WAVEZ Spring 2026 Event

📅 Date: April 1st, 2026
📍 Location: Barclays Technology Centre, Radbroke, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 9EU
🎟 Limited Capacity: 80 Attendees | 💰 Free to Attend (Lunch & Refreshments Provided)

🚀 About the Event

The WAVEZ Spring 2026 Event is a dedicated event for those in the first 0-7 years of their mainframe careers, including students, graduates, and early-career professionals. This is an opportunity to connect, learn, and grow with peers and industry professionals in IBM Z.

As the mainframe industry evolves, we’re seeing an increasing number of retirements—meaning technical knowledge and professional networks are disappearing. WAVEZ exists to preserve and pass on this ethos to the next generation, ensuring you have the connections and skills to thrive in the industry.

🌟 Why Attend?

The WAVEZ Spring Event is specifically designed for early-career mainframers (0-7 years in the industry), students, and recent graduates looking to grow their knowledge and build connections that will last throughout their mainframe careers.

✅ Build Your Network for the Future – The mainframe community isn’t siloed within a single organisation. By connecting with peers now, you’ll create a network of mainframe professionals who can support you throughout your career, regardless of where you work.

✅ Preserve the Mainframe Ethos – As many seasoned professionals retire, technical knowledge and professional connections are being lost. WAVEZ is committed to passing down knowledge and maintaining the collaborative spirit of the mainframe industry through the next generation.

✅ Learn from Experts in the Field – Gain insights from experienced professionals in mainframe organisations, covering key IBM Z technologies like RACF, DB2, CICS, MQ, and z/OS.

✅ Career Development & Soft Skills – In addition to technical sessions, the event includes soft skills training, helping you navigate your career, communicate effectively, and position yourself for growth in the industry.

✅ Free to Attend – Lunch & Refreshments Provided! – Enjoy a full day of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and career-building discussions, all at no cost.

This event is about more than just technical knowledge—it’s about creating a strong, connected, and skilled mainframe community for the future.

Last Years Event

Check out last years event on The Mainframe Society LinkedIn:

WAVEZ Spring 2025 – Interview Video

🔗 Follow WAVEZ on LinkedIn for Event Updates: WAVEZ LinkedIn

🎤 Call for Papers – Share Your Expertise!

We are currently accepting technical session and workshop submissions for WAVEZ Spring 2026! If you have expertise to share in IBM Z, we encourage you to submit a session via Sessionize.

📅 Submission Deadline: Saturday, February 28th, 2026
💡 Session Length: 45 minutes (including Q&A)

Session Tracks:

📌 WAVEZ 101 – Building Mainframe Foundations (For newcomers and early-career professionals)
📌 WAVEZ 102 – Advancing Your IBM Z Expertise (For those with some experience looking to deepen their knowledge)

Topics of Interest:
🔹 Security (e.g., RACF, ACF2, TSS, Cryptography, Certificates, etc)
🔹 Databases (e.g., DB2, IMS DB)
🔹 Transactions & Messaging (e.g., CICS, MQ, IMS TS)
🔹 Core z/OS (e.g., z/OS, Performance, Hardware, TCPIP)
🔹 Application Development (e.g., COBOL, Java, REXX, Python)
🔹 Soft Skills (e.g., Career Development, Communication in IT, Presentation Skills)

The Audience will be a mixture of Mainframe Developers as-well as System Programmer

📅 Key Dates to Know

Date	Event Action
📅 Sunday, 1st February 2026	Call for Papers Opens – Submissions open
📅 Saturday, 28th February 2026	Call for Papers Closes – Submit your session before this date!
✅ Friday, 6th March 2026	Session Decisions Sent – You’ll receive confirmation if your session was accepted or waitlisted.
🚨 Friday, 13th March 2026	Speaker Confirmation Deadline – Confirm your attendance if accepted.
⏳ Tuesday, 24th March 2026	Waitlist Closes – If a slot opens up, waitlisted speakers may be invited.

🔗 Submit Your Session Here: Sessionize – WAVEZ Spring Event 2026

🎟 Who Can Register?

👨‍💻 Early-Career Mainframe Professionals (0-7 Years Experience)

This event is exclusively for mainframe professionals in the first 0-7 years of their careers. If you are working in a mainframe-related role and looking to expand your knowledge and network with peers, you are encouraged to register.

