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1st Call for Papers of QEST+FORMAT 2026
by Marco Paolieri Dec. 12, 2025

Dec. 12, 2025

======================================= 1st Call for Papers of QEST+FORMAT 2026 September 2-4, 2026, Liverpool, UK https://www.qest-formats.org/ https://confest-2026.github.io/ ======================================= Tentative Dates: Abstract submission: April 3, 2026 Paper submission: April 10, 2026 Artifact submission: April 17, 2026 Author notification: May 24, 2026 Camera-ready submission: June 14, 2026 ======================================= Scope and Topics The two flagship conferences QEST (International Conference on Quantitative Evaluation of SysTems) and FORMATS (International Conference on Formal Modeling and Analysis of Timed Systems) are pursuing a strategic process of joining forces and sparking a new joint conference for quantitative modelling, analysis, and verification. This culminated in 2024 in the first QEST+FORMATS joint conference. In 2026, the two conferences will form the third QEST+FORMATS joint conference, which will be held on 2-4 September 2026 in Liverpool, UK, as part of the CONFEST 2026 umbrella conference. The joint conference is the leading forum for the quantitative evaluation and verification of systems. QEST+FORMATS aims to promote the study of fundamental and practical aspects of systems with quantitative nature (such as probability, timing, and cost). It aims to bring together researchers from different disciplines who share interests in the modelling, design, and analysis of computational systems. Systems of interest include biological and chemical systems; computer networks; critical infrastructures; cyber-physical systems; data-driven AI systems; energy systems; hardware and software systems; industrial systems; mobility networks; and quantum systems. The QEST+FORMATS joint conference also aims to attract researchers interested in real-time issues in hardware design, performance analysis, real-time software, scheduling, semantics and verification of timed, hybrid, and probabilistic systems. In general, the conference aims to attract experts in quantitative and timed systems from any domain. Topics and scientific areas of interest include: --- Models and metrics for the correctness, performance, reliability, safety, and security of systems (stochastic, probabilistic, quantum, and non-deterministic models including Markov chains, automata, Petri nets, process algebra, and their variations); --- Languages and methods for the specification of quantitative properties of systems; --- Techniques, algorithms, and data structures for the analysis, evaluation, and verification of the above models, e.g., for model checking, testing, constraint solving, scheduling, optimization, and worst-case execution time analysis; --- Quantitative and probabilistic aspects of programming; --- Data-driven and machine-learning techniques for the analysis, prediction, and verification of quantitative properties of systems; --- Case studies that highlight the role of quantitative specification, modelling, and evaluation in the design and analysis of systems, with emphasis on emerging problems and technologies, or novel domains; --- Software tools to support the practical application of research results in all of the above areas. ======================================= Confirmed Invited Speakers Ezio Bartocci, TU Wien, Austria Kim Guldstrand Larsen, Aalborg University, Denmark ======================================= Submissions QEST+FORMATS 2026 considers three types of submissions (authors will be able to specify the type of contribution upon submission): --- Research papers: Theoretical and methodological contributions that advance the understanding of a topic or issue, or describe the development of new analysis processes and techniques. --- Case study papers: Contributions that present practical applications of quantitative methods to challenging real-world case studies. Case study papers shall provide detailed evaluation and insights, and highlight the value added to the domain experts. --- Tool papers: Contributions introducing new tools or significant improvements of existing ones, and the formalisms they support. These papers shall focus on the software architecture, practical implementation, and evaluation (e.g., usability, scalability, and effectiveness). Tool papers must be accompanied by an artifact in the Artifact Evaluation as detailed below. All three types of papers can be regular or short: --- Regular papers must not exceed 16 pages, excluding references. --- Short papers should be limited to 7 pages, also excluding references. --- All papers can have an appendix containing supporting material. Note that reviewers are not required to read the appendix to fully assess the merits of the paper. We are considering additional presentation-only submission types; details will be provided in the later CfPs. All papers must be submitted in Springer's LNCS format and will undergo a rigorous single-blind review process. All submitted papers must be unpublished and not be submitted for publication elsewhere. Papers should be submitted electronically using EasyChair (Track: QEST+FORMATS 2026). Springer encourages authors to include their ORCIDs in their papers. Authors should consult Springer's authors' guidelines and use Springer's LaTeX templates for the preparation of their papers. Submitted papers not complying with the above guidelines may be rejected without undergoing review. We are considering awards for best papers and best artifacts. ======================================= Publications All accepted papers need to be presented and discussed at the conference by one of the authors. Similarly to last year, the QEST+FORMATS 2026 proceedings will be published in the Springer LNCS series indexed by ISI Web of Science, Scopus, ACM Digital Library, DBLP, Google Scholar. All submitted papers will be evaluated by at least three reviewers on the basis of their originality, technical quality, scientific or practical contribution to the state of the art, methodology, clarity, and adequacy of references. ======================================= Special Issue We are working on a special issue in a Q1 journal. A selection of the best papers will be invited to submit an extended version of their work to a special issue in an internationally recognized journal. ======================================= Artifact Evaluation Reproducibility of experimental results is crucial to foster an atmosphere of trustworthy, open, and reusable research. To improve and reward reproducibility, QEST+FORMATS 2026 will include a dedicated Artifact Evaluation (AE). Submission of an artifact is mandatory for tool papers (both regular and short), and optional but encouraged for research and case study papers where it can support the results presented in the paper. More details will follow.

