
  • Free transfer from Cluj airport to the hotel and the way back in our conference branded cars
  • Gimmicks during the conference: lunches at the conference venue, speakers dinner and other conference related activities
  • Speakers giving a tutorial are rewarded with 500 euros/session – the quantum will be paid within 3 weeks after the conference based on an invoice
  • Free entrance to the conference day
  • 25% discount for workshops for the speakers (requires prior registration and it’s subject to availability)
  • Free entrance to XTestathon
  • Free entrance to RTC Youth

Do you find this mindbugging? We’ve already built a FAQ page to blow away the uncertainties.