Doctoral Consortium CFP

Overview

EDM’s Doctoral Consortium is an interactive event to support doctoral students working in progressing in their research while also giving them additional opportunities for mentorship in our trans-disciplinary community. Students who are selected for the Doctoral Consortium will share and discuss their research ideas and plans with more experienced colleagues (i.e., mentors), who will provide feedback on the student’s work including the theoretical framing and the methodological approaches. Doctoral Consortium participants will also have the opportunity to informally introduce themselves to the larger EDM community.

We invite all doctoral students for submissions. However, candidates will be prioritized in order to ensure that those who are selected are at a stage where feedback from the EDM community will be of most value. The ideal candidates will:

  • have a clear topic and research approach
  • show clear progress towards a dissertation, but still be at a stage where they can benefit from feedback. 

In addition to participating in the Doctoral Consortium as a candidate in a doctoral program, we will also accept researchers who have  graduated within the year. 

Though the main objective of the Doctoral Consortium is to provide an opportunity for feedback on students’ current research, we also seek to continue to build interdisciplinary research ideas, theoretical frameworks, and methodological approaches because these intersections are critical to EDM as an area of scholarship. We recognize that a supportive and trans-disciplinary research community can only be possible with opportunities for healthy dialogic exchange between members of the EDM community. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the Doctoral Consortium fosters such collaborative interactions among the participants of the conference in order to enhance the experience of all participants and build capacity in the field.

Doctoral Consortium Activities

Accepted candidates will participate in a range of activities designed to help them build their network and receive feedback on their work. These will include 1-on-1 talks with senior researchers, interactions with other students, and other opportunities to present their work and receive feedback. DC applicants are asked to name potential mentors in their letter of application and to provide information about why those potential mentors would be useful to the development of their research trajectory.  We will do our best to match students accordingly.

Application Requirements

The submission has two equally important parts:

  1. A letter of application, describing the DC applicant and their research goals in two pages or less.
    1. A paragraph describing you, including
      1. A brief/general overview of your training to date
      2. The name of your supervisor(s)
      3. Your rank and university affiliation
      4. Link to your research webpage and/or CV
      5. Please also include US citizenship/greencard status for potential NSF funding consideration.
    2. A paragraph that provides your paper title and a short description. Be sure to include:
      1. A sentence or two describing the study, including it’s methods, the learning domain(s) being studied, and the population(s) of learners being investigated.  
      2. The current stage of the study(ies), including details about where the research is/will be carried out.
      3. For collaborative projects, please also describe your role/contributions to this work to date.
      4. If applicable, a list of any other submissions to EDM 2026 (e.g., if you have submitted multiple papers).
    3. A paragraph about your research goals, that
      1. Describe s the type of feedback you desire from the doctoral consortium 
      2. The names of 3 EDM researcher-mentors the student would like to meet AND a short description of why you would like their mentorship.
  2. A 2-4 page research paper on a topic of interest to the EDM community.  
    1. Paper submissions must be primarily authored by the students with advisors and collaborators listed as co-authors (as necessary).
    2. Paper submissions should be formatted using the conference template.
    3. The paper should describe, in a logical and coherent manner, the aims and objectives of the proposed research by clearly illustrating the following:
  • The problem(s) addressed and the fit with the state of the art, including any previous work the student has done.
  • The theoretical framing and proposed solution(s), as well as the methodology adopted to achieve it. Include the progress made to date on the work.
  • The expected contribution(s) and impact of the research to the EDM/AIED community being mindful of both the Learning Sciences and Computer Science.

CONSIDERATION OF AN ACCEPTED FULL OR SHORT PAPER:  if you are the first author on a paper that has been accepted to EDM, that paper can be considered for submission to the doctoral consortium. In this case, you will instead be invited to provide a one page abstract for the camera ready copy of the Doctoral Consortium proceedings. That way your paper will not be published twice yet your participation in the DC will be recorded in the proceedings.

Easychair submission

To facilitate submission, both the Letter of Application (LoA) and the paper should be be binded in a single PDF and uploaded to EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=edm2026

Important Dates

For more information, please check the conference’s Important Dates.

Doctoral Consortium Chairs

If you have any further questions, please, contact the doctoral consortium chairs:

  • Jaclyn Ocumpaugh, University of Houston, US
  • Nathaniel Blanchard, Colorado State University, US