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SIPTA next seminar: Jasper de Bock on the 18th December (3pm Paris time), on robust classification
by sdesterc Dec. 11, 2025

Dec. 11, 2025

Dear colleagues, We are delighted to announce our upcoming SIPTA online seminar on imprecise probabilities (IP). These monthly events are open to anyone interested in IP, and will be followed by a Q&A and open discussion. They also provide an occasion for the community to meet, keep in touch and exchange between in-person events. The next seminar will take place on the 18th of December (Thursday). The zoom link for this seminar is https://utc-fr.zoom.us/j/83428448483 For this new seminar, we are very happy to have Jasper de Bock as our speaker. Jasper de Bock is Associate Professor at the Foundations Lab for imprecise probabilities (FLip) of Ghent University. Jasper de Bock is an internationally recognised expert of imprecise probabilistic approaches, with many foundational works touching topics as varied as stochastic process, the nature of imprecision, inference within graphical models with various independence notions, axiomatic of choice functions and sets of sets of desirable things. He has also led the SIPTA community for many years as a president of the society for 6 consecutive years. So be sure to be there to listen to his latest interest! On the 18th of December, at 15:00 CET:paris time (up to 17:00 CET, with a talk duration of 45min/1h), he will talk about "Robustness Quantification: using imprecise probabilities to assess the reliability of probabilistic classifiers”. Curious? Then check out the abstract on the webpage of the SIPTA seminars: sipta.org/events/sipta-seminars. The zoom link for attending the seminar can be found on that same page. So please mark your calendars on the 18th of December and join us for the occasion. And for those who missed the previous seminar and want to catch up, or simply want to see it again and again, it is online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkeqcNwB94k See you at the seminar! Sébastien and Enrique

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Call for papers IPMU'2026- updated submission information
by Enrique Miranda Dec. 10, 2025

