Collaborative Project Incubators

About

NEW! TS 2027 is piloting a new pre-symposium Collaborative Project Incubators track.

The Collaborative Project Incubators (CPI) track brings together a group of 6 to 10 CS education researchers, practitioners, and industry partners for focused and intensive discussions, brainstorming, and rapid-prototyping of ideas around a specific topic. This track serves as an “incubator” for developing potential multi-institutional or multi-national grant proposals, research projects, and other collaborative initiatives in CS education. The goal of CPIs is to produce a comprehensive and well-defined plan for a new collaborative CS education project involving the group members, which will be initiated after the Technical Symposium. The CPI track offers dedicated time and space for incubating new ideas. The work is primarily done on-site during the Pre-Symposium meeting and presented on the final day of the Technical Symposium.

A CPI begins with a proposal by two or three leaders from different institutions. If accepted, the CPI can proceed to recruiting members to join.

CPI attendees are required to register as an in-person attendee for the Technical Symposium and pay a supplemental fee for CPIs.

ACM has made a commitment to collect ORCiD IDs from all published authors (see the ACM ORCiD FAQs). All authors on each submission must have an ORCiD ID in order to complete the submission process. Please make sure to get your ORCiD ID in advance of submitting your work.

Presentation Modality

CPIs are only offered in the in-person modality for both the Pre-Symposium meeting and the presentation during the Technical Symposium.

Collaborative Project Incubator proposals include a paper and an appendix. Authors may find it useful to read the Instructions for Reviewers and the Review Form to understand how their submissions will be reviewed. Also note that when submitting, you will need to provide between 3–7 related topics from the Topics list under Info.

Submission Information

All CPI proposals are submitted on EasyChair. In addition to providing answers to the standard information (e.g., authors, ACM policy confirmations, topic selections, keywords), authors are asked to submit a paper and an appendix with the following content.

Paper

The paper can be up to two pages long and must include a 250-word abstract and additional content about the proposed work (see below), plus an additional page for references.

• Abstract: Prepare an abstract of up to 250 words. This abstract will appear in the online program. Abstracts should not contain subheadings or citations.
• Purpose: Describe the purpose and goal of convening a CPI. This section should let prospective members know what you are hoping to create from this experience (i.e., a research project, a grant proposal, a new course). The overall idea should appeal to the SIGCSE community.
• Proposed Plan of Work: Describe the type of work that members will be doing before, during, and after the Pre-Symposium meeting. It may also include a tentative agenda of topics and activities. This section should describe the deliverable for the end of the Pre-Symposium meeting. Recall that CPIs are required to present their plan on the last day of the Technical Symposium. Members should not be expected to do a substantial amount of work before the meeting, though they can be asked to collect data or information to bring to the meeting.
• Prospective Members: Briefly and generally describe who might be interested in joining your CPI group. This section should speak to the typical attendee populations that the Technical Symposium draws. You do not need to go into much detail, as that will be described in the appendix and then later in the advertisement (if accepted).
• Significance of Proposed Work: Describe the importance and significance of the work to be done in this CPI and why it is important to the SIGCSE community. This section should connect the proposed topic and work to existing CS education literature as well as any current trends.
• End Goal: Describe the end goal of the CPI. That is, what do you hope to achieve or accomplish with this group by the end of the Technical Symposium and afterward?
• References: Citing relevant work where appropriate is important. References should be placed in a separate section titled References and should follow the formatting guidelines. References can go onto a third page.

Appendix

The appendix can be up to two pages long and includes information about recruitment, membership criteria, planned work, and biographies of the proposed leads.

• Inclusion Criteria for Member Selection: The composition of the CPI group should draw from the attendee population of the Technical Symposium. CPIs should help create new research collaboration opportunities for people who are not yet well-connected within our community and who come from different institutions.
• Recruitment Plan: Describe how you will recruit people to join your CPI group.
• Advertisement Text: Include a short (one to two paragraphs) description of your CPI that can be put onto the Technical Symposium website. The CPI Track Chairs may also use this paragraph to do general SIGCSE community-wide recruitment on your behalf.
• Detailed Proposed Agenda of the Work-Plan During the Pre-Symposium: Assume that the group will have about six hours for this meeting.
• Qualifications of Leads: Describe the leads’ expertise in the topic and any experience leading major research, education, or other related projects. Working Group participation at other SIGCSE conferences should also be mentioned.
• Additional Information: Add any other information that is important for reviewers. You can also expand on any of the topics from the paper here.

