Cloud | Functional Programming | Scala | Software Technology
Scala Days returns to the US and Europe in 2023 
Maureen Elsberry 23 Jan, 2023
Share 
The Scala community had cause for celebration this September as Scala Days—the premier conference focused on the Scala programming language—returned in 2023 following a COVID-driven three-year hiatus.
Xebia was incredibly proud to take the lead in organizing Scala Days for 2023, with support from our friends at the Scala Center. A North America edition kicked off Scala Days in Seattle, Washington (U.S.) in June, followed by a Europe edition that recently concluded in Madrid, Spain.
Scala Days Madrid took place September 12th-14th and featured 30+ presentations spanning three days diving deep into what’s new and noteworthy in the Scala universe. In addition to the incredible information sharing, attendees also enjoyed the opportunity to meet with the amazing group of Scala Days Madrid sponsors: Signify Technology, Lunatech Labs, Databricks, VirtusLab, JetBrains, Gradle Enterprise, Kalix by Lightbend, MOIA, ScalaJobs.com, Habla Computing, and Manning Publications.
Before the conference began, Xebia, Lunatech Labs with the Scala Center, and Habla Computing hosted a variety of workshops. The Xebia-led workshop walked participants through the process of building an online multiplayer game with Scala 3, ScalaJS, and Kafka. Sounds pretty cool, right? If you’re interested in learning more about this course, get in touch and we’d be happy to give you more info.
The Scala Center hosted various events in conjunction with Scala Days Madrid before and after the conference like Scala Bridge. This is a beginner-friendly day where Scala rookies learn new skills, complete exercises, and receive one-on-one help and code advice from community leaders like Zainab Ali and Noel Welsh. The Scala Center team also hosted editions of the Tooling Summit and Scala Spree.
Martin Odersky delivering the keynote at Scala Days Madrid.
Scala’s lead designer Martin Odersky kicked off Scala Days Madrid with his opening keynote presentation, followed by a fun reception with drinks, food, and music. The event’s subsequent days each began with a keynote presentation, first from Andrei Kucharavy on code evolution, then Daniela Sfregola and Valerie Duncan-Saunders on the Optimus Cirrus platform. The remaining presentations were hosted by more than 35 experts from across the Scala community, sharing everything from getting started in Scala to the state of various libraries and long-term projects using Scala.
The atmosphere at the event was amazing, and it was clear that the Scala community was thrilled for its return.
“I’m so happy that Scala Days is back and to meet with all these wonderful people in person!” – Attendee Feedback
“Scala Days was by far the best conference I’ve ever been to. With lots of inspiring people and talks, this is an event you want to attend!” – Attendee Feedback
“It’s a great way to discover the Scala community.” – Attendee Feedback
Overall, Scala Days Madrid was a huge success. We’re grateful to all the attendees, speakers, sponsors, staff, and volunteers who helped make this a memorable event. If you’re interested in learning more about Scala (training opportunities, business solutions, etc.), contact us today. We love Scala, and we’d be excited to hear more about how we can help you.
If you’re interested in watching any of the presentations from Scala Days, make sure to follow @scaladays on X to be notified when presentation videos are released to the public. In the meantime, enjoy this Scala Days Madrid recap video.
