Become a speaker, mentor, or judge
Inspire innovation & excellence for the next generation of UXers
What is UX Fest SLO?
UX Fest SLO is a two-weekend festival where Cal Poly students across all education backgrounds can learn and foster their UX skills by creating and collaborating on purposeful projects and technology.
Last Year’s UX Fest SLO
Wow! What was it like??
Weekend One: Saturday, January 13-14th
We provide UX learning opportunities to help students explore the industry and practice their skills!
speaker panels
networking socialsworkshopsWeekend Two: January 20-21st
We host a Designathon competition where teams use what they learned in Weekend One to create an original product and present to a panel of judges!
1) Compete in teams!
2) Design an original app
3) Work with mentors!
4) present to judges
5) Win prizes!
We need YOUR help!
Our mission is to make UX learning accessible by providing practical learning experiences. By inviting industry experts to UX Fest SLO, we aim to empower the UX learning process! We needs industry professionals just like you to join us as speakers, mentors, and judges at our event.
For UX newcomers, taking the first steps can often feel daunting and intimidating. Having the opportunity to learn from seasoned professionals with real-world experience can significantly reduce stress and alleviate overwhelming feelings. Sharing your invaluable insights, expertise, and guidance on all aspects of UX can make a substantial difference in our learning journey.
Speakers
Weekend One: January 13th, 2024
Speakers are responsible for hosting a 1-hour long presentation or workshop on Saturday, January 13th.
As a speaker, you can choose any topic, but our participants have expressed particular interest in the following topics:
UX career advice
Building your portfolio
Figma workshop/tips
Research & user testing
In the past years, we’ve had presentations like “How to build your prototype faster with UI Kits,” and “101 ways to stay alive in a UX Career.”
Speakers also participate in a Q&A panel with other speakers that same Saturday! Questions are usually career-focused.
On Sunday, January 14th, speakers are also invited to network with students and enjoy the fun activities we have planned, such as our UX Fest Carnival with fun activities and games (and possibly goat yoga)!
Weekend One: January 20–21st, 2024
Mentor & Judge
(Note: The Mentor & Judge role is combined, but separate from Speaker.)
The role of Mentors is clear-cut: to mentor. During the Designathon competition on Saturday, January 20th, mentors dedicate 3 hours of office hours to engage with participants, answer their questions, and provide valuable advice on their projects.
Mentors will also be Judges and provide feedback on student prototypes and presentations on Sunday, January 21st. After looking through each team’s submission, Judges chose the top 6 finalists for a live pitching round. After the pitches, judges will select the top 3 winners, announced live!
Compare/Contrast
Do you see yourself more as a Speaker or Mentor & Judge? (Or both!)
Speaker
Mentor & Judge
You can CHOOSE!
You will make a powerful and lasting impact regardless of role!
We understand that this is a big time commitment, which is why you can choose between being either a Speaker (Weekend One) or a Mentor & Judge (Weekend Two)! But we’re happy to have you if you want to do both!
*UX Fest will not be compensating or providing travel and lodging accommodations, but we are extremely grateful for your presence and participation at our event!
