call for papers

Call for Papers

About CISCom

The Second International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Soft Computing (CISCom 2026) will be held at Department of Information & Communication Technology, University of Malta, Malta, Europe in Hybrid mode from 14-16 October 2026. CISCom 2026 will offer a comprehensive international platform for the symbiotic sharing of cutting-edge research and technologies in the fields of Computational Intelligence and Soft Computing.

The inaugural edition of CISCom was held at Melaka, Malaysia from November 26–27, 2025, and was a grand success, attracting over 100 delegates from government, private, and academic organizations worldwide. CISCom 2025 received more than 283 paper submissions from researchers across the globe, reflecting the growing interest and recognition of this conference in the fields of Computational Intelligence and Soft Computing. Out of these submissions, over 200 papers were desk rejected due to non-compliance with submission guidelines, quality or scope. After a rigorous peer-review process, 52 papers were accepted for presentation and publication, resulting in a highly competitive acceptance rate of 18%. Each paper underwent a minimum of three independent reviews, ensuring fairness and technical depth in the evaluation. Remarkably, the majority of papers received four detailed reviews, and in some cases, six to eight expert reviews were conducted to ensure the highest standards of quality and credibility The submissions were diverse, representing authors from more than 10 countries. Notable regions included the USA, Europe, UK, the Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. In 2026, we anticipate an even larger participation, with a projected attendance of over 200 delegates . CISCom 2026 will feature a broad spectrum of activities, including technical sessions across multiple tracks, keynote and plenary sessions, invited talks, special sessions, student design competitions, industry sessions, exhibits, awards, and networking events. Additional highlights include Ph.D. initiative activities, and start-up initiatives

This three-day conference will convene participants from across multiple regions, including USA, Europe, UK, Australia, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, in addition to leading academic institutions, startups, industries, and students. As a distinguished international event, it offers a unique platform for exhibiting partners to present their products, services, and innovations to a highly engaged and knowledgeable audience, providing invaluable opportunities to engage with key decision-makers and foster professional collaborations.

About University of Malta

The University of Malta is one of Europe’s oldest higher education institutions, renowned for its strong academic heritage and vibrant international outlook. Located in the historic city of Msida, the university offers a dynamic environment that blends centuries-old scholarship with modern research and innovation. With state-of-the-art facilities, diverse academic programs, and a thriving multicultural community, it serves as a hub for intellectual exchange and collaborative learning. Its commitment to excellence, global engagement, and impactful research makes the University of Malta a distinguished destination for scholars and professionals from around the world.

Peer Review Process

CISCom 2026 will maintain a rigorous peer review process to ensure the quality, originality, and relevance of the accepted submissions. The process is as follows:

Initial Screening: The plagiarism detection software Turnitin will initially screen all the submitted manuscripts. Only the paper that passes the accepted limit of the similarity index will be forwarded for review. The accepted similarity percentage for this conference is 10-15% (excluding references/bibliography and all other sources). The paper has to be checked for similarity index with a word count of 3 in the setting). If any paper is found to have a high similarity index, then the accepted limit mentioned above will be outright rejected without sending it out for review. Also, if the paper is found to be plagiarized at any stage during or after publication, it will be retracted immediately.
Assignment to Reviewers: Manuscripts that pass the initial screening will be assigned to a minimum of three reviewers with expertise in the relevant fields. Reviewers are selected from the Program Committee and external subject-matter experts to ensure a balanced and unbiased evaluation.
Peer Review: CISCom 2026 will follow a double-blind peer review process. Reviewers will evaluate the manuscript based on: Originality and significance of the research; Technical quality and soundness; Relevance to conference themes; Clarity and organization of the presentation ; Contribution to the field .
Reviewer Feedback: Reviewers provide detailed comments, suggestions, and recommendations (accept, minor revisions, major revisions, or reject). Authors receive this feedback to improve their work as necessary.
Decision Making : Based on the reviewers’ recommendations and comments, the Program Chairs will make the final decision on acceptance, revision, or rejection of each manuscript. In cases of conflicting reviews, a third reviewer or the Program Chairs may provide additional input.
Revision and Resubmission : If revisions are required, authors must submit the revised manuscript within the given timeline. Revised submissions are reviewed to ensure all concerns raised by the reviewers have been adequately addressed.
Final Acceptance and Notification: Accepted manuscripts are notified to the authors, and the final version is requested for inclusion in the conference proceedings. Authors must ensure compliance with formatting and copyright guidelines.

