The annual IEEE International Conference on Data Engineering (ICDE) is one of the premier conferences in data and information engineering and addresses research issues on designing, building, managing, and evaluating advanced data intensive systems and applications. It is a leading forum for researchers, practitioners, developers, and users to explore cutting-edge ideas and to exchange techniques, tools, and experiences.

Each year, ICDE attracts over 500 researchers and practitioners from the academia, industry and government from across the world. The audience includes leading data scientists and professors, entrepreneurs, developers, talented young researchers/students and other thought leaders from major vendors and academia.

This year ICDE will take place in Utrecht. It is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands, located right in the middle of the country, and is a major transportation hub. The historical part of the city features many buildings dating back in the middle ages. It has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century and the most important city. It had been the country's cultural centre, until the 16th century when it was surpassed by Amsterdam. Today, it hosts the second-highest number of cultural events in the country. It is home to Utrecht University, the largest university in the Netherlands, that is ranked internationally in the 66th position by the Times Higher Education University Rankings.