HIGHLIGHT
I, AI, and Umbraco: A Developer Perspective
Emmanuel Tissera [Head of APAC Region, Umbraco HQ]
UMBRACO
India Festival 26
Tickets
Starts 29 Aug · 9:00 AM IST
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Days
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AUG 28-29
KOCHI, KERALA INDIA
WHY WE EXIST
Umbraco India Festival 2026 is India's first dedicated Umbraco community event — two days of talks, deep dives, and real conversations in Kochi, Kerala — where developers, content professionals and technology leaders come together to share, learn and shape the future of Umbraco across the region.
Our 2026 Line Up
The Future of Search: SEO, AEO & GEO in Umbraco
Mateen Shaikh [Co-Founder & Managing Director, Techxot Software]
Agentic Umbraco: When Automate Meets MCP
Nikhil Prajapati [Umbraco MVP x 3 & Certified Master x 2 | Co-Founder & CEO at GIRIRAJ DIGITAL | Umbraco Gold Partner]
From Audience to MVP: An Umbraco Story from Nepal
Bishal Tim [ZAAKS! - Umbraco Developer - Umbraco MVP]
Built to Scale: The Evolution of Load Balancing in Umbraco
Tony Meyn [Umbraco, Head of Operations, Product & Engineering]
Enterprise Replatforming: Consolidating Three CMSs into a Unified Umbraco Cloud Platform
Ansar M [Co-founder and CTO at Phases, Umbraco Contributing Gold Partner] & Farshadudheen k [Technical Lead at Phases]
Mindfulness: The Present is Perfect
SEEMA SUNIL [CORPORATE TRAINER | ICF PCC COACH]
I Was Building AI Agents the Wrong Way. Here's What MCP Changed.
Stephen Simon [Program Manager | Microsoft AI MVP]
PROGRAM
Day 1
Friday, August 28, 2026
Hackathon & Networking EveningHackathon
Pizza, Coke and cold refreshments will be served.
Venue: Water Metro Kochi: Boarding point High Court Shuttle leaves at 3:00 PM from Carnival InfoparkSpeakers & VIP Dinner
Exclusive networking dinner with Umbraco HQ, speakers, MVPs, sponsors and organizers.
Venue: Hotel 1947 (Might change to another venue: Will update soon)Day 2
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Conference Day · LULU IT TWIN TOWERSFun Run
Registration, Welcome Coffee & Snacks
Lunch & Networking
Tea Break / Networking
Networking & Venue Transition
Live Music Night with Dinner and DJ
Day 1: Friday, August 28, 2026
Hackathon & Networking Evening
Hackathon
Pizza, Coke and cold refreshments will be served.
Venue: TBDSpeakers & VIP Dinner
Exclusive networking dinner with Umbraco HQ, speakers, MVPs, sponsors and organizers.
Venue: Hotel 1947Day 2: Saturday, August 29, 2026
Conference Day
Venue: LULU IT TWIN TOWERSFun Run
Registration, Welcome Coffee & Snacks
Lunch & Networking
Tea Break / Networking
Networking & Venue Transition
Live Music Night with Dinner and DJ
Inauguration & Opening Keynote
I Was Building AI Agents the Wrong Way. Here's What MCP Changed.
Everyone is building AI agents, but many of us are still connecting them the old way: custom integrations, hardcoded APIs, duplicated logic, and connectors that become difficult to maintain as projects grow.
In this demo-driven session, I'll share the mistakes I made, what finally clicked, and how MCP simplified my architecture. You'll see how to build an MCP server from scratch, connect it to an AI agent, expose existing tools and APIs, and follow the patterns that make MCP implementations scalable and production-ready.
Whether you're building your first AI agent or looking to modernize an existing one, you'll leave with a practical understanding of MCP and a blueprint you can apply to your own projects the very next day.
Speakers
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Stephen Simon Program Manager | Microsoft AI MVP LinkedIn
Built to Scale: The Evolution of Load Balancing in Umbraco
Load balancing in Umbraco has come a long way since the days of distributed calls and synced XML cache files. This talk traces that journey from version 6 through to the backoffice load balancing introduced in version 17, showing how each step was driven by a deeper architectural shift underneath. If you run Umbraco at scale, you will leave with a clearer mental model of how it all fits together.
Speakers
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Tony Meyn Umbraco, Head of Operations, Product & Engineering LinkedIn
Enterprise Replatforming: Consolidating Three CMSs into a Unified Umbraco Cloud Platform
Three large websites built on Kentico, WordPress, and Webflow were brought together into a single Umbraco platform for a global student organisation. Working through this consolidation highlighted a set of technical and editorial lessons that many Umbraco teams will recognise.
Managing multiple CMS platforms in parallel led to repeated content updates, uneven structure, and editors switching between different tools. Over time, this increased coordination effort and made everyday maintenance harder than it needed to be.
