The UCAmI 2025 PhD Symposium aims to foster the development of doctoral research in the fields of Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence by providing a forum where PhD students can present their PhD topics, research ideas, receive constructive feedback, and engage with senior experts and peers in the community. This symposium offers an excellent opportunity for doctoral students to refine their research objectives, gain insights from experienced researchers, and build connections with fellow students working on related topics.

Selected contributions will be presented in a dedicated PhD Symposium session during the conference, where participants will have the opportunity to discuss their research ideas and results with the audience. Additionally, all accepted participants will be required to prepare a poster (size ‘DIN A0’ (841 x 1189 mm) and vertical) to be presented in the session and showcased at the conference poster session, allowing further discussions with attendees from the broader research community

The PhD Symposium invites submissions from PhD students at all stages of their research who are conducting work related to the main topics of the UCAmI 2025 conference. We especially encourage submissions from students who are in the early stages and need guidance on their research direction, as well as from those in the later stages who seek feedback on their findings before completing their dissertation.

The UCAmI doctoral symposium covers the same research topics as the main conference for PhD students. All PhD Symposium papers will appear in the main conference proceedings that will be published in Springer LNNS.

To participate, students should submit a research plan (short paper format, 6 pages) that addresses the following key questions:

1. What is the research problem you aim to address?

   Clearly define the problem and the key research questions.

2. Why is this problem important to the research community?

   Explain its impact, novelty, and relevance to UCAmI.

3. How do you plan to approach the problem?

   Describe the methodology, including experiments, case studies, or data collection techniques.

4. What are your preliminary findings or expected contributions?

   Summarize any progress made and the potential implications of your work.

5. What are the next steps and timeline for your research?

   Provide a roadmap for the remaining work leading to dissertation completion.

Contribution Paper Format for the PhD Consortium

The PhD Consortium submission should follow this structure:

1. Front Matter: Title; Author’s name, affiliation, and email address; Abstract summarizing the research.
2. Introduction and Motivation: Research area and background; Description of the research problem; Limitations of existing approaches; Proposed solution and expected contributions.
3. Research Issues, Objectives, and Questions: Clearly defined research questions, objectives, and hypotheses
4. Research Methodology and Design: Methods employed or planned (e.g., experiments, data collection, case studies); Evaluation approach and expected outcomes; Considerations regarding threats to validity
5. Preliminary Key Results or Contributions: Overview of proposed solutions and early findings; Examples illustrating how the solution would work.
6. Work Plan: Outline of the thesis structure; Completed work and remaining tasks; Publication and research milestones for the next 6-12 months.
7. Key References: Relevant literature supporting the research.

NOTE: Submissions should be a maximum of 6 pages and must be prepared following the guidelines for paper submission at the UCAmI web. You are encouraged to use the short paper template provided in the Call For Paper section of the web

Poster Format for the PhD Consortium

The poster for the PhD Consortium should be in DIN A0 format (841 x 1189 mm) and in vertical orientation. It must include the following essential elements:

1. Title of the thesis.
2. Authors and supervisor(s) of the thesis.
3. UCAmI logo.

Recommendations for Poster Creation:

• Avoid overcrowding the poster with excessive information.
• Use diagrams, graphs, figures, and photos, preferably created by you. If not, ensure the material is not copyrighted or properly acknowledge the source or authorship.
• If AI-generated images are used, the source should be indicated at the bottom of the image.
• Use large, readable fonts.
• Use colors to differentiate sections and highlight the most relevant information.
• Include event details, the UCLM logo, and, if applicable, the logos of research funding entities at the top of the poster.
• It is recommended to include QR codes to direct people to additional information (references, detailed analysis, etc.).
• If desired, include your institutional email address and social media handles (especially academic-professional ones).

Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of senior researchers based on relevance to UCAmI topics, clarity, and potential impact. Selected participants will be invited to present their research in the PhD Symposium session and contribute to the poster session at UCAmI 2025.

A Best PhD Symposium Contribution Award will be given to the best submission, as voted by the conference participants and a jury after the poster session.