Pre-Conference DLGS Summer School (for PhDs only)

Format “Reflexive presentation”

Each PhD receives a time slot of 15 minutes to provide a concise insight into their work. To enhance the benefit of the feedback received it is advisable to also include your own self-reflective questions in the talk. Up to three PhDs will be grouped together in 90-minute sessions.

IOER Conference 2026

Researchers as well as practitioners are invited to contribute with their work and ideas to the IOER Conference in five different formats (F1-F5):

F1: Presentation

Present your paper intended for publication in a scientific journal in a detailed 20-minute presentation. This contribution format allows for in-depth discussions with the audience and may include contributions from several speakers.

F2: Speed Talk

Present your new project ideas, research approaches, or other impulses in a concise 5-minute talk. This contribution format emphasizes audience engagement, mutual inspiration, and joint discussion.

F3: Digital Tool Slam

You have 5 minutes to present your app, model, simulation environment, or data visualisation in a live and engaging way. The audience votes to award the most innovative tool. This contribution format is therefore similar to a science slam, but specifically focused on digital tools.

F4: Interactive Session

Propose your own interactive session design focused entirely on communication, participation and/or co-production. Content and methods are freely selectable but must be described in the submission. Session duration 60 – 90 minutes. Examples include:

• Open Fishbowl: A small group discusses a topic in an inner circle with one or more empty chairs. The audience sits in an outer circle and listens. Audience members may join the discussion by taking an open seat, after which another speaker leaves.
• Compact World Café: Participants discuss one or two guiding questions in small groups during brief rounds with limited table rotation. Key insights are quickly collected and shared.
• Policy Lab: Practitioners (from municipalities, NGOs, etc.) present a real-world challenge from their work. In moderated small groups, they develop potential solutions in collaboration with researchers strengthening knowledge transfer and co-production.

F5: Sustainability Transformation HaCLAthon (Hackathon)

This collaborative data challenge begins already prior to the conference in mid-May. Spatial data analysts, planners, and coders can explore more specifically how artificial intelligence can foster participation concerning one of the following topics or their intersections: urban climate resilience, circularity, land use change, material cadastres.

Unlike traditional overnight hackathons, this contribution format allows teams to work on their ideas asynchronously in the weeks prior to the conference. To ensure a low barrier to entry, we will provide a “starter kit”, which will include a ready-to-use coding environment and curated IOER datasets. We invite you to link your own data or tools with ours to create new insights. Develop AI-assisted workflows, visualizations, or prototypes that make complex spatial data accessible for citizens and stakeholders.

• Selected teams will be invited to present their results in 5-minute pitches during a dedicated session at the main conference.
• All contributions can be published in a collaborative Jupyter Book alongside the conference proceedings, which ensures lasting visibility for all contributions.

An abstract is not required for the Hackathon. However, we look forward to receiving your expression of interest via online form. Detailed guidelines and the starter kit will be released with the opening of conference registration in mid-May 2026. You can then sign up for the challenge during the registration process, indicating your preferred topic (see above).