Dec. 10, 2025

******** PLEASE APOLOGIZE FOR MULTIPLE COPIES ******** *********************************************************** 21st International Conference on Information Processing and Management of Uncertainty in Knowledge-Based Systems (IPMU 2026) June 15th-19th, 2026, Rome, Italy https://www.sbai.uniroma1.it/conferenze/ipmu2026/ ************************************************************ The IPMU conference is organized every two years with the aim of bringing together scientists working on information processing and the management of the many aspects of uncertainty. It also serves as an ideal forum for the exchange of ideas between theoreticians and practitioners in these and related areas. The 2026 edition of IPMU will take place at the Faculty of Economics of Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, in the nearby of the University city of Rome and the main train stations (Termini and Tiburtina). It celebrates the 40th anniversary from the first edition of the conference that took place in Paris, France. The choice of Rome for this special occasion is not a case since Rome and Paris are exclusively and reciprocally twinned, starting from April 1956. Sapienza University of Rome is one of the oldest universities of the world, being it funded in 1303 by Pope Boniface VIII, and is the largest university in Europe. Due to its strategic position, the Faculty of Economics allows to easily reach the plethora of monuments, historic hot-spots and wonderful sightseeing places that awarded to Rome the name of the Eternal city. Get ready for discussing cutting-hedge research on methods for the management of uncertainty and aggregation in one of the most beautiful cities of the world. On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the 21st IPMU Conference, we invite researchers to submit original research contributions (theoretical, methodological, applications) on a specific topic within the scope of the conference which includes (but is not limited to) the following topics: Theory, Methods and Tools: Measures of Information and Uncertainty Bayesian and Probabilistic Methods Evidence, Possibility and Utility Theories Imprecise Probabilities Fuzzy, Rough, Intuitionistic, etc, Sets and operators Fuzzy Logic and other non-classical Logics Multiple Criteria Decision Methods Aggregation Methods Knowledge Acquisition, Representation and Reasoning Graphical Models Machine Learning Evolutionary Computation Neural Networks Data Analysis and Data Science. Application Fields: Big Data Smart Cities Image Processing Intelligent Systems and Information Processing, Logistics, Transportation and Routing Information Retrieval and Fusion Agents E-Health, Medicine and Bioinformatics Finance Fuzzy Optimization SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Regular Papers The proceedings of IPMU 2026 regular papers will be published by Springer in the series Communications in Computer and Information Science (https://link.springer.com/series/7899) indexed in DBLP, Google Scholar, EI-Compendex, Mathematical Reviews, SCImago, Scopus. CCIS volumes are also submitted for the inclusion in ISI Proceedings. * Deadline for regular paper submission: 12 January 2026. * Authors should consult Springer’s authors’ instructions and use the proceedings template, either for LaTeX or for Word, for the preparation of their papers. The LaTeX templates are also available in Overleaf. Springer encourages authors to include their ORCIDs in their papers. * The length of a submission is 12-14 pages in the LNCS/CCIS one-column page format. The paper must be written in English and submitted in PDF via the EasyChair system, at the following link: https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=ipmu2026 * In EasyChair authors can choose one of the proposed special sessions or the general track of IPMU 2026. * In EasyChair authors should point out if one of the authors is an early career researcher (no more than 4 years from the Ph.D. defense) to be considered for best early career researcher awards. * All figures are printed in black and white, unless a special arrangement has been made for colored figures. Colored figures remain in color in the online version. Please make sure that any colored figures are equally comprehensible in black and white. Figures and Tables should be cross referred in the text. * Authors interested in publishing their paper Open Access should consult Springer's page. * One full registration will allow acceptance of one regular paper. Each additional accepted paper associated with the same registration will be subject to an additional fee. Short Papers IPMU will also accept short papers of 2-6 pages. Accepted short papers will not be published by Springer. A separate volume, with its own DOI, containing the accepted works, will be published in open access. Authors may opt to not include their work in this volume. * Deadline for short paper submission: 12 January 2026. * Short papers should be prepared using the LaTeX template used for regular papers that are available on Overleaf. * Short papers must be written in English and submitted in PDF via the EasyChair system, at the following link: https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=ipmu2026 * Short papers can be submitted to one of the proposed special sessions or the general track of IPMU2026. * In EasyChair authors should take care to select the checkbox marking the submission as a short paper. * Short papers will be included in the regular conference program and Book of Abstracts and will be presented orally. * One full registration will allow acceptance of one short paper. Each additional accepted paper associated with the same registration will be subject to an additional fee. GRANTS AND AWARDS A number of student grants provided by EUSFLAT will be provided to support student participation at the conference. In addition, there shall be a number of awards for the best paper and best student paper at the conference. Information about these grants shall provided at the conference website in due course. IMPORTANT DATES Paper submission deadline: January 12, 2026 Notification of acceptance: February 15, 2026 Camera-ready versions: March 1, 2026 Conference: June 15-19, 2026 Contact: ipmu2026(a)sbai.uniroma1.it General Chair Barbara Vantaggi (Italy) Program Chairs Giulianella Coletti (Italy) Thierry Denoeux (France) Anne Laurent (France) Davide Petturiti (Italy) Publication Chair Enrique Miranda (Spain) Special Session Chair: Jesús Medina (Spain) Social Media Chairs Andrea Cinfrignini (Italy) Silvia Lorenzini (Italy) Executive Directors Bernadette Bouchon-Meunier (France) Ronald R. Yager (USA)

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9th International Conference on Belief Functions (BELIEF 2026), Nanjing, China, Oct 19-21? 2026
by Thierry Denoeux Dec. 8, 2025

