Career and Technical Education Summit
November 12-13, 2026
Delta Hotels Minneapolis Northeast, 1330 Industrial Blvd. NE
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The Career and Technical Summit is Minnesota's largest conference convening career and technical education leaders, educators, community partners, workforce, business and industry, and K-12 and higher education. The Summit serves as a platform for learning, sharing best practices, addressing critical issues in CTE, raising awareness, and discussing current trends in education.
Successful proposals strive to:
- Address current issues impacting career and technical education.
- Expand people’s thinking. What hasn’t this audience heard or considered?
- Be practical and actionable. What can be implemented right now?
- Be bold. Bold is courageous, taking risks with an idea, and shows innovative thinking!
Evaluation Criteria
The quality of the abstract and description: The quality is more about substance, "Is this worth our attendees' time?" rather than "Is this well-written?" The presentation topic should have valuable content to share and fit the CTE summit audience, regardless of how eloquently ideas are expressed in writing.
Innovation and Ideation: The potential to introduce new, bold, or innovative ideas, or solutions. This can also mean putting a new spin on an old solution.
Inclusive and diverse perspectives or approaches: The proposal shows evidence that the presenter has actively considered how different groups, backgrounds, or viewpoints might engage with or be affected by the presentation topic and has incorporated this awareness into their planning and approach.
Learning outcomes: Learning outcomes are well-articulated, participant-focused and describe what attendees will be able to do with the information presented. What do you hope participants will walk away with?
Relevance to career and technical education: The presentation topic is related to issues, solutions, or ideas that support career and technical education programs and activities broadly.
Additional Details
- Concurrent sessions are 60 minutes.
- If accepted, you will be assigned a time slot at the discretion of the conference organizers.
- If accepted, all presenters/co-presenters will be offered a discounted registration fee ($75) per person.
- All presenters, including any co-presenters, must pay for their own travel and lodging costs and other incidental expenses.
Deadlines and Important Dates
- Submission deadline is Friday, September 4, 2026
- Acceptance notifications will be sent by Friday, September 25, 2026
Applications to exhibit (get a booth/table) will be open in mid-March. Please check back here for the link to apply, including pricing structure.
This annual Career and Technical Education Summit brings together the largest and broadest group of people dedicated to serving students, workforce and business/industry, and local communities in career and technical education throughout Minnesota. We encourage you to attend if you self-identify with any of the following groups:
- Teacher or Faculty (school or college)
- Director, Coordinator, Administrator, Managers, and other leadership roles
- Perkins Coordinator
- Workforce Development Roles
- Business and Industry Leaders, Representatives, Trainers and Educators in CTE industries
- Career Counselors and Advisors (such as Career Navigators, CareerForce staff, etc.)
- Teaching and Learning Directors and Professional Staff
- Educators in the MNDOC involved in CTE classroom and career instruction
- Leaders in Career Pathways work
- CTE leaders in concurrent enrollment, PSEO, and CTE articulation
- State agencies with initiatives focused on work based learning, college to career, etc.
About the Summit
This annual Summit has continued to serve secondary and postsecondary CTE teachers and faculty, educators, administrators, workforce, community partners, and business/industry partners since 2009. It has continued to grow over the years into the premier conference connecting the career and technical education community in the Upper Midwest. Participants, presenters, and exhibitors come from high school, colleges and universities, workforce, local business and industry partners, and our local communities to convene once a year to share best practices in their field, network, and continue to develop their professional development in order to best serve CTE students across the state.
The Career and Technical Education Summit is Minnesota's largest conference convening career and technical education educators, leaders, community partners, workforce, and business and industry in K-12 and higher education. The Summit serves as a platform for learning, sharing best practices, addressing critical issues in CTE, raising awareness, discussing current trends in education, and fostering collaboration.
For questions about the Summit, contact Yingfah.Thao@MinnState.edu, Director of Professional Development and the main point of contact for the Summit.
For all registration and payment concerns, contact Jared.Reise@MinnState.edu.
For questions about submitting your application to exhibit (getting a booth), contact Robb.Lowe@MinnState.edu, Director of Career Pathways.