Coalesce 2022: Driving value for the data team and beyond

Creating shared meaning, together

At Coalesce 2020, we defined analytics engineering as a Community. We unpacked data transformation, Kimball, software engineering best practices, and how those all connect to the modern data analyst and data team. We built the foundation for a conference for data practitioners, by data practitioners.

At Coalesce 2021, we learned (along with over 7000 practitioners) that data work, as much as it’s about the code and technology that drives it, is about people. It’s about how we collaborate as data practitioners to solve interesting technical problems; how we build empathy and relationships with our stakeholders; and how we create tools and systems that are built for the people using them. And how we do these things together as a Community.

“A must-attend for my entire team in 2021. Best lineup of talks of any data conference and great energy. It's real conversations about data topics that matter.”

At Coalesce 2022, we’re building upon those learnings to focus on understanding how data practitioners are moving beyond their teams and driving tangible value for their organizations. This 5-day in-person and virtual experience kicks off on October 17th, with the first of more than 100 thoughtfully curated sessions designed to make us rethink how we work within, and beyond our data teams.

Beyond learning, Coalesce is about connecting with people. This year, analytics engineers, data engineers, data analysts, data scientists, executives, and many others are tuning in from 78+ countries and 2300+ companies. Folks will be able to interact online, in-person, or a mix of the two through the Online, New Orleans, and Online+ location offerings.

Hands will be shaked, memes will be shared, things will be learned, and connections will be made. We can’t wait to share what’s happening at Coalesce 2022, and we hope we can see you there.

Give me the good stuff! The TL;DR of Coalesce 2022

For five days, analytics engineering practitioners will be gathering together to focus on learning and sharing the skills, tools, and methods to produce higher leverage and higher impact data work. This year, Coalesce is offering in-person, online, and virtual versions of the conference:

• Coalesce New Orleans (Oct. 17-21, 2022): Join us in NOLA! Live workshops, sessions, a hackathon…we’ll help you take advantage of rare face-to-face time with friends new and old.
• Coalesce Online+ London (Oct. 20, 2022): Calling all folks in EMEA! A special one-day in-person supplement to the online Coalesce experience.
• Coalesce Online+ Sydney (Oct. 21, 2022): For our friends in APAC, a one-day in-person companion to the online Coalesce experience.
• Coalesce Online (Oct. 17-21, 2022): The livestream worth clearing your calendar for. No matter where you are in the world—get the Coalesce experience from the comfort of your home!

At the heart of it all: Practitioner and community-driven knowledge sharing

“Coalesce presentations are just all of us, trying to save each other time that we have spent learning hard things. -Erin Vaughan (dbt Labs)”

At Coalesce 2022, there will be over 100 ecosystem and Community sessions covering a spectrum of concepts, from mind-boggling SQL to the philosophical questions keeping data teams up at night. Below are some of the session themes shaping this year’s Coalesce experience:

• ⚙️Technical Impact: The nitty-gritty technical skills and knowledge that will help you level up your data skills and data stack.
• 🧠 Mindset Shift: New tools invite new modes of thinking and problem solving that challenge our existing ways of working. Keep up with the changes to learn which shifts are paying off and why.
• 🗺️ Navigate Your Career: Strategies and insights for analytics practitioners who are looking for ways to increase their impact.
• ⚡️ Leading Teams: From executive leaders to team leads, learn how individuals and teams are positioning themselves for impact within their organizations.
• 🐣Just Getting Started: Insider perspectives designed to orient and welcome those who are new to analytics engineering.

New to dbt and analytics engineering? A regular commenter in #advice-dbt-for-power-users? Need some help identifying new tools for your data stack? Practitioners are bringing their exciting and novel perspectives and experiences to create sessions for a variety of skill sets, interests, and needs. Below is a peek at some of the sessions:

• ❄️dbt Labs + Snowflake: Why SQL and Python go perfectly well together
• 🎖️dbt Labs and Databricks: Best practices and future roadmap
• 💯dbt_project_evaluator with Grace Goheen (dbt Labs)
• 🤔What does analytics engineering have to do with product experimentation? with Adam Stone (Netlify)
• 🐍Empowering pythonistas with dbt and Snowpark with Eda Johnson (Snowflake)
• ❣️Empathy building in data work with Lorena Vazquez (Wonder)
• 📈Outgrowing a single `dbt run` with Prratek Ramchandani (Vox Media)
• ✍️How not to be a terrible writer with Justin Gage (Amplify Partners)
• 🎨Sculpting data for machine learning with Jigyasa Grover and Rishabh Misra (Twitter)

All the things that make Coalesce, well, Coalesce

Sticking to what we know while expanding our horizons.

💜 Coalesce starts in Slack

This year, while Coalesce attendees have the opportunity to choose between live or virtual events, all sessions start in the dbt Community Slack. Each session is provisioned with its own Slack channel where session attendees can bring the memes, excitement, and knowledge to the shared space.

