15 Project Management Conferences To Catch in Late 2026 and Early 2027

A project management conference brings practitioners together to learn and connect, but it’s only worth attending if it speaks to your team’s work. Fortunately, the calendar from late 2026 through March 2027 offers options for digital delivery teams, PMO leaders and project controls specialists.

The 15 project management conferences below make it easier to compare audiences, costs, PDU opportunities, and topics including AI, leadership, risk, and complex project delivery.

AI Adoption in Project Management Has Jumped From 36% to 70%

AI project management tools are already widespread in project delivery, but many teams are still working out how to use them well. In a 2025 survey of 1,000 UK project professionals, the Association for Project Management found that 70% worked for organizations using AI, up from 36% in 2023. Only one percent said they weren’t using it and weren’t planning to.

Among project professionals already seeing benefits from AI, task and schedule automation, resource allocation, and risk analysis and forecasting were each cited by 50%, followed by reporting and dashboarding at 49%.

A project management conference lets you see how other teams are handling that transition while developing skills that project management tools can’t provide on their own.

1. Global Symposium on Leadership & Project Management

For project managers and team leaders addressing the human, ethical, and organizational impact of AI.

• Date: October 1–2, 2026
• Medium: Online
• Location: Virtual
• Speakers:
  • Lucila Dotto, global head of sustainability at the Project Management Institute
  • Paul McCarthy, author, leadership adviser, and creator of the F.I.R.E.D. Leadership framework
• Price: Free

AI can accelerate planning and reporting, but it also raises tricky questions about trust, accountability, and leading teams through change. Northeastern University’s free virtual symposium puts the spotlight on those sorts of questions.

Keynotes, workshops, and panel discussions will explore resilient teams, ethical decision-making, sustainability, and leadership in an AI-shaped workplace.

2. ProjectSummit*BusinessAnalystWorld Chicago

For project managers and business analysts who share responsibility for turning business requirements into workable project plans.

• Date: October 5–7, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Chicago Marriott Naperville, Naperville, Illinois
• Speakers:
  • Jeff Harry, positive psychology play speaker at Rediscover Your Play
  • Kent McDonald, writer and product manager at KBPMedia
  • Jamie Champagne, author and trainer at Champagne Collaborations
  • Leslie Hughes, CEO and LinkedIn trainer at PUNCH Media
• Price:
  • 1-Day Symposium Pass: $955
  • 2-Day Symposium Pass: $1,647
  • 2-Day Symposium and Workshop Pass: $1,986
  • 3-Day Pass: $2,706
  • Group rates are available for three or more attendees

Projects often run into trouble between defining what the business needs and delivering it. This three-day conference brings both sides of that process together with symposium sessions and hands-on workshops aimed at improving planning, stakeholder alignment, and execution.

The program covers project success, AI adoption, business analysis, leadership, and workplace communication. Sessions range from applying PMI’s M.O.R.E. mindset to project outcomes to helping PMs and business analysts work more effectively with AI.

3. Project Controls Expo USA 2026

For schedulers, cost engineers, EVM analysts, project controls managers, and professionals overseeing complex capital programs.

• Date: October 5–7, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
• Speakers:
  • Amber Young, physical scientist and PARS system owner at the U.S. Department of Energy
  • Dathan Beasley, director at Turner & Townsend
  • Arth Patel, project controls manager at Amtrak
  • Ha Yeung “Henry” Yu, project controls manager at Amtrak
• Price:
  • Individual tickets: From $319
  • Two-day conference pass: $599
  • Conference and workshop pass: $1,399

By the time a cost or schedule problem reaches an executive dashboard, the best chance to fix it may have passed. Project Controls Expo USA focuses on the methods and data teams use to identify those problems earlier across major infrastructure, transportation, energy, defense, and government programs.

The October 5 workshop is followed by two conference days covering earned value management, schedule intelligence, AI-assisted estimating, risk, cost engineering, governance, commercial management, and megaproject delivery.

More than 800 delegates and 40 speakers are expected, with tickets also providing access to eligible PDUs and CEUs.

4. APM Women in Project Management Conference

For women in project management and their allies looking to build influence, strengthen leadership skills, and make useful professional connections.

• Date: October 8, 2026, pre-conference sessions on October 7
• Medium: In-person
• Location: InterContinental London – The O2, London
• Speakers:
  • Shola Kaye, communication and inclusive leadership speaker
  • Additional speakers to be announced
• Price:
  • Full-Day Pass: ~$352 for members, ~$489 for corporate partner employees, and ~$597 for nonmembers
  • Extended Pass: ~$570 for members, ~$733 for corporate partner employees, and ~$897 for nonmembers

A good introduction can open a door, but turning that connection into a real opportunity takes more. That thinking underpins the 2026 theme, “Connection to Action,” which looks at how relationships, visibility, and communication shape careers and project outcomes.

