Academic Mindtrek 2026

The Countdown Is On

About Academic Mindtrek

The International Academic Mindtrek has been a long-standing exciting meeting place where researchers, experts and thinkers present results from their latest works regarding the development of novel technology, media and digital culture for the society of tomorrow.

When

Tuesday 27th – Friday 30th of
October, 2026 (GMT+3)

Where

Paidia Living Lab of Play (Nokia Arena) | ONLINE

Academic Mindtrek 2026 – Call for Papers and Submission Types

We are very pleased to announce that the 29th International Academic Mindtrek conference will take place between the 27–30 October 2026. We are hoping to host a hybrid event in Tampere, Finland – in person, and live-streamed online.

Academic Mindtrek 2026 welcomes full papers, pictorials, workshops, demonstrations and poster presentations on a variety of topics relating to HCI, as well as a doctoral consortium.

Mindtrek provides a unique platform where individuals from different fields, including academia, government institutions, companies and startups come together. This diversity fosters collaboration, enabling the transition of research findings into practical applications for the industry, and fostering a broader scientific vision for industrial applied research.

Academic Mindtrek 2026 welcomes all scientific contributions that present relevant and current studies of today that may shape the way we interact with the technologies of tomorrow, as well as direct perspectives and interrogations of futures. Our goal is to facilitate meaningful experiences and knowledge sharing on how technology mediates society; in positive, negative and complex ways. And to reflect on which futures these dynamics may lead to.

The conference is grounded in a strong collaboration between local Finnish organizers from Tampere University and University of Lapland and international partners. This collaboration merges Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research and development in individual conference Tracks.

The submitted papers should focus on phenomena related to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI): human factors and requirements, usability and ergonomics, privacy, ethics and trustworthiness of technologies, as well as the exploration of other factors involved (e.g., sociological and psychological factors).

Conference Tracks

Academic Mindtrek 2026 features the following Conference Tracks, covering a variety of themes from Human-Computer Interaction, exploring the different ways in which society interacts with present and future technologies:

Accessibility and Inclusion in the Digital Society
The Future of Smart Cities
Fictional, Speculative and Critical Futures
Games and Gamification
Human‑Nature Interaction
Metaverse
Robots and AI in Everyday Life

Unlike previous years, there is no General Track: we encourage the authors to review the tracks below and consider the one that best fits their work.

Reviewing Process and Proceedings

The submission opens on 10 April 2026.

The Academic Mindtrek conference has a rigorous peer-review process via the EasyChair system. All submissions are peer-reviewed; each paper will be reviewed by three experts in a double-anonymous review. The review process is managed by local track chairs and their international co-chairs and overseen by the conference and academic program chairs.

All accepted papers, pictorials, workshops, demonstrations, and posters will be published in the ACM Digital Library under the International Conference Proceedings Series (ICPS). Please note that ACM has moved to full Open Access model. See more information below:

Important note to authors about ACM’s new open access publishing model
ACM has introduced a new open access publishing model for the International Conference Proceedings Series (ICPS). Authors based at institutions that are not yet part of the ACM Open program and do not qualify for a full geographic waiver will be required to pay an article processing charge (APC) to publish their ICPS article in the ACM Digital Library. To determine whether or not an APC will be applicable to your article, please follow the detailed guidance here: https://www.acm.org/publications/icps/author-guidance.

Further information may be found on the ACM website, as follows:

Full details of the new ICPS publishing model: https://www.acm.org/publications/icps/faq
Full details of the ACM Open program: https://www.acm.org/publications/openaccess

Please direct all questions about the new model to icps-info@acm.org.

Timeline for Academic Mindtrek 2026

All deadlines are 23:59 AoE

Deadline for full papers, pictorials, and workshops submissions:
22 May 2026

Notification of acceptance (full papers, pictorials, and workshops):
7 August 2026

Camera-ready for full papers and workshops submission:
21 August 2026

Deadline for auxiliary submissions:
4 September 2026

Notification of auxiliary submissions:
25 September 2026

CONFERENCE DATES:
27–30 October 2026

Details for Submission

Please follow the guidelines carefully as they are integral to the successful publication of your submission and not adhering to the guidelines may make it significantly harder to prepare your submission for publication if accepted:

Full papers

Papers should be between 8 to 16 pages, excluding references. The manuscript’s length should reflect the contribution of the work shown.
- Longer or shorter papers need to justify their length, or risk desk-rejection!
Papers need to be prepared with the ACM single-column template: https://www.acm.org/publications/proceedings-template
All submissions will undergo double-anonymized peer review. Authors are asked to ensure that no identifiable information is found within their manuscript, and removed prior to submission (e.g., self-citing, acknowledgements, etc.).
At least one author must register and attend Mindtrek to present the paper.

