Call for Shadow Program Committee Members

As a new innovation, ICAPS-26 will have a Shadow Program Committee (Shadow PC) and the organizers invite applications from motivated PhD students and early-career researchers.

What is a Shadow PC?

The Shadow PC is a training-oriented committee that mirrors the work of the main Program Committee. Its goal is to help junior researchers gain first-hand experience with the peer-review and decision-making process for a top academic conference like ICAPS.

Shadow PC members will:

  • Review a selection of submitted papers
  • Participate in online discussions
  • Potentially take on the role of a senior program commitee member for a paper
  • Produce acceptance recommendations (non-binding)
  • Receive feedback and mentorship on reviewing quality from senior researchers

Who Should Apply?

We welcome applications from PhD students and early-career researchers with an interest in improving their reviewing skills and gaining insight into the peer-reviewing process.

We do not require prior reviewing experience, but expect some familiarity with the topics covered by ICAPS, as defined by the ICAPS call for papers. Pursuing a PhD in this area would typically indicate sufficient familiarity.

Benefits of Participating

  • Learn how high-quality reviews are written
  • Understand how PC discussions and decisions unfold
  • Receive feedback from experienced mentors
  • Gain visibility within the research community
  • Prepare for future roles on program committees

Expected Commitment

Shadow PC members are expected to:

  • Read the information material (or attend an online pre-review meeting)
  • Review 1-2 papers
  • Read and respond to other reviews of the papers that you review, and participate actively in online discussions about those papers.
  • Potentially lead the discussion for a paper and write a meta review (taking on the role of a senior program committee)

Shadow PC reviewers are expected to commit to the same principles and standards of ethical conduct that apply to regular PC members. These principles, as defined by the ACM, can be found here. They include, but are not limited to, not discussing papers that you are assigned to review outside of the shadow PC, and not using ideas or results from reviewed papers before they have been published.

How to Apply

Please submit the following information in the application form.

  • Name, email and affiliation
  • Career stage (e.g. PhD year, postdoc). If you are a PhD student, include the name of your PhD advisor.
  • Brief description of your research area (just a few keywords) and relevant experience (for example, have you previously written a a paper published in or submitted to ICAPS, or a similar conference?) This information will be used to match shadow reviewers with papers, not to select members of the shadow PC.

By applying to be part of the Shadow PC, you commit to upholding the principles and standards of ethical conduct that apply to all PC members.

Important Dates (Shadow PC)

  • Submit your application to be part of the Shadow PC no later than the 31st of December!
  • You bid on papers before January 6th.
  • Your assignment of papers to review will be announced by the 9th of January.
  • Pre-review information and meetings will take place in early January 2026.
  • Reviews are due at the beginning of February 2026.
  • Discussion about papers, and feedback on reviews, will take place until mid February 2026.

The reference timezone for all deadlines is UTC-12 (that date anywhere on Earth).

Contact

Send an email to Patrik Haslum, Gabriele Röger and Rick Valenzano.