This rigorous peer review process ensures that CISCom 2026 maintains high standards of academic integrity and contributes significantly to the advancement of research in these critical fields.

Conference Tracks

CISCom 2026 is organized into two distinct themes/tracks, each targeting a specific aspect of intelligent systems.

Theme 1: Computational Intelligence with Neuromorphic & Neuro-Symbolic Architectures

This theme brings together neuromorphic computation and neuro-symbolic computational paradigms to develop next-generation computationally efficient, explainable, and autonomous intelligent systems. It focuses on computational models that unify brain-inspired processing, symbolic reasoning, and data-driven learning, enabling real-time intelligent behavior under strict energy, latency, and interpretability constraints. The objective is to engineer computational architectures capable of sustainable, high-performance autonomous cognition across complex environments. The sub-topics include:

Explainable Neuro-Symbolic Reasoning: Designing transparent AI systems that integrate neural learning with symbolic inference for interpretable autonomous decision-making.
Spiking Neural Networks for Real-Time Cognition: Implementing neuromorphic computing models for low-latency perception, control, and adaptive learning.
Logic-Constrained Deep Learning: Embedding formal logic and rule-based constraints within neural architectures to enhance reliability and safety.
Cognitive Sensor Fusion: Combining multi-modal data from neuromorphic sensors and symbolic knowledge for intelligent perception and context-aware reasoning.
Biologically Inspired Learning Algorithms: Applying Hebbian learning, STDP, and other brain-inspired rules to enable adaptive, energy-efficient computation.
Knowledge-Driven AI Systems: Leveraging knowledge graphs and ontology-based frameworks to support reasoning and decision-making in complex environments.
Autonomous Decision Pipelines with Interpretability: Developing computational workflows that are both high-performing and explainable for critical applications.
Intelligent Image and Pattern Analysis: Using advanced computational intelligence methods for image processing, pattern recognition, and automated feature extraction.
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Theme 2: Quantum Machine Learning and Soft Computing Based Models for Scalable Intelligent Computation

This theme is designed to explore how soft computing methodologies can be applied to develop intelligent, real-world solutions that improve societal well-being. It highlights the adaptability and robustness of soft computing in handling uncertainty and complex challenges across various domains. The subtopics include:

Quantum-Assisted Optimization for Autonomous Systems – Accelerating combinatorial optimization, planning, and decision-making in robotics, transportation, and autonomous vehicles.
Quantum Machine Learning Models for High-Dimensional Data – Employing quantum kernels and amplitude encoding for large-scale image, video, and sensor data analysis.
Hybrid Quantum–Classical Learning Pipelines – Integrating quantum circuits with neuromorphic and neuro-symbolic architectures for healthcare diagnostics, smart cities, and industrial automation.
Quantum Reinforcement Learning – Accelerating policy learning for autonomous control, adaptive robotics, and intelligent traffic management.
Quantum Sampling and Probabilistic Inference – Supporting probabilistic reasoning and uncertainty modeling in finance, cybersecurity, and predictive maintenance.
Quantum Algorithms for Knowledge Representation and Reasoning – Enhancing symbolic reasoning, ontology-based knowledge systems, and large-scale decision support.
Quantum-Enhanced Edge and Real-Time Computation – Applying quantum acceleration for real-time IoT, edge AI, and resource-constrained neuromorphic platforms.
Scalable Quantum Computational Frameworks for AI – Developing frameworks for integrating QML with classical AI pipelines in domains like natural language processing, bioinformatics, and environmental modeling.
Application-Oriented Computational Intelligence –Optimization and learning for personalized healthcare, smart manufacturing, energy management, and autonomous transportation systems.
Cross-Domain AI Acceleration via Soft Computing – Leveraging QML to scale computational intelligence for multi-modal data fusion, sensor networks, and predictive analytics across diverse industries.
Explainable AI for Transparent Information Retrieval: Enhancing transparency and interpretability in automated information retrieval systems.
Automated Feature Extraction Using Deep Learning: Implementing deep learning techniques to
automate the extraction of meaningful features from data.

