CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS > Early Researcher Symposium Papers

The Early Researcher Symposium aims to provide an inclusive and supportive forum for early researchers (PhD candidates and Postdoctoral researchers, and in exceptional cases MSc students that are planning PhD studies) to present and discuss ongoing work related to the Topics of Interest to CBMI 2026. The session is designed as a gateway to the CBMI community for young researchers.

The Early Researcher Symposium shares the same scientific scope and topics as the main conference, ensuring full alignment with CBMI 2026 while fostering a format that emphasizes mentoring, constructive critique, and community building. It enables young researchers to (i) receive targeted feedback on methodology, evaluation, and positioning; (ii) refine their research questions and experimental design; (iii) improve presentation skills; and (iv) connect with peers and senior researchers for networking and potential collaborations.

Early researchers are invited to submit a short paper (maximum 4 pages + 2 for references) outlining a 3-4 year research program, including research objectives, methodology, current status, and future directions. Submissions must be single-author, written by the student alone, and should be formatted with the same rules as CBMI papers. The ideal time to submit to the session is about one year into the research program.

Accepted papers will be included in the conference proceedings and presented during a dedicated session at CBMI 2026. A prize may be awarded for the most promising research program.

To maximize the value of the exchange, each selected presenter will be assigned a mentor from the CBMI community. A one-to-one discussion between student and mentor will be organized during the conference. The mentor’s role is to foster high-quality discussion before and during the conference by helping the presenter sharpen the problem statement, clarify assumptions, strengthen experimental design and evaluation choices, and position the contribution within CBMI-related literature and ongoing debates. They can also discuss the early researcher's career.

Authors of papers accepted to the Early Researcher Symposium who come to the conference solely to present that paper will be entitled to a student registration rate for the entire duration of the conference.