More than 900 project professionals are expected to be there. Shola Kaye will open the conference with a keynote on communication and inclusive leadership.

The program is divided into three streams: Delivery Excellence, Career Architecture, and Intentional Influence, covering practical execution, future skills, mentoring, collaboration, and professional visibility.

An extended pass also includes smaller group sessions and networking on the afternoon before the main event, with only 200 places available.

5. Digital PM Summit 2026

For digital project managers, producers, and delivery leads working across web, product, creative, and agency teams.

• Date: October 19–20, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: The Venue, Asheville, North Carolina
• Speakers:
  • Nick Cobb, director of project management at Blend Interactive
  • Kathryn Murphy, director of operations at Orases
  • Victoria Wheelehan, senior product development engineer and technical program manager at Nike
  • Chase Williams, senior AI project manager at KUNGFU.AI
  • Crystal J. Richards, founder of MindsparQ and author of PMP Exam Prep for Dummies
• Price:
  • Member Pass: $1,150
  • Nonmember Pass: $1,650
  • Teams of four or more save $200 per ticket

Digital project managers can often spend as much time managing relationships as timelines. This two-day summit squares with that reality by pairing practical delivery advice with sessions on stakeholder conversations, empathy, burnout, and emotionally intelligent leadership.

The agenda moves from enterprise website delivery and AI skills to difficult clients, digital transformation, and using improv to become a more adaptable project manager. Expect to hear from speakers from the likes of Nike, VML, KUNGFU.AI, and Blend Interactive.

Registration includes breakfast and lunch on both days, plus a social event on Monday evening. A separate workshop on October 21 connects digital project managers with operations leaders to work through shared delivery challenges.

6. PMI Global Summit

For project, program, portfolio, and PMO professionals seeking broad industry coverage, global networking, and professional development.

• Date: October 21–24, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Huntington Place, Detroit, Michigan
• Speakers:
  • Kara Swisher, technology journalist, author, and podcast host
  • Dan Gilbert, founder of Rocket Companies
  • Jessica Sibley, CEO of TIME
• Price:
  • PMI Member Pass: $2,100
  • Nonmember Pass: $2,600

Few events cover as much of the project profession in one place as PMI’s four-day flagship conference. Expect to see thousands of practitioners and leaders coming together to examine how technology, business priorities, and delivery models are changing.

The theme “Built to Move” covers sessions that explore AI, agile and hybrid delivery, PMO strategy, change management, leadership, career development, sustainability, and social impact.

Technology journalist Kara Swisher will lead a keynote conversation on AI, disruption, and changing workforce dynamics. You can also earn more than 20 professional development units (PDUs) toward maintaining PMI certifications by attending.

7. FuturePMO 2026

For PMO leaders and practitioners looking for practical ways to improve governance, portfolio visibility, and organizational influence.

• Date: October 22, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Mercure London Earl’s Court, London
• Speakers:
  • Mandy Hickson
  • Alison Baptiste
  • Duncan Lean
  • Marisa Silva
  • Andrea Toja Trillo
• Price: Approximately $674

PMOs can easily spend more time maintaining reports and processes than helping teams make better decisions. This one-day conference focuses on changing that, with practical sessions drawn from working PMOs rather than broad discussions about theory.

The agenda covers AI-assisted knowledge management, data-driven portfolios, technology adoption, team dynamics, reporting overload, and building a PMO from scratch. A free 30-minute PMO Clinic also gives attendees the chance to discuss a specific challenge with an experienced consultant.

Attendance is capped at around 300 people, and there are no paid exhibition spaces or speaking slots. Structured networking tables, workshops, and post-event drinks make it a more personal alternative to a large industry conference. Up to six hours can count toward PDU or CPD requirements.

8. International Project Management Day 2026

For project professionals who want flexible access to a broad program without the cost and travel of an in-person conference.

[Source: International Project Management Day]

• Date: November 5, 2026
• Medium: Online, with 90-day on-demand access
• Location: Online
• Speakers:
  • Giovana Cury Pagliuca, program implementation manager at Generation and 2025 Kerzner Award winner
  • Gabor Stramb, CAPM and PMP preparation coach and project management mentor
  • Dr. Elissa Farrow, futurist and transformation specialist
  • Dr. Ed Hoffman, CEO of Knowledge Strategies
  • Joti Balani, founder and CEO of Freshriver.ai
• Price: $89

For $89, attendees get five live keynotes, more than 30 on-demand presentations, two self-paced courses, and 90 days to work through the material. Completing the full program provides more than 26 PDUs and Scrum Education Units (SEUs).

The 2026 program approaches project work from three angles: keeping delivery moving, putting AI to useful use, and managing the human side of change. Under the “Purpose, Progress, and Power” theme, sessions range from agility and hybrid delivery to leadership, business relationships, and the pressures facing project teams.