Pictorials

Pictorials are an alternative format to Full Paper (text-based) submissions.
- They offer a visually rich and design-oriented submission format that emphasizes the role of images, illustrations, and graphical elements in presenting research processes and contributions. This format is particularly suited for works that integrate visual communication as a central component of knowledge production and dissemination, such as research in human-computer interaction, design, media studies, and creative technologies.

Pictorials leverage visual storytelling in research communication and are particularly suited for practice-based and artistic research or representing data and concepts in a novel way. This format thus emphasises self-sufficient and visual representation that is comprehensible even without the supportive explanatory text.
Pictorials are subject to the same peer review process and scientific rigour criteria as Full Papers and are presented at the conference and published under the same category.
At least one author must register and attend Mindtrek to present the pictorial.

Pictorials should follow the template put forward by DIS: We strongly advise you to use the InDesign template to compose your Pictorial. If you do not have access to InDesign, please use the Word or Powerpoint templates.

DIS2022 Pictorials InDesign Template
DIS2022 Pictorials Word Template
DIS2022 Pictorials Powerpoint Template

Maximum length is the same as for text-based full papers – 16 pages excluding references.

Workshops

Mindtrek welcomes both hands-on co-design workshops and presentation-based workshops.
Workshop proposals should be papers between 4-6 pages long (ACM single-column format) excluding references. Workshop proposals should also include the organizing committee, a description of the theme and goals of the workshop, a short CV of organizers, duration, and the schedule. At least one author should attend the conference for organizing the workshop during the conference.
- In the case of hands-on workshops: in your submission, provide an estimate of how many participants you want to attract. Are you aiming at conference attendees? Would you like to open the workshop to other participants? Please also mention how you will manage the IP of ideas developed in the workshop and if you plan further publications to spin off the workshop.
- In the case of presentation-based workshops: in your submission, provide a timeline for submissions and reviews. Workshop submissions will be reviewed by track chairs. Depending on the attached number of papers for each workshop, we provide space for either half-day or full-day workshops. Workshop organizers can create their own proceedings of the accepted position papers (e.g., they can publish submitted papers on their workshop web page).
Previous examples include, e.g., workshops on Co-Designing Recipes for Spatial XR, Playable Research Concepts, Adaptive and Immersive Media, Building Accessible Futures, Social Robot Human Interaction, and Fabulating Futures for Value Based Design, among others.

Posters

Poster proposals should be between 4-6 pages long, excluding references in the ACM single-column format, and a poster should be presented during the conference. Poster submission will be reviewed by track chairs.
At least one author should register for and attend the conference to present the poster if accepted.

Demonstrations

Interactive experience demonstration proposals should be papers between 4-6 pages long, excluding references. Papers submitted as demonstrations should include:

a) a description and motivation of the interactive experience
b) general architecture of the interactive experience
c) description of the main features of the demonstration
d) the emphasis on novelty when compared to other existing related interactive experiences
e) required materials and the setup to illustrate the demonstration at the conference (e.g. displays, electrical outlets, size of the area, poster board)
f) link to the video of the interactive experience demonstration (required)
g) the type of license (if applicable),
h) the website (if applicable)
i) brief description of the scientific basis behind the interactive experience demonstration (if applicable).

Demonstration proposals will be reviewed by track chairs. At least one author should attend the conference to present the demonstration if accepted.

Doctoral Consortium

Doctoral Consortium presentation proposals should be papers between 4-6 pages long excluding references. The Doctoral Consortium at Mindtrek invites proposals from doctoral students.

The Doctoral Consortium is a platform for early-stage doctoral students to present, develop and share ideas. The participants will gain insights from highly acclaimed HCI researchers and feedback on their research work. This forum will also provide visibility and a networking platform with fellow researchers.

Please submit the following documents in PDF-format:

Summary of your doctoral research project, including:
1) A brief description of current status of your work;
2) The motivation that drives your dissertation research or what motivated you to begin
3) A summary of the research objectives/goals/questions;
4) Key concepts or terminology that frames your research;
5) Theoretical framework(s) used in the research;
6) Hypothesis/thesis and/or problem statement;
7) Your research approach and methods
8) Results to date;
9) On-going and upcoming work.
Your CV, describing your academic activity and current stage of your doctoral research project.

Submission Format

Please see the following pages regarding the formatting of your publication. Mindtrek adopts the formatting guidelines of ACM. All submissions should be in the single-column format as described in the pages below. Please follow the guidelines carefully as they are integral to the successful publication of your submission and not adhering to the guidelines may make it significantly harder to prepare your submissions for publication if accepted.

MAIN ORGANIZERS

Contact and stay informed

academic.info@mindtrek.org

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SUPPORTED BY:

COSS Association, City of Tampere, Tampere University (TAU), Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), and SIGCHI Finland.