🔗 Register Here: Mainframe Professional Registration

⚠ Registration closes on Friday 27th March 2026 at Midday (12:00 BST)

⚠ This event is NOT intended for seasoned mainframers.
If you are an experienced mainframer and wish to attend, we encourage you to contribute to the event by delivering a session. See our Call for Speakers section above for more details.

🎓 WAVEZ Student Scholarship

Students and recent graduates (within 2 years) can apply for a scholarship ticket to attend WAVEZ Spring 2026. Only 15 Scholarship places are Available ,

This is a competitive scholarship — not a random draw or first come, first served. We’re looking for thoughtful, personal applications from students and recent graduates who are genuinely curious about the mainframe industry, even if they’ve never encountered it before.

A strong application shows both interest and effort: tell us what you’ve learned, what sparked your curiosity, and why you want to explore an industry that’s rarely covered in academia.

No matter how far you’ve progressed — even if it’s just breaking the ice — we want to see your self-drive and enthusiasm. Let your passion and curiosity shine through.

📅 Application Deadline: March 13th, 2026
📅 Scholarships Awarded: March 20th, 2026

Scholarship Criteria

✔ Open to: Students and graduates (graduated within the last 2 years)
✔ Required: Interest in mainframe technology and IBM Z
✔ Recommended: Progress in IBM zXplore (or IBM Skills Depot) to develop foundational mainframe knowledge

⚠ Important: Travel and accommodation are not provided and must be arranged at your own expense.

🔗 Apply Here: WAVEZ Student Scholarship Application

Applications will not be reviewed until after the deadline — so take your time, put effort into it, and submit your best possible application.

If you want to improve your application after you’ve submitted, just use the link in your submission confirmation email.

⚠ Application Deadline on Friday 13th March 2026 at Midday (12:00 BST)

📧 Questions? Contact students@gse.org.uk

📝 Agenda

Explore the Agenda for WAVEZ Spring Event

Plan your day and make the most of your experience at the WAVEZ Spring Event! Our agenda is packed with insightful sessions across two tracks:

🔹 WAVEZ 101 – Tailored for newcomers to the mainframe, covering essential topics.

🔹 WAVEZ 102 – Designed for those with some mainframe experience, offering deeper technical insights.

You’ll find sessions on security, databases, transactions, z/OS, and even a soft skills workshop — plus plenty of opportunities for networking.

👉 The Agenda will be released on the 16th March 2026

📚 Enhance Your IBM Z Skills Before the Event!

To make the most of The WAVEZ Spring Event, we encourage all attendees to progress through IBM zXplore (formerly Master the Mainframe) or IBM Skills Depot.

These platforms provide free, hands-on learning in IBM Z, helping you build technical knowledge before attending the event.

🔗 Start Learning Today: IBM Skills Depot

📺 Watch Past Sessions: WAVEZ Summer Surf 2025

Catch up on all the sessions from the WAVEZ Summer Surf 2025! Whether you’re building your foundational mainframe knowledge or deepening your expertise, we’ve got you covered with recorded sessions from both of our learning streams:

🔹 WAVEZ 101 – Building Mainframe Foundations

For those new to mainframe, these sessions focus on fundamental concepts, hands-on learning, and essential skills.

🔹 WAVEZ 102 – Advancing Your IBM Z Expertise

For those with some mainframe experience, these sessions dive into intermediate-level topics, deeper insights, and specialised areas of IBM Z.

These sessions are a great way to learn from industry experts, gain insights, and prepare for upcoming WAVEZ events!

Here is the WAVEZ Summer Surf 2025 Agenda 

📩 Questions?

For any inquiries, please reach out to:
📧 Students & Scholarship Applications: students@gse.org.uk
📧 General Inquiries: ricki.west@gse.org.uk

🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn: WAVEZ UK

WAVEZ UK Team:

🟦 WAVEZ Director: Ricki West
🟦 WAVEZ 101 Co-Chairs: Niall Ashley, Elitsa Popova
🟦 WAVEZ 102 Co-Chairs: Chris Knowles, Lukas Jaks
🟦 WAVEZ Secretary : Tom Baskerville

 

Join us at WAVEZ Spring 2026 to connect, learn, and be part of the future of mainframe technology! 🚀