When you're the one making the architecture call, who checks your thinking?

You can contact us for any payment questions at payments@qconferences.com.

We accept PayPal and major credit cards. A payment charged to your credit card or PayPal account is processed directly by us in the funds stated on the website.

The Terms of Participation can be found at https://certification.qconferences.com/terms-conditions.

Registration fees are not refundable.

Yes, we've developed a template you can use to explain to your boss how you can benefit from the cohort participation.

Yes, in-person cohorts are offered at select QCon conferences, such as QCon London and QCon San Francisco.

Yes, you can opt to pay by invoice during the registration process by selecting the "Do You Want to Pay Later by Invoice?" checkbox.

Our Privacy Policy details how we collect, use, and protect your data. You can find it at https://www.infoq.com/privacy-policy.

Yes. The program is open to freelancers and the self-employed. When registering, simply enter your trading name or "Independent" in the Company Details section.

The program is a collaborative initiative between InfoQ and QCon, both of which are practitioner-driven brands owned by C4Media Inc.

InfoQ is a practitioner-driven community news site focused on facilitating the spread of knowledge and innovation in professional software development.

We do not offer scholarships or complimentary seats for the InfoQ Certification at this time. Should this change for future cohorts, we will announce it via our official channels.

We are dedicated to providing a safe and inclusive experience for everyone. Our Code of Conduct can be found at https://certification.qconferences.com/code-conduct.

Participants who registered for the online cohorts will receive an email with detailed instructions on how to join the sessions during the week prior to the start of the cohort.

To ensure an optimal experience, you will need:

• A stable internet connection: High-speed access for video conferencing.
• Zoom: The latest version of the Zoom desktop client.
• Slack: Access to our private workspace for peer networking and coordination.
• A laptop or desktop: While mobile devices are supported, a computer is highly recommended for collaborative work and session participation.

The program consists of five live sessions held over five weeks, each lasting four hours, plus weekly assignments and a group Capstone project.

Each weekly session is a 4-hour live workshop. This is a significant time investment because we are not just watching talks.

We are undertaking the challenging, practical work of applying these frameworks to real-world challenges alongside your senior peer group.

This programme assumes you already have deep technical expertise. Each week is structured around a real decision you are working on, not a case study. The focus is the skills that senior engineers find hardest to get from inside their own organisation: pressure-testing architectural calls with peers, articulating tradeoffs to stakeholders, and making the kind of decisions that are difficult to reverse.

Some of the most valuable learning happens in peer discussion. Architecture is full of trade-offs, and hearing how others think through similar challenges can be just as useful as the session content itself.

Whether you're stepping into architecture or already making technical decisions, learning with a peer group gives you different perspectives, helps you build confidence, and makes it easier to apply what you learn in your own work. That's why this program is designed around a confidential peer group, live exercises, expert facilitation, and group-based project assignments, and not just self-paced study.

This cohort gives you the confidential peer group and an experienced facilitator to do that work, and you'll earn the InfoQ Certified Software Architect in Emerging Technologies (ICSAET) certification as a result.

The Capstone project is the final milestone where you co-author a professional technical article (2,000-3,000 words) applying the concepts covered. Examples can be found on InfoQ.com.

This is for software engineers, software architects, and technical leaders with at least 5 years of experience who are involved in setting technical strategy.

Certification is awarded based on two factors: consistent attendance and active participation in the live sessions, and the successful completion of the group Capstone project.

Certification is awarded based on active participation in the cohort and completion of the capstone assessment in Week 5.