Dec. 8, 2025

***** Call for Papers ****** The 9th International Conference on Belief Functions (BELIEF 2026) Dates: October 19-21, 2026 Location: Nanjing, Southeast University, China * April 30, 2026: Paper submission deadline * June 15, 2026: Author notification * June 30, 2026: Camera-ready copy due ================================================================ The theory of belief functions, also referred to as evidence theory or Dempster-Shafer theory is a well-established mathematical framework for reasoning and decision-making with uncertainty, with applications to machine learning, statistical inference, information fusion, knowledge representation, risk analysis, etc. It is an extension of probability theory and it has well understood connections with related frameworks such as random sets and imprecise probabilities. Recently, generalised evidence theory, based on random fuzzy sets, has been proposed as a unifying framework encompassing both Dempster-Shafer and possibility theories. The biennial BELIEF conferences (sponsored by the Belief Functions and Applications Society https://www.bfasociety.org/) are dedicated to the confrontation of ideas, the reporting of recent achievements and the presentation of the wide range of applications of this theory. Previous editions of this conference series were held in Brest, France (2010); Compiègne, France (2012); Oxford, UK (2014); Prague, Czech Republic (2016); Compiègne, France (2018); Shanghai, China (2021); Paris, France (2022), and Belfast, UK (2024). To support cross-fertilization among researchers working in different subfields of AI and related disciplines, tutorials and special sessions will be proposed, with emphasis on the links between machine learning and uncertain reasoning, including topics such as quantification of prediction uncertainty, fusion rules for ensemble learning, belief propagation in deep neural networks, links with explainable and symbolic AI, etc. Submissions of papers combining several of these topics, or more generally at the intersection between belief functions and other AI methods or uncertainty theories are welcome. We also encourage submissions describing innovative applications to various areas including, but not limited to: energy, environment and climate change; medical diagnosis; risk and reliability analysis; business and economics, vision and image processing, etc. ===========Proceedings=========== Proceedings of the previous editions of BELIEF have been published by Springer-Verlag as volumes of the Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNCS/LNAI) series and indexed by: ISI Web of Science; EI Engineering Index; ACM Digital Library; dblp; Google Scholar; IO-Port; MathSciNet; Scopus; Zentralblatt MATH. Publication of the BELIEF 2026 proceedings in the LNCS/LNAI series is awaiting confirmation. ==========IJAR Special issue================== Authors of selected papers from the BELIEF 2026 conference will be invited to submit extended versions of their papers for possible inclusion in a special issue of the International Journal of Approximate Reasoning. ============BELIEF 2026 Program Committee co-chairs============== Prof. Zhigang Su (zhigangsu(a)seu.edu.cn <mailto:zhigangsu@seu.edu.cn>), Southeast University, China Prof. Thierry Denoeux (tdenoeux(a)utc.fr <mailto:tdenoeux@utc.fr>), Université de Technologie de Compiègne, France ---------- Prof. Thierry Denoeux Université de technologie de Compiègne Institut universitaire de France Rue Roger Couttolenc, CS 60319 60203 Compiègne cedex, France https://www.hds.utc.fr/~tdenoeux

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Independence puzzle
by Marco Zaffalon Dec. 5, 2025

Dec. 5, 2025

Dear SIPTAnts, Here is a small puzzle for you - I give it to my master students - that makes a nice point (it’s not mine, I only created a story around it). Enjoy, Marco *** A casino hosts a slot machine with only two spinning reels, A and B, each one displaying either 0 or 1. You observe the machine for a long time, thus verifying that those reels are independent and uniformly distributed, as they should: P(A)=P(B)=P(B|A)=1/2. One plays inserting two dollars in the machine, and wins 4 dollars if A=B and nothing otherwise. The game is fair in the sense that on average one wins 2 dollars. At some point you discover that you can manipulate reel A while it's spinning, thus setting it at the value you like. Are there conditions that enable you to win more than 2 dollars on average by doing so? (Think before reading on.) *** Imagine that the machine internally works as follows. It generates two independent uniformly random bits U and V. By a defect of construction, A and B are then set according to the following rules: - A=1 iff U=V. - B=1 iff U=1 or (A=1,U=0,V=1). Luckily, this does not affect the fact that the machine is indeed fair: P(A)=P(B)=P(B|A)=1/2. However, when you manipulate A, its value will no longer depend on U and V; it will just depend on what you decide, say A=1. This will make the clause (A=1,U=0,V=1) true whenever U=0,V=1. Whence B=1 will occur with probability 3/4: 1/2 due to U=1 plus 1/4 due to U=0,V=1. As a consequence, on average you will win 4*3/4 = 3 dollars, making an average profit of 1 dollar per game. *** The moral of the story: causation does not imply correlation - or, prediction does not inform action.