Theme 2: Soft Computing based Intelligent Solutions for a Smarter Society

This theme focuses on Quantum Machine Learning (QML) and paradigms that provide the advanced computational capabilities required to scale and accelerate the neuromorphic and neuro-symbolic systems described in Theme 1 and Theme 2. As modern autonomous systems generate and process massive high-dimensional data streams, quantum computation offers powerful mechanisms for performing optimization, learning, and reasoning tasks that classical computational models struggle with. This theme emphasizes quantum-enhanced algorithms, quantum–classical learning pipelines, and quantum optimization techniques that significantly expand the computational limits of intelligent systems. The subtopics include:

AI in Healthcare Information Systems and Decision Support: Developing intelligent systems to enhance healthcare delivery and decision-making processes.
Intelligent Cybersecurity and Fraud Detection: Advancing soft computing techniques to bolster cybersecurity measures and detect fraudulent activities.
Fuzzy Logic-based Disease Diagnosis and Prognosis Systems: Utilizing fuzzy logic to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient prognosis.
Soft Computing for Precision Farming and Crop Yield Prediction: Applying adaptive algorithms to optimize agricultural practices and forecast crop outcomes.
Bio-Inspired Algorithms for Privacy-Preserving: Innovating algorithms inspired by natural processes to enhance data privacy.
Hyperparameter Optimization for Robust Network Architectures: Refining network performance through advanced optimization strategies.
Blockchain and Soft Computing Integration for Secure Transactions: Combining blockchain technology with soft computing to create secure and efficient transaction systems.

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Important Dates

Event		Dates
Call for Paper Starts		January 10, 2026
Call for Special Session Proposal Starts		January 10, 2026
Call for Special Session Proposal ends		April 10, 2026
Last Date of Paper Submission		July 10, 2026
Notification of Paper Decision	August 25, 2026
Registrations		Early Bird Registration: August 25 – 10 September 2026. Regular Registration: September 11 – 25 September.
Camera Ready Submission		September 25 – October 2, 2026
Conference		October 14-16, 2026

Submission Guidelines

Important Instructions for Paper Submission

Authors are invited to submit full-length original research contributions and review articles between 7 to 15 pages in length, written in English. The minimum page length for the manuscript is 7 and maximum page length is 15. There is no additional page charge beyond 15 pages for this conference, however we recommend to limit your paper within 15 pages, as it should not delay review process.
Author should avoid using the salutation to their name such “Dr.”, “Prof.”, “Research scholar”, “Student” etc. Only name and affiliation should be written.
During the initial submission, the manuscript should follow single column format (either word or pdf), with single spacing, having font size 10, written in Times New Roman Style.
Once a paper is accepted, the authors will be required to format it in the conference proceeding Template. This will be notified in acceptance mail.
The manuscript should not have been published in any journals/magazines or conference proceedings and should not be under review in any of them.
The accepted similarity percentage for this conference is up to 15% (excluding references/bibliography and all other sources) and AI content less than 15%. If any paper is found to have a high similarity index, then the accepted limit mentioned above and up to 25%, it will be be returned to the author for modification. If the received paper is having more than 25% similarity index it will be desk rejected. Also, if the paper is found to be plagiarized at any stage during or after publication, it will be retracted immediately.
All papers will be evaluated based on their novelty, fundamental insight, experimental evaluation, and potential for long-term impact; new-idea papers are encouraged.
All submissions of papers must be made electronically via CMT in PDF/Word formats.
The Microsoft CMT service was used for managing the peer-reviewing process for this conference. This service was provided for free by Microsoft and they bore all expenses, including costs for Azure cloud services as well as for software development and support.

For special session paper

Authors submitting papers for any of the proposed special sessions should mention in the paper header the special session number and name while submitting the paper. A dedicated track will be created for each special session in the CMT, authors submitting papers to any of the special sessions are requested to choose the respective tracks for submitting their papers for the corresponding special sessions