All sessions have dedicated moderators and guidelines to help you navigate through the comments and experience. Folks are encouraged to bring the energy, questions, and emojis to the chat. Team members from the speaker’s organization will also be directed to the Slack channel after their session ends to help answer questions and engage in thoughtful debate.

After sessions are over, recordings will be available so you can watch them on the schedule that works best for you…and then hop into the Slack channel to join in the conversation and catch the tea 🫖

Whether you’re joining us in London, Sydney, NOLA, or from your living room couch, we look forward to your engagement and participation in Slack!

New product feature announcements and launches

Come join the dbt Labs product team as they release and demo some of the newest product features:

• 💡 The Semantic Layer: An unearthed level of uniformity and governance brought to analytics and a humble reminder that data work is, well, for the people.
• 🤯 Python Models in dbt: The first step to building a more complex DAG and closing the gap between analytics engineers, traditional data teams, and ML/DS.
• 💻 IDE Improvements: Reigniting the connection between analysts and the analytics engineering workflow.

Can’t wait until October to see these product features? Check out the docs on the Semantic Layer, Python models in dbt, and IDE improvements.

Hackathon, workshops, certifications, oh my!

New to Coalesce this year, attendees can expect engaging and informative virtual and in-person learning events happening throughout the week.

• 🧑‍💻 Hackathon: Taking place on the first day of Coalesce New Orleans, join the dbt Labs engineering and product teams as we work through contributing to open source analytics engineering work, together.
• 🤝 Partner Day: Day 1 (1:30 pm - 5pm) at Coalesce New Orleans will have programming for dbt Labs Technology and Consulting Program partners. Partner Day will include in-person breakout sessions, networking events, and other activities. For more information on Partner Day, check out the resources on the Coalesce website or reach out to your partner manager.
• ⚒️ Workshops: dbt Labs team members and Coalesce sponsors will be hosting hands-on and interactive learning workshops throughout the week for New Orleans attendees that will be livestreamed for Online folks.
• 🏋️ Trainings and dbt Certification: The dbt Labs team will be hosting several live trainings for dbt users of all skill levels. For practitioners ready for the challenge, we’ll also be offering an in-person exam for dbt Certification. Databricks and Snowflake will also be hosting training sessions on Day 1 of the conference.

Mingling in the Big Easy 🎷

Attendees at the Coalesce New Orleans can expect a variety of jazzy in-person events. After all, we’re going to be in New Orleans!

• A second line parade to Champion Square
• Sponsor happy hours, networking events, and parties
• An activation hall that takes the typical conference booth to a more meaningful and personal level
• A closing party at Mardi Gras World!
• Not on the official agenda, but…1:1 face time with that Slack name you’ve always wanted to connect with and learn from

Folks at the Coalesce Online+ locations in Sydney and London can also expect in-person networking sessions and live executive keynotes.

Attendee checklist: What you need to know

Is Coalesce 2022 calling your name? Here’s a list of steps you should take to ensure that you’re all set for the big week.

• Register for the conference in the location that works for you. Answer all required questions on the form and click submit to complete your registration. Once you register, you should get an email from Bizzabo with a link to confirm your registration.
• Join the dbt Community Slack. Once you complete the form, you’ll be redirected to a URL that allows you to complete signup. Make sure to join the #coalesce-updates channel for Coalesce news and questions!
• Join the LinkedIn event. Get updates about Coalesce, share the event with your network, and see other attendees in the LinkedIn event.
• Scroll through the conference agenda and discover which sessions you might be interested in attending. Folks will be able to add sessions to their agenda closer to the conference date.
• Follow @coalesceconf on Twitter for news and updates. Make sure to use #dbtCoalesce when posting about the conference on social media!
• Check out the FAQs for any unanswered questions.

If you have additional questions, check out the #coalesce-updates Slack channel (your question may have been asked by someone else already!). If not, drop them in the #coalesce-updates Slack channel, and a dbt Labs teammate will help you as soon as possible.

Looking to the past

“Communities determine what’s exciting and how it gets used, what new practitioners learn, and where investment dollars flow. And in turn, they give participants professional development, a sense of identity, and a way to give back.” - Tristan Handy (dbt Labs)

When Tristan announced the first Coalesce back in 2020, what he reiterated there, and what many of us have come to love about the practice of analytics engineering, is the special Community that exists here.

Just as the dbt Community is a space for anyone who has a love, interest, or passion for analytics work, Coalesce is the space for those people to grow and learn together. We welcome data engineers, purple people, and anyone in-between. Coalesce strives to be a space to lift up voices in the Community and be a platform for sharing knowledge.

Bring your questions, hot takes, and open minds for 5-days of learning and community building. We can’t wait to see you in October.