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Babe, wake up, new Web Services Conference just dropped

Start your engines!!! The 2026 Web Services Conference is locked in for June 11.

All ³ÉÈËVRÊÓÆµ website managers and editors are on ✨ the list ✨ for our half-day virtual event packed with juicy updates and practical tips.

Hear from your favourite website whisperers in ³ÉÈËVRÊÓÆµ Communications and IT, plus a lineup of standout guest speakers from across the higher ed digital community.

  • When: June 11, 2026, 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Where: Virtual (via Teams), plus an in-person social event afterward
  • Who's invited: Anyone working on a ³ÉÈËVRÊÓÆµ website

WMS managers and editors should have already received a calendar invite.

Anyone else who wants to join can use this link: 

"A hotter ticket than the Met Gala." —You, after attending the 2026 Web Services Conference

Schedule

1:30–1:45 p.m.: Welcome and introduction

1:45–2:30 p.m.: WMS update (including news about the migration, webforms, and channels)

2:30–2:45 p.m.: Best practices for AI-generated images

2:45–3:15 p.m.: Extreme content makeover panel (featuring auditing superstars from the ³ÉÈËVRÊÓÆµ WMS community)

3:15–4:00 p.m.:

  • Room A: The human side of AI, with Matissa Hollister
  • Room B: Write emails people will read, with Dayana Kibilds

4:00–4:30 p.m.: Taming the beast: Why consistent content matters (and how we'll get there)

4:30–5:00 p.m.:

  • Room A: Lessons from UWaterloo's Drupal migration, with Joe Kwan
  • Room B: Preparing your content, team, and strategy for the future of discoverability, with Brian Piper

After the virtual sessions, join us for an in-person social to meet the presenters and connect with fellow web folks! Details to come.

Speakers

  • Matt Corks, Portfolio Manager Web Services, Digital Solutions & Community Engagement, IT Services
  • Simon Labonne, Digital Content Specialist, Communications and Institutional Relations (CIR)
  • Joyce Peralta, Manager, Digital Communications, CIR
  • Daniel Zhang, Digital Communications Advisor, CIR

Guest speakers

  • Dayana Kibilds, Associate Vice President of Marketing and Community at SimpsonScarborough
  • Joe Kwan, Manager, Web Development at University of Waterloo
  • Matissa Hollister, Assistant Professor, Organizational Behaviour at ³ÉÈËVRÊÓÆµ Desautels Faculty of Management
  • Brian Piper, award-winning author, international keynote speaker, and consultant

We asked, you answered

Thanks to everyone who filled out our survey! The agenda was created based on the topics you told us you care about most:

A wordcloud showing the most requested topics. The top answers are best practices, content strategy, WMS features, WMS migration, and AI tools.


This presentation is co-produced by the Digital Communications team (Communications and Institutional Relations) and the Web Services Group (IT Communications).

PS. Did you know that a group of baboons is called a congress? Turns out that conference isn't a collective noun for any species, but I figured, hey, close enough.

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