Submission Templates

All CPI submissions must be in English and formatted using the 2-column ACM SIG Conference Proceedings format and US letter size pages (8.5 x 11 inch or 215.9 x 279.4 mm).

Page Limits: CPI submissions are limited to a maximum of 2 pages of content (including all titles, author information, abstract, main text, tables and illustrations, acknowledgements, supplemental material, and references).

MS Word Authors: Please use the interim Word template provided by ACM.

LaTeX Authors:

• Overleaf provides a suitable two-column SIG Conference Proceedings template.
• Other LaTeX users may alternatively use the ACM Primary template, adding the “sigconf” format option in the documentclass to obtain the 2-column format.

Requirements for Double Anonymous Review Process: At the time of submission, all entries should include blank space for all anonymous author information (or anonymized author name, institution, and email address), followed by an abstract, body content, and references. For anonymized submissions, all blank space necessary for all author information should be reserved under the Title, or fully anonymized text can take its place (i.e., one block per author, with four lines for name, institution, address, and email; not more than three columns of blocks). In addition, please leave enough blank space for what you intend to include for Acknowledgements, but do not include the text, especially names, granting agencies, and grant numbers.

Desk rejects: Submissions that do not adhere to page limits or formatting requirements will be desk rejected without review.

Accessibility: SIGCSE TS authors are strongly encouraged to prepare submissions using these templates in such a manner that the content is widely accessible to potential reviewers, track chairs, and readers. Please see these resources for preparing an accessible submission.

Single Anonymized Review

Submissions to the CPI track are reviewed with the single-anonymous review process. Submissions should include author names and affiliations. Thus, the author identities are known to reviewers, but reviewers are anonymous to each other and to the authors.

The reviewing process includes a discussion phase after initial reviews have been posted. During this time, the reviewers can examine all reviews and privately discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the work in an anonymous manner through EasyChair. This discussion information can be used by the track chairs, in addition to the content of the review, in making final acceptance decisions.

The SIGCSE TS review process does not have a rebuttal period for authors to respond to comments, and all acceptance decisions are final.

ACM Policies

By submitting your article to an ACM Publication, you are hereby acknowledging that you and your co-authors are subject to all ACM Publications Policies, including ACM’s Publications Policy on Research Involving Human Participants and Subjects (https://www.acm.org/publications/policies/research-involving-human-participants-and-subjects). Alleged violations of this policy or any ACM Publications Policy will be investigated by ACM and may result in a full retraction of your paper, in addition to other potential penalties, as per ACM Publications Policy. See also the authorship policies.

ACM has made a commitment to collect ORCiD IDs from all published authors (see the ACM ORCiD FAQs). All authors on each submission must have an ORCiD ID in order to complete the submission process. Please make sure to get your ORCiD ID in advance of submitting your work.

Member Recruitment

Membership recruitment should start immediately after CPI Leads are notified of their acceptances. CPI Leads will recruit members from within and outside the SIGCSE community, though the CPI Track Chairs will facilitate the application process for CPI members. CPIs should create new research collaboration opportunities, especially for people who are not yet well-connected within our community and who come from different institutions. CPIs are encouraged to consider at least one early-career academic, doctoral student, or new member to the SIGCSE community. CPI Track Chairs will monitor the selection process to ensure that each CPI has a diversity of membership that is aligned to the inclusion criteria.

CPI Membership Application

All prospective members must submit an application through the official Technical Symposium website CPI membership recruitment form, indicating which CPIs they want to join and describing their interests and qualifications.

The CPI Leads will be provided with the applications of those prospective members who indicated interest in their specific CPI, for their review. The CPI Leads will then notify the CPI Track Chairs with their list of selected potential members for their respective groups.

The CPI Track Chairs will try to resolve any applicants who were selected by more than one CPI group. An applicant can only be selected to participate in one CPI group at most. Once the membership lists are finalized, the CPI Track Chairs will notify applicants of the decisions. Their names will be listed on the Technical Symposium website.

