Our List of Data Visualization Conferences in 2021

It’s that time again: to see what data visualization conferences in this shiny new year are really going to be worth your time. It’s also an interesting time to participate, with Covid-19 changing the way we all interact. For the very first time, a huge portion of the annual summits, professional events and conferences we know and love are now accessible right from the comfort of our homes. We’re going virtual, baby! And it means we could be going to a lot more conferences than ever before. The future is here.

DATAcated Conference 2021

VIRTUAL & FREE — February 9th – 11th

This FREE online conference is coming to a computer screen near you – all you need to do is jump on LinkedIn and tune in. Register for the event using the link above. Each speaker is on for a 10 minute ‘lightning’ talk, with live Q&A thereafter. Day 1’s theme is ‘Extracting Business Value from Data’. Day 2’s is Exploring Trends in AI & Machine Learning. And last but absolutely not least is Day 3’s Data Story Telling -The ‘Last Mile’ of Analytics. But if you do miss this, feel free to get in touch for a bespoke workshop on data storytelling and data visualisation or consulting on your needs. We’ll look after you!

Women in Analytics (WIA) Virtual Summit 2021

VIRTUAL & FREE — February 10th – 11th

Running over 2 days and accessible from anywhere in the world, this year’s WIA Summit theme is ‘Analytics Culture’. Complete with a data hackathon, career fair and 8 mini-workshops/tutorials that are included in the ticket price, you can join in on the conversation from 18 presenters and 2 keynotes alongside 1,000 virtual attendees.

Developer Week 2021

VIRTUAL — February 17th – 19th

The world’s largest developer conference and event series: 8,000+ online attendees, 250+ keynotes, workshops, conference sessions, and a 2-day Virtual Expo. With tracks across, AI (Artificial Intelligence), DevOps, IoT (Internet of Things), APIs, New Developer Technologies, BlockChain and much more, this conference also features a hackathon with $100,000 worth of prizes.

ICBDE 2021 – International Conference on Big Data and Education

VIRTUAL (Shenzhen, China) — February 15th – 16th

While the face-to-face in London can’t go ahead, they’re still pushing with a virtual experience, and still based out of London. The ICBDE “aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of Big Data and Digital Innovation”. Check it out on the above link.

ICMLC 2021 – International Conference on Machine Learning and Computing

VIRTUAL (Shenzhen, China) — February 15th – 16th

The 13th International Conference on Machine Learning and Computing is running with an online presentation this year. Attend for all things on the spectrum of machine learning and computing, from data collection, data preparation, model building, training to application deployment and more.

This online machine learning and computing conference is also running along with the workshop, International Conference on Big Data Management 2021 (ICBDM).

IEEE Pacific Visualization 2021

TIANJIN, CHINA (tentative) — April 19th – 22nd

While still tentative due to Covid-19, this event is planned to take place in real life with workshops and tutorial sessions on day one, and its symposium across days two and three. The conference has the objective to “foster greater exchange between visualization researchers and practitioners, and to draw more researchers in the Asia-Pacific region to enter this rapidly growing area of research”.

Chi 2021

VIRTUAL — May 8th – 13th

The ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems is the premier international conference on Human-Computer Interaction. CHI – pronounced ‘kai’ – is a place where researchers and practitioners gather from across the world to discuss the latest in interactive technology. The theme for 2021 is “Making Waves, Combining Strengths”, encouraging both authors and delegates to shake things up and bring on the latest discoveries and advancements.

World Data Summit

VIRTUAL (Amsterdam, Netherlands) — May 19th – 21st

This three-day conference will help to get a better understanding of developing an analytical model for your business and customer growth. Experts will discuss all aspects of data analysis, how to work with unstructured data, how to upgrade data visualisation and interpretability to the next level. You can dig deeper into customer analytics or increase your technical knowledge by choosing a designated workshop day.

EurorVis 2021

Zurich, Switzerland (Or VIRTUAL as hybrid conference) — June 14th – 18th

The 23rd edition of EuroVis will be organized as a hybrid conference, with its physical part taking place in Zurich, Switzerland. The EuroVis 2021 will be hosted by the University of Zurich in collaboration with ETH Zurich. EuroVis is the annual Visualization Conference organized by the Eurographics Working Group on Data Visualization. It has been a Eurographics and IEEE co-supported international visualization symposium held in Europe annually since 1999, as a conference since 2012. Stay tuned on the conference website to find out if the physical location of Zurich goes ahead or if it reverts to a fully virtual conference.

ICCS 2015 (The International Conference on Computational Science)

VIRTUAL (Or hybrid: Krakow, Poland) — June 16th – 18th

More of a science based conference, ICCS offers a chance to see cutting edge visualisations of some of the most complicated systems being attempted. The theme this year is “Computational Science for a Better Future”, highlighting the role of Computational Science in tackling the current challenges of our fast-changing world. There are many elements of the conference focusing on the arts and humanitarian fields as well and this conference is known for its stellar lineup of speakers.

ICCS 2021 will happen in either fully virtual or hybrid (virtual and in-person) mode. Therefore, in any case, all ICCS participants will have the option to present and attend online.

Eyeo Festival

(nothing released just yet – stay tuned!) — usually in June

Check out last year’s details here

Covering art, interaction and information, Eyeo is a newer conference quickly building a solid reputation for itself. Eyeo gives you the opportunity to get hands on in their workshops in several labs, listen to a laundry list of great speakers and mingle with the full spectrum of web and application producers. Their Vimeo has a sample of past talks.

EVA London

VIRTUAL (with potential physical event in London, UK) — July 5th – 9th (planned)

A bit more arts and culture focused then some, EVA is an excellent event to share ideas and pick up new approaches from the less business focused side of things. Including a workshop, EVA looks to inspire both the artist and the production developer to bigger and better things.

Due to the pandemic, the precise form is still to be decided however there will be an online component to the conference.

The delayed online EVA London 2020 conference was held Monday 16th November – Thursday 19th November 2020, with workshops on Friday 20th November 2020. See the programme. Online talks are available.

DATA 2021

VIRTUAL — July 6th – 8th

The 10th International Conference on Data Science, Technology and Applications (DATA) brings together researchers, engineers and practitioners interested on databases, big data, data mining, data management, data security and other aspects of information systems and technology involving advanced applications of data. Conference areas include Business Analytics, Data Science, Data Management and Quality, Big Data, and Databases and Data Security.

DATA 2021 will be held in conjunction with ICSOFT 2021, ICINCO 2021, SIMULTECH 2021, DeLTA 2021 and SIGMAP 2021. Registration to DATA allows free access to the ICSOFT, ICINCO, SIMULTECH, DeLTA and SIGMAP conferences (as a non-speaker).

Siggraph 2021

VIRTUAL — (Originally scheduled for a physical event in LA, August 1st – 5th)

One of the biggest computer graphics conferences, Siggraph is at the top of most lists for conferences, noted as the premier conference and exhibition in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Everything from technical papers, research, industry applications, a job fair and an animation festival are part of Siggraph. Check out the program details so far here. Though you’ll have to stay tuned for the dates of adapted virtual proceedings.

KDD 2021 (Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining)

VIRTUAL – August 14th – 18th

Started in 1989, this is the oldest and largest data mining conference worldwide. KDD is able to not just showcase best practices in industry and government, but also highlight innovative research. Because of this it has a long tradition of showcasing talent that would later go on to great accomplishments. 2021 tracks include Research and Applied Data Science.

ONA 21

Los Angeles, USA — Typically September/October

The Online News Associates Annual conference and awards. There aren’t a lot of details about this year’s event yet, but ONA draws in some of the best and brightest in digital journalism. A great chance to see what new technology and approaches are being used for the very specific set of problems that news visualisation can present. 2020’s conference was completely virtual, so the chances are the same for this year. You can check out some of the video, audio and social highlights from 2019’s conference here.

The IEEE International Conference on Data Science and Advanced Analytics (DSAA 2021)

Porto, Portugal — October 6th – 9th

So far, not a lot can be revealed for the 8th IEEE International Conference on Data Science and Advanced Analytics. However, this conference is known for its high standard of academic ad business/industry insights, merging the two together quite well. You can expect to enjoy 6 dedicated tracks, one of which being tutorials. We also have our first keynote confirmed as Pedros Domingos, author of The Master Algorithm, professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington and winner of two of the highest honored awards in data science and AI. Expect some big insights on data mining and machine learning from him.

IEEE VIS 2021

New Orleans, USA — October 24th – 29th

Again, not much about this year’s, but IEEE events are some of the best that you can attend. Really three conferences, Visual Analytics Science and Technology (VAST), Information Visualization (InfoVIS), and Scientific Visualization (SciVis), you are bound to find a great deal of information and inspiration.