CP/SAT Doctoral Program 2026

News

• Added tentative schedule, invited speaker information, and reception information.
• Deadlines for abstract and submission have been extended to May 5 and May 14 respectively.
• Information on financial support has been added.

Call for Doctoral Program Submissions

The Joint CP/SAT Doctoral Program (DP) is open to all research students, including past participants, who are conducting research related to constraint programming and satisfiability. The goal is to provide an informal environment for networking, presenting and discussing ongoing work, and receiving feedback from both fellow research students and experts in the field. Participation requires a paper submission to the DP, reviewing other submissions to the DP and attendance in person.

The DP is a two-day event (July 18-19, 2026). The exact schedule is yet to be confirmed, but the currently planned structure of its content is outlined as follows:

• Presentations and Poster Session: Each student is expected to give a presentation of their work, followed by a short Q&A session. Students with an accepted paper at the CP or SAT conference will give a shorter lightning talk, designed to pique the interest of the audience for their full presentation. Additionally, all students are required to create an A1 poster to be presented during the program. The primary goal of the poster session is to encourage research and to promote the students' work to potential future collaborators.
• Review Training: As part of the Doctoral Program, each participant will be assigned to review a submitted paper. The aim is to improve their reviewing skills by analyzing the work of their peers and receiving feedback from experienced researchers. The ultimate goal is to promote a positive reviewing culture, which is often disregarded in the field of computer science.
• Invited Talks: Mid-career or senior researchers will give invited talks to the DP participants. One of the talks will help students plan their career paths, while the other will focus on specific technical skills that are important to acquire for scientific research in the area of CP and SAT.
• Mentoring: We plan to pair each participant with a mentor from the community, who is either a professor or a post-doctoral researcher attending the main conferences. The mentor will discuss the student’s poster and provide constructive feedback. This is intended to promote networking opportunities for the Ph.D. students.
• Social Dinner: If sufficient financial support is obtained, a free dinner will be organized for DP participants on one of the evenings of the doctoral program. The dinner will be open to all students, invited speakers and chairs of the doctoral program.

Important Dates (anywhere on earth)

Abstract Deadline: May 5 7, 2026

Submission Deadline: May 12 14, 2026

Deadline for financial support requests: May 19, 2026

Review Deadline: May 28, 2026

Discussion: May 28 to June 1, 2026

Notification: June 2, 2026

Notification of Financial Support: June 2, 2026

Deadline of Camera Ready paper: June 9, 2026

Submission

To participate, students must submit a short paper. Papers must be primarily the work of the student and can be work in progress, completed work or recently published work. Students whose work has been accepted at CP 2026 or SAT 2026 can submit a two-page extended abstract summarising the key findings. Otherwise, students must submit an original paper of up to 8 pages describing completed or ongoing research or a summary of their research/PhD topic. Submissions can include up to one additional page of references.

The submission form must clearly specify the student as the first author and list all advisors and co-authors. Papers and extended abstracts must follow the LIPIcs guidelines of the main conferences and be in PDF format.

• Papers must not include author information in the text or metadata. All papers will go through a double-blind reviewing process, meaning that authors and reviewers are mutually anonymous. For this reason, submitted papers should not contain author names, affiliations, or links to identifying websites.
• Extended abstracts should have title and authors identical to the accepted paper. Extended abstracts will go through a single-blind reviewing process, meaning that reviewers are anonymous, but know the authors of the extended abstract.

All abstracts and papers should be submitted online through the FLoC 2026 submission system by selecting “New Submission” at https://submissions.floc26.org/dpcp/.

Accepted papers will be made available online but not published in formal printed proceedings. This allows the submitted work to be reused and/or extended for submission to other conferences and journals.

Invited Speakers

• Serdar Kadıoğlu, Brown University

Title: Research-to-Production: A Dual Academic-Industry Perspective on Enterprise AI

Abstract: Modern AI systems increasingly rely on hybrid reasoning, modular architectures, and open-source innovation. In this invited talk, I will share a research philosophy shaped by work at the intersection of academic research and enterprise-scale AI deployment. Drawing from our recent open-source contributions across offline learning, online adaptation, decision-making, automated assistants, and responsible AI, I will illustrate how modular frameworks enable both scientific discovery and production-grade impact. Throughout the talk, I will reflect on my dual academic–industry career and discuss how to establish applied AI within industry settings, choose research problems that matter, translate ideas into real-world systems, collaborate across institutions, and contribute to the broader AI community.

• Carla P. Gomes, Cornell University

Title: KnowledgeCentric AI for Scientific Discovery

Abstract: Data-centric AI, exemplified by the rapid advances of deep learning and large language models, has fueled discussions of Artificial General Intelligence. However, for scientific discovery and high-stakes decision-making, purely data-driven methods face significant limitations. These include opaque behavior with limited interpretability, restricted use of prior knowledge, and brittle performance outside the training distribution. Furthermore, these models often struggle with substantial data requirements and complex multi-objective trade-offs. I will discuss a knowledge-centric AI agenda designed to overcome these hurdles. This approach combines first-principles reasoning with data-driven learning, integrating prior scientific knowledge and data to produce interpretable and well-informed recommendations. I illustrate this approach in Computational Sustainability, spanning discovery, prediction, and decision-making: for discovery, Deep Reasoning Networks solve inverse problems, such as inferring crystal structures from X-ray diffraction data and molecular formula from mass spectrometry, with Sudoku variants providing an intuitive example for pedagogical purposes; for prediction, multi-entity models span species distributions, materials properties, and soil organic carbon. Overall, knowledge-centric AI accelerates discovery and supports sustainable action.

• Zeynep Kiziltan, University of Bologna

  Title: Responsible Use of Generative AI Tools in Research

  Abstract: While many events focus on which generative AI tools to use in research, this talk shifts the focus to how they should be used responsibly. It begins by examining the technical limitations of these tools, the ethical and legal risks they raise, and how these issues can undermine research integrity. The talk then offers practical guidance for responsible use, emphasizing researcher accountability and the importance of critical oversight, transparency, and adherence to relevant policies and guidelines.

Financial Support

Financial support may be available to cover conference-related costs, such as registration fees, accommodation, and travel expenses. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis. Priority will be given to doctoral students who would otherwise be unable to attend the conference. To apply, students should submit:

• A motivation letter explaining why financial support is needed, including an estimated breakdown of the requested costs in order of priority.
• A separate letter from their supervisor confirming the funding request, sent by the supervisor.

Both documents should be sent by email to cpsatdp @ cs.uni-freiburg.de no later than May 19, 2026.

Program

Venue

Room C1.03 - Behind the check-in counters.

Organization

                                                                                      
              André Schidler                            Mohamed Siala                             
              University of Freiburg                    INSA Toulouse and LAAS-CNRS               
              Chair of Computer Architecture            ROC Group                                 
              Homepage                                  Homepage