There are two rounds of recruitment. In the first round of recruitment, the deadline for prospective members to submit applications is January 30, 2027 AoE. It is at this point that the CPI Track Chairs will determine if there is adequate membership to move forward with a CPI’s inclusion in the Technical Symposium.

A second round of recruitment may occur up until the end of regular registration. This round is for CPIs who need more members or are still seeking members with certain expertise. The second round is open to new applicants and to applicants not approved during the first round who want to apply for another CPI.

CPI Track Chairs may cancel any CPIs that do not attract enough members.

What Gets Published?

The full 2-page extended abstract for each accepted CPI that has sufficient membership to move forward to the Pre-Symposium will be published in the proceedings. Note that only the CPI Lead names will appear as authors in the extended abstract.

Presentation Details

All leads and group members of the CPIs must register for and attend the SIGCSE TS 2027 conference in person and pay the supplemental CPI fee.

Pre-Symposium Meeting

The main CPI meeting will be held during the Pre-Symposium between 8:30am and 5:00pm. All group members should be checked in with the Registration Desk before this meeting. The CPI meeting will most likely be held in a large room of round tables, with each CPI group at a table.

The tentative schedule for the Pre-Symposium meeting is:

• 8:30am – 8:45am: Welcome from the Collaborative Project Incubators Track Chairs
• 8:45am – 12:00pm: CPI Working Session
• 12:00pm – 1:00pm: Lunch
• 1:00pm – 4:30pm: CPI Working Session
• 4:30pm – 5:30pm: Closing and Next Steps

CPIs are expected to be highly interactive and participatory. Each group will be given paper, large poster papers, and markers. Leads are responsible for any other materials or resources the group needs. Leads should also let their members know if they should bring any specific materials (e.g., laptops).

Technical Symposium Presentation

CPIs will present their project ideas during the last day of the Symposium (Saturday) during the parallel sessions. Presentations should last 5 to 10 minutes depending on the number of groups, followed by 2 to 3 minutes for questions and answers. A Session Chair will manage the session with the help of a Student Volunteer. All CPI group members are expected to attend this session. The Session Chair will introduce the session, and then prior to each CPI presentation will introduce the presenters, keep track of time, and provide two-minute and one-minute warnings before the question-and-answer period begins.

Overview

Collaborative Project Incubators brings together a group of 6 to 10 CS education researchers, practitioners, and industry partners for focused and intensive discussions, brainstorming, and rapid-prototyping of ideas around a specific topic. This track serves as an “incubator” for developing potential multi-institutional or multi-national grant proposals, research projects, and other collaborative initiatives in CS education.

Submission and Review System

The review process for SIGCSE TS will be done using the EasyChair submission system (https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=sigcsets2027). Reviewers will be invited to join/login to EasyChair, update their profile, and select 3–5 topics that they are most qualified to review. To do so, reviewers select SIGCSE TS 2027 > Conference > My topics from the menu and select at most 5 topics. More topics make it harder for the EasyChair system to make a good set of matches. Reviewers also identify their Conflicts of Interest by selecting SIGCSE TS 2027 > Conference > My Conflicts.

Single-Anonymous Review Process

Submissions to the CPI track are reviewed with the single-anonymous review process. Submissions should include author names and affiliations. Thus, the author identities are known to reviewers, but reviewers are anonymous to each other and to the authors. The reviewing process includes a discussion phase after initial reviews have been posted. During this time, the reviewers can examine all reviews and privately discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed slate anonymously through EasyChair. Information from the discussion will be used by the track chairs in making final acceptance decisions.

The SIGCSE TS review process does not have a rebuttal period for authors to respond to comments, and all acceptance decisions are final.

Review Process

The review process for round-one single-anonymous submissions is described in these Instructions for Reviewers. The questions on the pre-discussion form follow. They may change slightly before the review period. Reviewers will be asked to review approximately five proposals. Initial reviews will consist of a single rating (Recommend acceptance, Unsure, Do not recommend acceptance) and a short rationale for that rating. After the initial reviews, the track chairs will propose a slate to accept. In putting together the slate, the chairs will consider ratings, comments (and appropriateness thereof), and the balance of topics. Reviewers will then discuss both the slate of reviews and the complete set of submissions, proposing substitutions as appropriate. Track chairs will then make the determination of the final slate and will write meta-reviews for the authors, based on the initial comments and the discussion.

