33rd Doctoral Minisymposium

of

the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Systems Engineering

of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics will take place on
the 9th and 10th of February, 2026.
at Building Q of BME

The conference welcomes vision paper submissions and paper presentations from the following topics:

• Please use the IEEE proceedings template for conference proceedings.
• The minimum required paper length is 4 pages, but it cannot exceed 6 pages, including figures and references.
• This track solicits original contributions. Papers previously published cannot be submitted. However, if you have an accepted vision paper, doctoral symposium paper, or student research competition (SRC) paper at an external venue, you are welcome to present it in the Paper presentations track instead.
• Before submitting, please read the formatting requirements.
• Submit your papers on EasyChair (link to be announced).

Paper structure

The following outline is a general recommendation for the structure of your paper. To create a convincing research agenda, your paper will likely need to discuss these points in a level of detail appropriate for your subfield and kind of work (e.g., theoretical, systems focused, design science based, or empirical). You are asked to present a general outline of your research and your plans that can realistically lead to technical contributions, and not your specific technical contributions so far.

1. Problem Statement & Motivation
   • What problem does your research address?
   • Why is this problem important?
   • Who benefits from solving it (academia, industry, society)?
2. Related Work
   • How does your research differ from or extend the state of the art?
   • Identify the key gap your work addresses.
3. Proposed Approach
   • What methodology, techniques, or tools do you employ?
   • Justify why this approach is appropriate for your research questions.
4. Expected Contributions
   • List concrete contributions (theoretical, methodological, empirical, artifacts).
   • Distinguish between contributions already achieved and those planned.
5. Evaluation Plan
   • How will you validate your claims?
   • What evidence will demonstrate that you have addressed the research questions?
     Examples: benchmarks, user studies, case studies, formal analysis, etc.
6. Current Status & Timeline
   • Summarize work completed to date, including preliminary results.
   • Provide a realistic timeline for remaining work and dissertation completion (if applicable).
7. Risks & Mitigation (if applicable)
   • Identify technical risks, ethical considerations, or dependencies.
   • Describe how these will be addressed.

Depending on your subfield and the nature of your work, you may find it helpful to explicitly state your research questions or hypotheses. While not required, this can help readers understand the direction of your research.

Review criteria

Submissions will be reviewed by faculty members from across the department. Criteria include:

• Clarity: Is the problem well-defined and clearly articulated?
• Significance: Does the research address an important problem?
• Soundness: Is the methodology appropriate and well-justified?
• Feasibility: Is the proposed plan realistic for the stated timeline?
• Presentation: Is the submission well-written and well-organized?

Reviews are intended to be constructive and developmental. The goal is to help students strengthen their research, not to gatekeep. However, papers not adhering to the guidelines or lacking a scientifically significant and feasible research plan will be rejected, and will not have a chance to present.

Publication

Accepted papers will be published in the Post-Proceedings of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Systems Engineering Minisymposium 2026. This constitutes a scientific contribution at a local event.

If you plan to submit your vision paper to an external venue (e.g., an SRC) based on your material, please notify the organizers. You may still present at the minisymposium for feedback, but your paper should be withdrawn from the post-proceedings to avoid publication conflicts.

Paper presentations track

Who should submit

This track is intended for PhD students who have published a significant peer-reviewed paper at a recognized venue (journal, conference, or workshop) and wish to:

• Present their achievement to the department community
• Gain visibility for their work among faculty and fellow students
• Contribute to the department's record of research accomplishments

Students are also welcome to present papers that have been accepted, but the publication of which is still in preparation.

Submission

Each submission consists of

• Paper abstract (as published)
• Preprint or published version
  • PDF of the camera-ready or preprint
  • Or a link to the official publication / arXiv / institutional repository
• Impact statement (300–500 words) addressing
  1. Venue & Significance
     • Where was the paper published?
     • Why is this venue important in your field?
     • Include acceptance rate if known.
  2. Summary of Contributions
     • What are the key contributions of the paper?
     • What problem does it solve, and why does it matter?
     • For papers with external collaborators, please clarify the contribution of department members.
  3. Added Value & Impact
     • What makes this work stand out?
     • Potential or observed impact: citations, follow-up work, industry interest, artifacts adopted by others, awards, etc.

Submit your abstracts and impact statements on the provided form (link to be announced).

Review criteria

Submissions to this track undergo a light review to verify:

• The paper has been peer-reviewed and accepted/published at a legitimate venue
• The impact statement is complete and coherent

Publication & visibility

• Submissions to this track are not republished (they are already published or being published elsewhere).
• Accepted impact statements and links to papers/preprints will be featured on the department website.
• Students will present their work at the symposium as a talk.