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11th International Workshop on Reliable Engineering Computing REC 2026, Dortmund, Germany, September 2-5, 2026, deadline extended!
by Kreinovich, Vladik Dec. 4, 2025

Dec. 4, 2025

Papers using imprecise probability techniques are always welcome at this series of workshops. **************************** Dear Colleague, We are pleased to invite you to the 11th International Workshop on Reliable Engineering Computing (REC2026), taking place 2-5 September 2026 at TU Dortmund University, Germany, https://rec2026.web.tu-dortmund.de/ Under the theme "Reliability Computations in a Data and Model-Driven World," REC2026 connects classical uncertainty quantification with modern advances in AI and data science. As usually, a specific focus is on the development and application of imprecise probabilistic methods in engineering computations. REC2026 will offer an interdisciplinary forum on uncertainty quantification, risk assessment, and the reliability of engineering computations. The program includes keynote lectures, technical sessions, networking opportunities, a welcome reception (2 Sept), and a conference dinner (4 Sept). Important Dates * December 15, 2025 - Abstract Submission (deadline extended) * April 1, 2026 - Full Paper Submission Submission templates are available on the conference website Mark your calendar and stay tuned! With best regards, Matthias Faes (TU Dortmund University) matthias.faes(a)tu-dortmund.de<mailto:matthias.faes@tu-dortmund.de> Michael Beer (Leibniz University of Hannover) beer(a)irz.uni-hannover.de<mailto:beer@irz.uni-hannover.de> REC2026 General Chairs Marcos Valdebenito marcos.valdebenito(a)tu-dortmund.de<mailto:marcos.valdebenito@tu-dortmund.de> Local Organizing Committee Chair, REC 2026

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FW: NAFIPS deadline has been extended
by Kreinovich, Vladik Dec. 2, 2025

Dec. 2, 2025

Dear Friends, Papers combining fuzzy and probabilities are always welcome at this series of conferences. ********************************************** Deadlines for submissions to the Joint NAFIPS International Conference on Fuzzy Systems, Soft Computing and Explainable AI and 10th World Conference on Soft Computing NAFIPS 2026 (El Paso, Texas, USA, March 14-16, 2026, https://sites.google.com/view/nafips26/) have been extended: ** the new deadline for submitting full papers is December 15, 2025; this is the final deadline, there will be not extension ** the new deadline for submitting late-breaking papers and extended abstracts is January 15, 2026

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Re: ESCIM2026 – Submission Deadline Reminder
by Kreinovich, Vladik Dec. 2, 2025

Dec. 2, 2025

FYI, AI-related papers using imprecise probabilities are always welcome at this series of conferences From: Tüű Szabó, Boldizsár <tuu.szabo.boldizsar(a)ga.sze.hu<mailto:tuu.szabo.boldizsar@ga.sze.hu>> Sent: Monday, December 1, 2025 12:23 AM Subject: ESCIM2026 – Submission Deadline Reminder Dear Colleagues, This is a kind reminder that the paper submission deadline for the 17th European Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Mathematics ESCIM 2026 (Timisoara, Romania, May 10-13, 2026) is approaching. Submission deadline: December 19, 2025 All submission details, including topics, formatting instructions, and important dates, are available on the the website: https://escim2026.uca.es/submission/ We warmly invite you to submit your contributions and look forward to receiving your papers. Best regards, Boldizsár Tüű-Szabó Program Chair, ESCIM2026 [Image removed by sender. Logo]<https://uni.sze.hu/kezdolap> Dr. Tüű-Szabó Boldizsár egyetemi adjunktus Informatikai és Villamosmérnöki Kar [Image removed by sender.] 9026 Győr, Egyetem tér 1 [Image removed by sender.] +36 96 503 400 tuu.szabo.boldizsar(a)sze.hu<mailto:tuu.szabo.boldizsar@sze.hu> [Image removed by sender. adress-icon] uni.sze.hu<https://uni.sze.hu>

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IP seminar in Trento, tomorrow 9.30 (Trento time)
by sdesterc Dec. 1, 2025

Dec. 1, 2025

Dear friends, I’ve been aware (thanks to Matteo Brunelli) that an interesting talk will take place in Trento, tomorrow at 9.30 • https://eventi.unitn.it/it/stackelberg-cournot-nash-equilibria-under-ambigu… Do not hesitate to spread this information! Cheers -- ==================================== Sebastien Destercke, Ph. D. CNRS researcher in computer science. Université de Technologie de Compiegne U.M.R. C.N.R.S. 7253 Heudiasyc Avenue de Landshut F-60205 Compiegne Cedex FRANCE Tel: +33 (0)3 44 23 79 85 Fax: +33 (0)3 44 23 44 77 ====================================

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Reminder: Kevin Blackwell talk at 3pm
by sdesterc Nov. 26, 2025

Nov. 26, 2025

Dear Siptians, This is just a reminder that Kevin Blackwell talk will take place at 3pm. Information (including zoom link) there: https://sipta.org/events/sipta-seminars/ See you in an hour! Sébastien

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