We expect that the broader discussion of the slate will provide a more equitable and transparent review process, and that the replacement of individual reviews with meta-reviews will better address issues of potential bias in individual reviews.

Collaborative Project Incubators Review Guidelines

Reviewers provide high-quality reviews for submissions to give authors feedback so they may improve their work for presentation or future submissions. While authors will not receive your comments directly, the Track Chairs are likely to use your comments from the rationale in providing advice to the authors. As such, please ensure that all criticism is phrased in a constructive manner.

In the initial phase of the review, you will be asked three questions.

• Recommendation. Please enter your preliminary recommendation for this submission. After we gather the preliminary recommendations, we will propose a slate of proposals to accept and then ask reviewers to discuss that slate.
• Rationale. Please give your rationale for your recommendation. Authors will NOT see your complete rationale. However, track chairs may use text from your rationale in providing feedback to authors.
• Confidential remarks for the program committee. If you wish to add any remarks intended only for PC members, please write them below. These remarks will only be seen by the PC members having access to reviews for this submission. They will not be sent to the authors. This field is optional.

We strongly recommend that you prepare your rationale in a separate document; EasyChair has been known to time out.

In your recommendation, please consider the following:

• Contribution and Impact to the CS Education Field: potential in advancing knowledge and innovation from possible collaboration outcomes.
• Relevance of Topic: supported by prior and related research in this area.
• Widespread Interest: potential widespread interest from the SIGCSE community on the proposed topics and activities from the typical population that the Technical Symposium draws. Preference will be given to proposals that intentionally seek multi-institutional and national/international collaborations and have a high likelihood of many attendees applying for participation.
• Qualifications of lead authors.
• Presentation of the topic and ideas for the CPI in the proposal.

The program and track chairs will consider reviewer feedback and the availability of appropriate facilities in composing a slate of proposed CPIs for TS 2027.

Discussion

The discussion and recommendation period provides the opportunity for the Track Chairs to discuss reviews and feedback so they can provide the best recommendation for acceptance or rejection to the Program Chairs. During this phase, a proposed slate of CPIs will be discussed. The Track Chairs will make a final recommendation to the Program Chairs from your feedback. The Track Chairs will also prepare feedback for the authors based on your review and the discussion.

Recalcitrant Reviewers

Reviewers who don’t submit reviews, have reviews with limited constructive feedback, do not engage effectively in the discussion phase, or who submit inappropriate reviews will be removed from the reviewer list (as per SIGCSE policy). Recalcitrant reviewers will be informed of their removal from the reviewer list. Reviewers with repeated offenses (two within a three-year period) will be removed from SIGCSE reviewing for three years.

Review Form

The review process for round-one single-anonymous submissions is described above in these Instructions for Reviewers. The questions on the pre-discussion form follow. They may change slightly before the review period.

Recommendation: Please enter your preliminary recommendation for this submission. After we gather the preliminary recommendations, we will propose a slate of proposals to accept and then ask reviewers to discuss that slate.

• Recommended for inclusion in the slate of CPIs at TS 2027
• May be appropriate for inclusion in the slate of CPIs at TS 2027
• Not recommended for inclusion in the slate of CPIs at TS 2027

Rationale: Please give your rationale for your recommendation. Authors will NOT see your complete rationale. However, track chairs may use text from your rationale in providing feedback to authors.

Confidential remarks for the program committee: If you wish to add any remarks intended only for PC members, please write them below. These remarks will only be seen by the PC members having access to reviews for this submission. They will not be sent to the authors. This field is optional.

CPI proposals consist of a 2-page proposal (with a 3rd page for references) and a 1–2 page appendix that addresses specific prompts. CPI submissions to the SIGCSE TS 2027 must be made through EasyChair no later than Wednesday, 30 September 2026. The track chairs reserve the right to desk reject submissions that are incomplete after the deadline has passed.

Important Dates