2026_10_15_Young Reseachers_Symposium_2026

Talks and poster pitches by doctoral students / October 15, 2026, 08:30-19:00 h

7th Young Researchers Symposium 2026

PhD students: Present your research to a wide audience in a compelling way.

Every two years, the RPTU Center for Early Career Researchers (REaCh) (formerly TU-Nachwuchsring) and the High Performance Center Simulation and Software-Based Innovation organize a competition open to doctoral students* from all academic disciplines! The goal is not only to communicate research findings in a way that is accessible to non-experts, but also to present them in an engaging, informative, and compelling manner.

Outstanding contributions will be recognized with awards for the Best Talk, Best Poster, and Best Abstract. In addition, the symposium will, for the first time, feature a Transfer Award for an exceptional contribution with strong potential for societal or industrial impact.

Coffee breaks and the get-together will offer additional opportunities to network and learn about other research fields. All interested participants are cordially invited to attend the symposium and vote for the best oral and poster presentations.

* All doctoral students of the RPTU, the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI – location Kaiserslautern), the Institut für Oberflächen- und Schichtanalytik (ifos), the Institute for Technology and Work (ITA) e.V., the Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH (IVW), the Max-Planck-Institute for Software Systems (MPI – location Kaiserslautern) and the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern are eligible to participate.

(All information on this event is preliminary and changes are possible.)

Event details

Registration

For Authors (with abstract submission)

Register and submit your abstract via the YRS 2026 portal between June 8 and June 20, 2026 to join the 7th Young Researchers Symposium (YRS) on October 15, 2026.

Please note: Register as a participant before submitting your abstract. Co-authors must also create a user account to participate in YRS 2026.

For Participants (without submission)

Register between June 8 and October 1, 2026 via the YRS 2026 portal to attend the 7th Young Researchers Symposium (YRS) on October 15, 2026 and vote for the most exciting talks and posters.

Additional Services
Depending on sufficient demand, we will offer both childcare during the event on October 15 and a complimentary shuttle service between Landau and Kaiserslautern. Please indicate your interest in one or both services when registering for the event. Childcare can only be arranged if requested by August 31, 2026. The shuttle service will depart from Landau (Fortstraße) at 7:30 h and return from the Fraunhofer Center in Kaiserslautern at 19:15 h.

Location

Fraunhofer Center, Fraunhofer-Platz 1, Kaiserslautern

Date

October 15, 2026, 08:30-19:00 h

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Language

English

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Call for abstracts

Who is Eligible?

All doctoral students of the RPTU, the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI – location Kaiserslautern), the Institut für Oberflächen- und Schichtanalytik (ifos), the Institute for Technology and Work (ITA) e.V., the Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH (IVW), the the Max-Planck-Institute for Software Systems (MPI – location Kaiserslautern) and the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern are eligible to participate..

Timeline

Call for Abstracts: June 8, 2026 – July 20, 2026

Share your research with us and submit your abstract via the YRS 2026 portal.

Notification of acceptance (talk or poster): September 7, 2026

Submission Guidelines

Language: Abstracts must be written in English.
Length: Submissions must be limited to one page, including optional figures and references.
Submission format: Abstracts must be submitted as a single PDF file via the YRS 2026 portal .
Authorship: Team submissions are permitted. All co-authors must create a user account if they wish to participate in YRS 2026.
Registration: Authors must register as participants before submitting an abstract.

All accepted abstracts may be included in the symposium's Abstract Book upon the authors' approval.

Templates

Authors must use one of the provided IEEE templates. The prescribed style and format must not be modified.
Important: While the IEEE templates are designed for longer papers, submissions must be restricted to a one-page abstract.

Review Criteria

The abstracts will be evaluated based on the following criteria. Each criterion is evaluated on a scale from 0 (low) to 15 (high):

Formal requirements (not graded): Does the abstract fulfill the formal requirements with regard to language, citations and length?
Relevance for non-specialists: How clearly is the significance of the research conveyed to readers outside the specific field?
Methods and analysis: How clearly and comprehensively are the methods and analyses described?
Clarity and accessibility: How clear and understandable is the abstract?

Please note: Only abstracts that meet the formal criteria will be considered in the review process.