After reviewing the existing platforms, Umbraco was chosen based on its use of the .NET framework, alignment with Microsoft technology, Azure hosting support, EU hosting needs, and security requirements. Migrating more than five thousand pages brought up very practical questions around content modelling, field mapping, and deciding which content was still worth moving forward.
Editor habits played an important role in several decisions. Many editors were coming from WordPress, where visual editing and drag based tools are familiar. The Umbraco editing experience felt different at first, so grid based editing and structured visual controls were introduced to help editors understand page layout while working. At the same time, features that felt unnecessary or cluttered in earlier tools were intentionally left out.
The work also included referencing external data from SharePoint without duplicating it inside Umbraco, along with custom packages to support migration and editing needs.
The talk focuses on lessons that Umbraco developers and architects can take into their own work when consolidating websites, handling large content sets, and supporting editors with different backgrounds.
Agentic Umbraco: When Automate Meets MCP
Every editor spends hours on the same repetitive tasks writing alt text, following up on missing translations, fixing accessibility issues, and cleaning up content before it goes live. In 2026, Umbraco introduced two capabilities that make it possible to hand these tasks to an AI agent safely and with the right controls in place.
Automate brings event-driven, no-code workflows directly into the Umbraco back office. The Editor MCP exposes the back office to AI agents through a hosted MCP server, allowing agents to understand and work with content using natural language. Together, they enable a new way of working: an event in Umbraco can trigger an AI agent to complete a task, while keeping editors in control by reviewing and approving the outcome before anything is published.
This is a hands-on, demo-driven session. We'll build an agentic content workflow live, where an Automate trigger passes a task to an AI agent through MCP. You'll see the agent generate alt text, identify accessibility issues, and prepare content updates on a real Umbraco site. We'll also cover the part that often gets overlooked governance. We'll look at how to keep humans in the approval loop, define clear boundaries for what an agent can and cannot do, and maintain a complete audit trail of every action. We'll also discuss the current limitations and what to expect as the MCP ecosystem continues to evolve.
You will leave with a clear understanding of how these technologies work together and a practical pattern you can start implementing in your own Umbraco projects right away.
Speakers
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Nikhil Prajapati Umbraco MVP x 3 & Certified Master x 2 | Co-Founder & CEO at GIRIRAJ DIGITAL | Umbraco Gold Partner LinkedIn
Mindfulness: The Present is Perfect
We live in a world of constant notifications, deadlines and distractions, making it easy to be physically present but mentally elsewhere. Mindfulness helps us improve focus, make better decisions and respond thoughtfully instead of reacting impulsively.
When we learn to be fully present, we don't just do more; we experience more, perform better and live more intentionally.
Speakers
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SEEMA SUNIL CORPORATE TRAINER | ICF PCC COACH LinkedIn
The Future of Search: SEO, AEO & GEO in Umbraco
Search is evolving rapidly. While traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) remains a fundamental part of building successful websites, the rise of AI-powered search experiences such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity is reshaping how content is discovered and consumed. This evolution has introduced new concepts such as Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), requiring websites to be optimized not only for search engines but also for AI-driven experiences.
This session explores the evolution of search from SEO to AEO and GEO through the lens of Umbraco. It covers practical approaches to building AI-ready websites using structured content, metadata, Schema.org, semantic HTML, content architecture, performance optimization, Content Delivery API, and emerging standards such as llms.txt.
Attendees will gain an understanding of how Umbraco's flexible content modeling and extensibility can support modern search strategies, helping organizations improve content discoverability across both traditional search engines and AI-powered platforms while preparing for the future of search.
Speakers
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Mateen Shaikh Co-Founder & Managing Director, Techxot Software LinkedIn
I, AI, and Umbraco: A Developer Perspective
Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we build websites. If you are a developer, a project manager, or an agency owner, you might be wondering: what does this mean for my job and my business?
The good news is that AI is not here to replace you. It is here to make you faster and more valuable.
In this practical session, we will look at how AI and Umbraco work together to solve real-world problems. We will explore two main areas:
* AI in Umbraco: How to add smart features directly into the Umbraco backoffice to help content editors work faster.
* Umbraco in AI: How to securely connect your Umbraco data to external AI tools.
We will skip the theoretical talk and look at real code, practical tools, and architectural patterns. You will learn how to use Microsoft tools to build background automation, connect external CRMs, and automate everyday tasks.
Plus, we’ll look ahead with exclusive updates straight from Umbraco HQ on our upcoming AI roadmap and what we are actively building for future releases.
Whether you want to build high-value features for your clients, deliver projects faster, or upgrade your technical skills for the future, this session will give you a clear roadmap to succeed in the age of AI.
Speakers
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Emmanuel Tissera Head of APAC Region, Umbraco HQ LinkedIn
From Audience to MVP: An Umbraco Story from Nepal
In 2024, I sat in the audience at a small Umbraco meetup in Kathmandu, listening to Robert Foster talk. I knew Umbraco but only as a beginner, still finding my footing. I didn't know what the Umbraco MVP program was. I didn't know anyone in the community. I just knew I wanted to learn more.
Two years later, I'm Nepal's first Umbraco MVP.
In this session, I'll walk through what actually happened in between — and the honest truth is, none of it felt significant in the moment. Answering a forum question here, helping someone debug a project there, showing up to a local meetup. Small, ordinary contributions that didn't feel like they were building toward anything. Looking back, they're exactly what got me here.
That's the core message of this talk: becoming an MVP isn't about one big achievement — it's about consistent, small contributions adding up over time. If you're sitting in the audience right now, still finding your footing the way I was, you're probably closer than you think.
I'll also talk about what it means to be the first MVP from Nepal — not just for me, but for the visibility of the South Asian Umbraco community as a whole. Nepal, like much of the region, doesn't have the same density of meetups, conferences, or local mentors that bigger Umbraco markets do. This talk is proof that it doesn't need to.
If you're a developer in Nepal, India, or anywhere the Umbraco community feels distant — this talk is for you. I'll close with a concrete invitation: how to start, where to begin contributing, and why your "audience seat" today could be a speaker seat tomorrow.
Speakers
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Bishal Tim ZAAKS! - Umbraco Developer - Umbraco MVP LinkedIn
Q/A with Umbraco HQ
MVP Recognition & Closing Keynote
Speakers
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🏆 Mathilde Høst Community Manager @Umbraco LinkedIn
WHO'S TALKING
Mateen Shaikh
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Techxot Software
Farshadudheen k
Technical Lead at Phases
Bishal Tim
ZAAKS! - Umbraco Developer - Umbraco MVP
SEEMA SUNIL
CORPORATE TRAINER | ICF PCC COACH
Tony Meyn
Umbraco, Head of Operations, Product & Engineering
Ansar M
Co-founder and CTO at Phases, Umbraco Contributing Gold Partner
Nikhil Prajapati
Umbraco MVP x 3 & Certified Master x 2 | Co-Founder & CEO at GIRIRAJ DIGITAL | Umbraco Gold Partner
Emmanuel Tissera
Head of APAC Region, Umbraco HQ
Stephen Simon
Program Manager | Microsoft AI MVP
FESTIVAL PASS
Closed
EARLY BIRD --d --h
Evening Hackathon + Full Day Conference
Every Talk. No Exceptions.
Fed & Caffeinated All Day
Networking with the Community
Swag Worth Keeping
Watch It Again, Forever
₹ 699
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Evening Hackathon + Full Day Conference
Every Talk. No Exceptions.
Fed & Caffeinated All Day
Networking with the Community
Swag Worth Keeping
Watch It Again, Forever
₹ 999
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Student Pass
We believe the best time to discover open source is before you think you are ready. The Student Pass gives eligible students full access to the Umbraco India Festival 2026 — every session, food, networking, and swag — completely free of charge.
SPOTS ARE LIMITED AND EACH APPLICATION IS REVIEWED INDIVIDUALLY. SELECTED STUDENTS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY EMAIL.
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SPONSORS
Presenting Sponsor
PLATINUM PARTNERS
GOLD PARTNERS
Venue
LULU IT TWIN TOWERS
SmartCity Township, Kochi, Kerala
South India's tallest IT towers. 30 floors, LEED Platinum certified, right in the heart of Kochi's Smart City.
GET DIRECTIONS →10.0125° N, 76.3724° E
BEFORE YOU ASK
QWhat is Umbraco India Festival 2026?
India's first dedicated Umbraco community festival — two days of talks, deep dives and networking for developers, content professionals and technology leaders who build with Umbraco and .NET.
QWho should attend?
Anyone who builds with Umbraco. Developers, solution architects, content strategists, digital agency teams and anyone curious about the Umbraco ecosystem.
QWhere and when is it?
August 28–29, 2026 at Lulu IT Twin Towers, Smart City, Kochi, Kerala. South India's tallest IT towers. Hard to miss.
QWhat does the ticket include?
Access to all talks and sessions, festival swag, a networking night, meals and chai throughout the day and full recording access after the event.
QHow can my company become a sponsor?
We have three tiers: Platinum, Gold, and Community. Drop us a message at the contact section below and we'll get back to you with the sponsorship deck.
QWho is organising the Umbraco India Festival?
The festival is solely organized and run by the Umbraco India User Group (UIUG) : a passionate, community-driven team of volunteers, MVPs, and contributors. The event is made possible through the dedicated efforts of the UIUG core team alongside the generous support of our sponsors. You can meet the full team behind the festival on our Organisers & Team Page: https://www.umbracofestival.in/team/
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