9. PMO Insight Conference Edinburgh 2026

For PMO managers, analysts, and portfolio leaders who want reporting to go beyond recording progress to guide decisions.

• Date: November 16–17, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh
• Speakers: To be announced
• Price:
  • House of PMO members: ~$1,021 plus VAT
  • Nonmember early-bird pass: ~$1,124 plus VAT
  • Nonmember full-price pass: ~$1,294 plus VAT

A dashboard can be accurate and still leave leaders unsure what to do next, but that’s what this two-day working conference focuses on addressing by helping PMOs turn reporting into useful context, stronger judgment, and clearer action.

Delegates can look forward to working through practitioner stories, reporting redesign exercises, a data confidence lab, partner clinics, and AI governance scenarios. The program moves from data to information, knowledge, judgment, and action, finishing with a practical 90-day plan for each attendee’s PMO.

Attendance is limited to 200 people to allow more room for table discussions and hands-on work than a conventional speaker-led conference.

10. AI & PM Summit 2026

For project, program, and portfolio managers looking for practical ways to use AI across planning, governance, and delivery.

• Date: December 11, 2026
• Medium: Online
• Location: Virtual
• Speakers:
  • Siri Kostanyan, NYU School of Professional Studies faculty
  • Additional speakers TBA
• Price:
  • Summit ticket: $60
  • Recording only: $50

With no travel and a $60 ticket, this virtual summit is one of the easiest late-year options to fit around work. Topics include AI-assisted planning and scheduling, predictive analytics, risk management, portfolio optimization, governance, and ethical use.

“The Missing Piece of AI Adoption: Execution” will examine why AI initiatives stall after the pilot stage and how stronger governance and collaboration can move them forward.

Registration includes seven-day recording access, a program guide, a verifiable certificate, and up to seven PDUs. Organizer PMO Advisory is a PMI Authorized Training Provider.

11. Business Transformation World Summit 2027

For senior PMO, program, and transformation leaders managing change across functions, systems, and operating models.

• Date: January 25–27, 2027
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, Florida
• Speakers:
  • Eman Blair, executive vice president of enterprise data, AI, and programs at PenFed Credit Union
  • Scott Turner, transformation partner at Mercer
  • Wayne Filin-Matthews, vice president of architecture and AI at Disney
  • Nazia Raoof, senior vice president of business transformation at Cotiviti
• Price: $2,999 plus VAT ($3,299 plus VAT from December 18)

This project management event asks whether the organization has chosen, structured, and supported the right transformation before trying to deliver a project. The summit is now in its 28th year at the intersection of strategy, operations, change, and AI.

The program combines five summits and covers executive transformation, change leadership, agentic AI, operational excellence, and private equity value creation. More than 600 attendees and 150 speakers are expected.

At this price, it makes the most sense for teams already funding major transformation programs and looking for help with AI governance, change fatigue, operating models, or proving business value, not so much individual project managers looking for scheduling techniques, certification credits, or hands-on delivery workshops.

12. Dubai International Project Management Forum 2027

For program directors, government project leaders, enterprise PMOs, and senior professionals responsible for complex portfolios and large-scale transformation.

• Date: January 25–28, 2027 (provisional)
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Dubai, UAE; venue to be announced
• Speakers: To be announced
• Price: To be announced

Few events examine project management at the scale of a city, major public service, or national infrastructure portfolio. DIPMF brings government, business, and delivery leaders together to discuss how complex programs are governed, digitized, and kept aligned with long-term goals.

The 2027 forum will be its 12th edition. Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority organizes the event, with DEWA and PMI confirmed as organizing partners. Across previous events DIPMF reports more than 17,000 participants from approximately 50 countries and over 400 keynotes, workshops, field visits, and training programs.

Infrastructure plays a prominent role, but the program extends well beyond construction. Recent editions have covered AI, portfolio governance, digital transformation, agile and hybrid delivery, customer-centric project management, sustainability, leadership, and future skills, with contributors from PMI, Google, Microsoft, Siemens, DP World, and ADNOC.

So, DIPMF is valuable for professionals managing interconnected projects across departments, suppliers, and public-private partnerships. But those looking for small-group methodology training should look for a more focused conference, but not many events offer the same view of how project decisions play out across entire organizations and cities.

13. Rising to the Top - Becoming a Chief Project Officer Summit

For senior project managers, PMO leaders, portfolio managers, and project professionals preparing for executive roles.

• Date: January 30, 2027
• Medium: Online
• Location: Virtual
• Speakers: To be announced
• Price: To be announced

Most project management conferences stop at improving delivery. This four-hour summit asks what changes when a project leader becomes responsible for how the wider organization turns strategy into results.

The 2027 program will focus on executive leadership in project-based organizations, enterprise governance, PMO maturity, strategic alignment, and transformation oversight.

