The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) invites thought leaders, educators, and cybersecurity practitioners to submit speaking proposals for our October 2026 Cybersecurity Awareness Month virtual event series.
With nineteen of the nation's leading research universities represented and in attendance, this is your opportunity to share bold ideas with an audience that spans tens of thousands of faculty, staff, students, and IT professionals shaping the future of cybersecurity in higher education. We're seeking proposals across four tracks:
- Security Awareness
- Security Operations
- Governance/GRC, and
- Research.
Whether you're rethinking how we train end users, defending institutional networks at scale, navigating the evolving compliance landscape, or pushing the boundaries of cybersecurity research and artificial intelligence, we want to hear from you.
Selected speakers will present to one of the largest collaborative academic cybersecurity audiences in the country, gaining visibility for their work across the full Big Ten footprint. Proposals at every career stage are welcome. From seasoned CISOs to emerging researchers with fresh perspectives, we're especially interested in talks that bridge theory and practice, offering actionable insights your peers can bring back to their own campuses.