IEEE SPICES 2026

2026 5th IEEE International Conference on Signal Processing, Informatics, Communication and Energy Systems (IEEE SPICES 2026) is a flagship biennial conference of the IEEE Kerala Section, jointly organized by Government College of Engineering Kannur, to be held during 9–11 October 2026. The theme of IEEE SPICES 2026 is “AI, Smart Energy, and Communication Technologies for Sustainable Development.”

The IEEE SPICES 2026 Organizing Committee invites academicians, researchers, and industry professionals to propose Special Sessions aligned with the scope and theme of the conference.

Special Sessions (SS) provide a focused forum for presenting innovative research, emerging trends, and recent breakthroughs in specialized and advanced topics that may not be adequately covered in the regular conference tracks. These sessions aim to enhance the technical depth of the conference and help participants stay abreast of cutting-edge developments.

Proposed Special Sessions should:

Have a clear and focused theme
Address emerging, interdisciplinary, or advanced research topics
Be of significant interest to the conference community

Organization of Special Sessions

Upon approval, Special Session organizers may publicize their sessions to attract high-quality submissions. All papers submitted under Special Sessions will undergo the same rigorous peer-review process as regular papers. Proposals with organizers from different countries are strongly encouraged. Special Sessions will be held during the conference programme, in parallel to other technical sessions, i.e., on 9th to 11th October 2026.

Instructions to Special session organisers:

A maximum of three (3) organizers are permitted. Organizers must be willing to promote the session and ensure quality paper submissions. At least one international organizer is preferred.
An individual can be organizer of up to two special sessions (but preferably just one).
The SS Organizers must propose 6 possible Reviewers (no more than 3 from the TPC) who should not have conflict of interest with the SS Organizers incoherence with the content of the proposed SS. Each Reviewer must have explicitly accepted the invitation by the SS Organizers, and he/she will be contacted by the SS Chairs.
The list of reviewers cannot include the SS Organizers and, if possible, reviewers should be from institutions other than theirs.
The evaluation phase of a SS proposal starts immediately after its submission, and publication on the conference website happens as soon as the SS is approved by the SS Chairs.
Once a SS is approved, it is the duty of the SS Organizers to publicize the SS to attract enough quality papers from Researchers, Practitioners, and Industries in the field.
The Conference will be fully on site.
The format and length of the papers submitted to a SS must follow the same rules as regular papers.
The SS must include institutions for at least 2 different Countries.
At least three papers submitted to the Special Session must originate from institutions other than those of the SS Organizers.
An individual cannot be co-author of more than two papers submitted to the same SS.
Papers from SS Organizers cannot exceed 50% of the contents of the SS.
To be effective, the SS must include at least 6 accepted papers.
If a SS has too few accepted papers, they will be allocated to regular sessions wherever possible.
Papers submitted to a SS will undergo the same review process as regular papers. The SS Organizers are not involved in the management of the review process, which will be jointly managed by TPC Chairs and SS Chairs. They will select Reviewers from the relevant research area, also considering the list of Reviewers proposed by the SS Organizers.
Before the review process begins, SS Organizers must explicitly declare papers that present a conflict of interest for them. A conflict of interest arises where the judgement about the quality of a paper is, or can potentially be, influenced by one or more of the SS Organizers being authors or co-authors, or knowing or having relationship with some of the authors. To ensure independent reviews, any potential conflict must be immediately notified to the SS Chairs.

Responsibilities of Special Session Organizers

Promote the Special Session to potential authors
Ensure relevance and quality of submitted papers
Coordinate the review process in consultation with the Technical Program Committee and SS chairs
Ensure a minimum of three reviews per paper
Chair the Special Session during the conference

Inclusion Criteria for Special Sessions

A minimum of 6 accepted papers is required
All papers must meet the conference quality standards
At least one organizer must be present to chair the session

Registration fee:

All authors and participants of Special Sessions, irrespective of the nature of their presentation, including Special Session organizers, are required to pay the full paper registration fee.
One organizer attending the conference as the Session Chair for the proposed Special Session will be provided with a complimentary attendee registration.
The complimentary attendee registration does not entitle the organizer to paper publication in IEEE Xplore.
All other Special Session organizers are required to register for the conference by paying the applicable registration fee.

Important Dates

Special Session Proposal Submission Deadline: 24 February 2026
Notification of Acceptance: 05 March 2026
Special Session Paper Submission Opens: 10 March 2026
Special Session Paper Submission Deadline: 15 April 2026
Special Session Paper Acceptance Notification: 15 June 2026

Special Session proposals should be submitted using https://forms.gle/BoPosvyLioQMS7TXA as per the guidelines mentioned above. These proposals must include title of the Special Session, Names, photos, very short bios, and emails of the organizers, technical outline and topics of the special session, technical track(s) with similar topics and list of at least 6 potential contributing authors and 6 potential reviewers.

We look forward to your valuable contributions in shaping impactful and forward-looking Special Sessions at IEEE SPICES 2026.