Recent editions have also explored the mix of portfolio thinking, business judgment, human-centered leadership, and delivery credibility needed to progress toward a chief project officer role.

Unlike PMO Advisory’s AI-focused December summit, this event targets experienced practitioners moving into enterprise leadership.

14. Agile International Conference 2027

For agile coaches, Scrum masters, project and product leads, and team managers seeking an affordable, community-led event.

• Date: March 12, 2027, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET
• Medium: In-person and online
• Location: Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus, North Miami, Florida
• Speakers: To be announced
• Price:
  • Remote admission: $49 before fees
  • In-person super early-bird pass: $114 before fees

AIC is smaller and more community-driven than the major professional-body conferences we’ve covered here. The benefit is that can make it easier to speak with coaches, presenters, and other practitioners rather than spending the day moving between crowded keynotes.

The 2027 program hasn’t been published yet, but recent editions have stretched beyond Scrum and sprint mechanics to cover AI, business agility, leadership, organizational change, career development, and hands-on workshops.

That makes AIC ideal for practitioners whose responsibilities are expanding from managing delivery to helping teams adopt new ways of working.

AIC is one of the more affordable options with remote access from $49 and in-person tickets from $99 before fees. Proceeds support nonprofits.

15. Passion for Projects Congress 2027

For project, program, PMO, and change leaders seeking cross-sector perspectives on leadership and governance.

• Date: March 15–16, 2027
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Clarion Hotel Sea U, Helsingborg, Sweden
• Speakers: To be announced
• Price: To be announced

A project is lucky to get the luxury of a stable operating environment. The 2027 theme, “Shift Happens: Leadership in an Era of Transformation,” looks at how AI, sustainability, uncertainty, and continuous change are testing established approaches to governance and delivery.

Passion for Projects is PMI Sweden Chapter’s annual congress which has been bringing together project professionals for more than 15 years. Its cross-sector audience includes people from business, government, academia, and nonprofit organizations.

It gives attendees a chance to compare how similar leadership problems play out in very different settings.

The program is likely to suit experienced practitioners exploring leadership, PMO evolution, and change more than those looking for certification or methodology training.

Further Ahead: Project Management Conferences in Spring 2027

The main list ends in March, but the next group arrives in late April. Registration is still developing, so teams planning international travel may want to track these dates now.

• Project Management Conference 2027
  • Date: April 22–23, 2027
  • Location: Athens, Greece
  • Note: Ticket packages have yet to be announced.
• Project Control Summit 2027
  • Date: April 23–25, 2027
  • Location: The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas, Irving, Texas
  • Note: Registration isn’t open, but the priority list is available.
• APM Conference 2027
  • Date: May 19–20, 2027
  • Location: Manchester Central Convention Complex, Manchester, UK
  • Note: Super early-bird tickets are now available.

15 Project Management Conferences at a Glance

Compare the dates, locations, costs, and intended audiences of the events in this guide.

Note: DIPMF’s 2027 edition has been announced, but its dates, venue, speakers, and pricing have not yet been confirmed by the organizer.

How To Choose the Right Project Management Conference

Start with the problem you want the conference to help solve, not the size of its speaker list:

• Choose an active-delivery event if you need help with scope, risk, scheduling, stakeholder alignment, recovery, or hybrid delivery. Prioritize project management workshops and case studies built around real projects.
• Choose an AI-focused conference if your team is moving from experimentation to implementation. Look for specific use cases, data requirements, governance safeguards, and honest discussion of what hasn’t worked.
• Choose a cross-functional conference if project managers regularly work with business analysts, product owners, or operational teams. Prioritize requirements discovery, communication, change management, and the handoff from planning to execution.
• Choose a PMO conference if you need to improve portfolio priorities, resource planning, governance, data quality, or executive reporting. The agenda should match your PMO’s maturity and authority.
• Choose a leadership-focused conference if career growth, influence, or peer connections matter most. Project management networking events with mentoring, facilitated discussions, and role-specific groups may offer more value than technical sessions alone.

Match the attendee to the agenda. Senior leaders will get more from strategy, governance, and organizational change, while working project managers need methods and tools they can apply immediately.

PMO analysts may benefit most from data labs and reporting exercises, and newer professionals should look for structured networking rather than relying on informal receptions.

Where several events share a row, compare their individual entries by audience, format, and focus. Before booking, identify one current work problem, three useful sessions, and two people or organizations to meet; if you can’t, the event probably isn’t worth the time or budget.

Final Words on Project Management Conferences in 2026 and Early 2027

With project management events running through December, there’s still time to find one that matches the work in front of you. Choose the conference closest to the challenge your team needs to solve, identify the sessions and people worth prioritizing, and return with one or two ideas you can test on an active project.

That’s a better measure of value than how many sessions you attended or contacts you collected.

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