CCS YSDP 2026

ACM CCS is proud to continue hosting the Young Scholar's Development Program as part of the main program of CCS 2026. This initiative is designed to bring together early-career researchers and provide opportunities for networking and professional development.

This year's theme is doing research with integrity in the age of AI. We want to give young researchers a space to talk openly about how their work, their reading, and the way papers get reviewed are all changing, and what good practice looks like going forward.

Please reach out to the YSDP chairs at ccs26-ysdp-chairs@acm.org for any questions.

The YSDP provides a limited number of travel grants up to $1,500 to encourage early-career researchers, including senior master's and senior doctoral students, post-docs, and early-career faculty, to participate in the conference and the YSDP. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit their application along with at least one reference letter to be considered for funding. The applicants should provide the reference name(s) in the CV and we will contact the person(s) for reference letters directly.

Program

1. Keynote Sessions: Two keynote speakers, each followed by a Q&A with the audience.
2. Panel Discussion: A panel on the role of AI in our day-to-day research practice, covering both authoring and reviewing.
3. Breakout Sessions by Career Stage: Parallel breakout sessions organized by seniority.
   • Each session will feature a set of curated topics and suggested discussion prompts with discussion leads.
   • We will have a concurrent “Panel follow-up tables” with available panelists to extend their stay.

Young Scholars Development Program Co-Chairs

Email: ccs26-ysdp-chairs@acm.org

• Fengjun Li – University of Kansas
• Martina Lindorfer – TU Wien
• Betül Durak – Microsoft Research

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is there any difference between the YSDP Travel Grant and the CCS Student Conference Grant?
Yes, there is a difference. The YSDP Travel Grant is not limited to PhD students. It can also support senior master's students with research experience, post-docs, and early-career faculty. If a student applies for both the Student Conference Grant and the YSDP Travel Grant and receives both, we will discuss the case. It is likely that the committee will not approve both grants for a single applicant. Please note that we generally do not cover all expenses (such as registration, airfare, and hotel) for CCS. We provide partial funding to help offset the costs.

2. How many references do you need in the application? How can I ensure you receive the reference letter?
You should include at least one reference name in your CV. We will contact the person you list directly. Note that we do not accept letters submitted by applicants themselves. We may reach out to the reference using a publicly affiliated email address if available, rather than the one you provide. While we will attempt to contact them multiple times, we cannot guarantee a response. If you want to make sure the letter is received, please follow up with your reference, as our system does not show whether the letter has been submitted.

3. What are you looking for specifically for the program? What are the evaluation criteria?
We look for applicants who are at a meaningful early point in their research career and would clearly benefit from the program through mentorship, networking, and exposure to the broader community. A strong CV is welcome but not required; we explicitly value research potential, motivation, and trajectory. Reference letters help us understand each applicant's strengths and the stage they are at. Evaluation criteria are intentionally not rigid, given the variety of applicant backgrounds and academic systems. In some cases, we may interact with applicants before making funding decisions, and each case is considered individually.