As advertised on their website, the Shift Zadar conference is not only a developer event but also a memorable experience bringing together the best tech minds in the IT industry. And I have to agree with the statement, being able to attend the conference twice already.
The conference is massive! There are a lot of stages and a lot of talks to choose from. Running alongside talks, there are practical workshops one can attend to hone one’s skills. To help attendees network, there are two garden areas where you can meet like-minded people and enjoy complimentary food and drinks.
The conference happens every year in September in Zadar, a beautiful little coastal city in Croatia.
What was Infobip doing there?
Every year, Infobip is one of the main sponsors of the event, which is why I had the opportunity to attend this event. We had our own booth and a speaker (yours truly), which usually makes up for a great opportunity to talk to a lot of developers.
About the event
The speaker line-up was impressive; a lot of well-known names in the tech industry, John Romero, the creator of Doom, being one of them. It was really difficult to choose which talk to go to as there were numerous events happening all at once.
WeAreDevelopers had its own little stage where they had some amazing fireside chats, the Startup stage had a lot of events and talks, and then there were other three main stages with talks! Suffice it to say, no matter if you are a developer, a technical content creator, or a student, your schedule was probably packed to the brim, as everybody could find something for themselves.
I was able to speak to some attendees, speakers, and sponsors to bring you a first-person perspective on the event.
Friendly culture, you learn new things, you meet new people, and you simply have fun.
Bilal, attendee
The user experience of the conference was exceedingly nice. A lot of opportunities to talk to other developers. Well organized, leaving a very positive experience. No unpleasant surprises.
One of the sponsors
From an attendee point of view, outstanding multicultural experience, and well-known speakers who came to share their knowledge from different countries, presenting unique ideas and practices. You get to see and discuss first-hand how people from different cultures solve similar problems.
Devlin, speaker
From a speaker’s point of view, best conference experience so far. I was impressed with the airport pickup and arranged accommodation and the fact we could attend speaker dinners every day, so we could chat with fellow speakers.
It was my first time at Shift, and the conference exceeded my expectations. The venue was impressive, and the event was well organized. I would call it an eastern version of Web Sumit.
Baruch, speaker
A well-organized and well-planned event. Loved the fact that the rooms and stages are clearly divided, which gives it cozy vibes. Organizers are very approachable.
Eddie, speaker
Amazing catering and I am absolutely grateful that everything was organized far in advance, which was a breath of fresh air for a speaker who usually has a very busy schedule.
In conclusion, I am very happy I was able to attend this year’s Shift. As a developer educator, I was able to talk to a lot of developers about developer-oriented documentation, open source, and their views on the docs-as-code approach, which was the topic I chose to talk about on one of the Shift stages.
For those who missed the event, you’ll soon be able to watch the recordings of all talks on the Shift YouTube channel.
Next year’s event is already advertised on the Shift website, so check out the tickets, and hopefully, see you there next year!
