Link Journal asked five questions of Mike Miles, program chair of the upcoming Digital Collegium Dev Summit and director of web development for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The 2026 Dev Summit will take place online on Tuesday, April 28.
Q: Going to the most obvious question here first, why should somebody attend the Dev Summit?
A: People should attend because it’s a chance to learn practical ideas from higher-ed peers who understand the same challenges they’re facing. It’s focused, relevant, and the kind of event where you can walk away with something useful to bring back to your own team.
Q: How did you find yourself on this journey to not just being a web developer but somebody with a passion to inform others about this role?
I got pulled into web development at a young age because I loved the idea that I could build something that shared meaningful information with the world. That idea still motivates me.
I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of taking ideas around knowledge sharing, turning them into technical solutions and building systems that actually help people. Over time, I realized I also really enjoy helping other people understand this work.
The moments that stick with me are when someone tells me they saw one of my talks, heard a podcast episode or read something I wrote, and that it helped them improve their work or grow in their career. That’s really rewarding. It reminds me that sharing knowledge can have a real impact.
“I think one big misconception is that web developers just ‘work on the website,’ when in reality there’s so much more going on behind the scenes.”
Q: What is one thing (or two things) that most people, even those who work in higher ed communications, might not understand about being a web developer?
I think one big misconception is that web developers just “work on the website,” when in reality there’s so much more going on behind the scenes.
A lot of the work is invisible. We’re thinking about performance, security, accessibility, workflow and maintainability all at once and trying to make sure what we build not only works but works well for a lot of different audiences.
The other thing people may not realize is how much of the job is about evaluating options and ruling things out. There are usually many different ways to build something, so a lot of the work is weighing tradeoffs and figuring out which approach makes the most sense.
And in higher ed, that extends beyond just site visitors. You’re also thinking about the faculty and staff who need to create and manage content confidently.
Q: What kind of audience would most benefit from attending this summit?
I think the people who would benefit most are the folks on higher ed web teams who are looking for inspiration for what comes next. If you’re trying to improve your institution’s CMS, accessibility, testing practices or overall web experience, this is the kind of event that can spark those next ideas.
It’s especially valuable for back-end developers, front-end developers and site builders, but I also think people who work closely with technical teams can benefit too. You don’t have to be deeply technical to get something out of it. Even just gaining a better understanding of the challenges and possibilities can help teams work better together.
“If you’re trying to improve your institution’s CMS, accessibility, testing practices or overall web experience, this is the kind of event that can spark those next ideas.”
Q: What are you personally most looking forward to about the Dev Summit?
What I’m most looking forward to is the range of topics. There’s a little bit of everything for people involved in higher ed web development, and I think that makes for a really strong event.
One session I’m especially excited about is “Seeing through sound: Screen reader testing for sighted teams.” Accessibility is an area where we’re always trying to get better, so I’m really interested in learning more about how teams can test more effectively.
For me, the best kind of summit is one where I leave with one or two ideas I can bring right back to my team, and I’m hoping for exactly that.
Want to learn more?
Check out Digital Collegium’s 2026 Dev Summit on April 28. Members can also log into Digital Collegium’s Professional Development Library to access summit archives, including presentations on website development.