Author Guidelines

Please keep in mind that the reviewers represent a wide range of scientific disciplines and may not be familiar with your specific research area. Therefore, abstracts should be written in a clear and accessible style, suitable for a broader scientific audience rather than a highly specialized conference in your field.

Presentation Formats

Talk

The official language of the conference is English. Each talk is allocated 15 minutes, including discussion time (12 minutes for the oral presentation and 3 minutes for discussion).

You may include videos in your presentation; however, please ensure in advance that they run smoothly on the conference presentation system. You are also welcome to enhance your presentation with small live demonstrations or visual elements. If you plan to do so, please consult the organizers in advance regarding safety considerations and any additional equipment required.

Poster

Poster Pitch

You will have 3 minutes to present your research in a short pitch and encourage participants to visit your poster for further discussion.

The pitch includes:

a 3 minute oral presentation
one slide only (summarizing the key message of your poster)
no questions or discussion

Poster Exhibition & Discussion

Posters (A0, portrait format) will be displayed throughout the conference and can be discussed during the breaks.

During the poster session, you will have the opportunity to answer questions about your poster and discuss your work with jury members and other participants.

Awards

Awards with a total value of up to €6,000 will be presented in the following categories:

Best Abstract Award

The Abstract Award is based on the evaluation of the submitted abstract by the Scientific Committee.

Best Talk Award

The Talk Award is based on the evaluation of the submitted abstract by the Scientific Committee, as well as on the assessment of the oral presentation by the Jury and the audience.

Best Poster Award

The Poster Award is based on the evaluation of the submitted abstract by the Scientific Committee, as well as on the assessment of the poster pitch and poster presentation, including the exhibition and discussion, by the Jury and the audience.

Transfer Award

The Transfer Award is based on the assessment of the presentation (oral presentation or poster presentation, including the poster pitch and poster session) by the Transfer Award Jury.

Transfer Award

New This Year: Transfer Award

In addition to the Scientific Awards, the first Transfer Award will be presented this year. This award recognises outstanding contributions with strong potential for societal or industrial impact.

All accepted abstracts will automatically be considered for the Transfer Award.

Evaluation is carried out by a separate jury with proven expertise in science communication, innovation and knowledge transfer.

Review Criteria

Value beyond academia: How well is the use of the results explained?
Innovation: How innovative is the work?
Feasibility: How clear is what the results can be used for?

Author Guidelines

Please note that the Transfer Award is not based on the evaluation of abstracts, but on the presented contributions (talks and posters). The Transfer Award Jury evaluates the potential of your research beyond academia. Therefore, presenters are encouraged to clearly highlight the societal or industrial relevance of their work in their presentation.

Scientific committee

The Scientific Committee consists of abstract reviewers, the Award Juries and the Transfer Award Jury. Abstract reviewers evaluate submitted abstracts prior to the symposium, while the juries assess presentations during the event.

Both the abstract reviewers and the juries responsible for evaluating talks and poster presentations are composed of representatives from a wide range of disciplines.

Organizing team

Dr. Susanne Digel (Research Scientist, Institute of Mathematics, RPTU and deputy spokesperson of the REaCh board)
Chiara Fend (PhD student, Department of Mathematics, RPTU and deputy spokesperson of the REaCh board)
Sylvia Gerwalin (ADM/IS – Department Internal Services, Fraunhofer ITWM)
Milena Gropp (Project coordination, REaCh – RPTU Center for Early Career Researchers/ Referat Karriereentwicklung und Berufungen, RPTU)
Dr. Inga Nissen (Manager of REaCh – RPTU Center for Early Career Researchers/ Referat Karriereentwicklung und Berufungen, RPTU)
Prof. Dr. Johann-Nikolaus Seibert (AG Seibert, Department of Chemistry, RPTU and deputy spokesperson of the REaCh board)
Dr. Maximilian Wolkersdorfer (Research Scientist, Department of Social Sciences, RPTU and spokesperson of the REaCh board)

Do you have questions about YRS 2026 for the organizing committee? Feel free to contact us by reach-yrs[at]lists.rptu.de.

Patrons

Dr. Nicolas Fröhlich, Managing Director, High Performance Center Simulation and Software Based Innovation
Prof. Dr. Melanie Steffens, Vice President for Career Development, Diversity and Gender Equality, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau