The IHCI 2026 invites proposals for Special Sessions that highlight emerging, timely, or underrepresented topics in HCI. These Special Sessions are part of the main technical program and are intended to promote focused discussion, bring together communities, and advance state-of-the-art research and practice.
A Special Session typically spans 40-60 minutes and may include 4-6 peer-reviewed papers, optionally complemented by a short, invited talk, panel, or moderated discussion. Topics should be well-defined and of clear interest to the IHCI community, ideally bridging subfields or introducing novel perspectives.
Important Dates
All deadlines are 23:59 AoE (Anywhere on Earth).
- Proposal Submission Deadline: 7 August 2026
- Notification of Proposal Decisions: Within few days after submission
- Paper Submission Deadline: 14 August 2026
- Notification of Paper Decisions: 4 September 2026
- Camera-Ready Submission Deadline: 11 September 2026
Proposal Submission Guidelines
Prospective chairs/hosts should submit a single PDF proposal that includes:
- Session title, short acronym (optional), and 150-200 words abstract for presenting on the website.
- Rationale and Scope: Motivation, significance, and fit with IHCI; intended audience and keywords.
- Organizing Team: Names, affiliations, contact information, brief bios highlighting expertise.
- Expectation: Expected number of submitted papers, potential invited speakers (if any), and proposed session structure.
Proposals will be evaluated on relevance to IHCI, timeliness and novelty, anticipated impact, chair qualifications, diversity and inclusivity of the organizing team and prospective contributors, and feasibility of attracting a critical mass of high-quality submissions. To ensure coherence and avoid overlap, the committee may suggest merging related proposals or adjusting scope.
Chair/Host Responsibilities
- Publicize the Call for Special Sessions for the session and actively solicit high-quality submissions.
- Assist the Program Committee with reviewer suggestions, while strictly adhering to conflict-of-interest and ethical review policies.
- Coordinate the session program and serve as session chairs on site.
- Ensure that at least one author is present during the session and that all presenting authors register and attend.
Special Session Paper Submission Guidelines
Format: All submissions must follow the Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) template and be submitted electronically as a single PDF in English. The main body of the paper (including appendices) should be 4-10 pages long, excluding references; references may take up to two additional pages.
Review Process & Publications
Papers submitted to accepted Special Sessions will undergo peer review to the same standards, policies, and timelines as the main track. They must follow the IHCI 2026 formatting and length requirements and be submitted through the conference system, selecting the appropriate Special Session. At least one author of each accepted special session paper must register and present in person.
Accepted Special Session papers will be included in the IHCI 2026 proceedings, published digitally in Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) by Springer, subject to successful review and author registration. The proceedings will be indexed in Scopus, Google Scholar, DBLP, the ACM Digital Library, and other relevant databases.
If a Special Session has fewer accepted papers than required to run, the session may be merged, converted to a themed regular session, or canceled; accepted papers will remain in the program, proceedings and published digitally in Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) by Springer and be reassigned appropriately.