Special Session proposal

Special Session proposal

If you are interested in organizing a Special Session at MARSS2025, then please send a preliminary proposal using Special Session proposal template to info(at)marss-conference.org by April 15, 2025. A preliminary Special session proposal is optional; however, it is very important for MARSS Organization Committee. We need to know (at least roughly) as early as possible how many Special sessions will be organized, to estimate the maximum number of papers that can be accepted for presenting in regular sessions. For this reason, please submit your preliminary Special session proposal even if there are only few committed speakers at this time point. The Special session organizer still has time until June 10, 2025 to complete the Special session and submit the final list of the session speakers.

A session slot at the conference is 120 minutes. Each session can include minimum 5 talks and maximum 6 talks, 20 minutes each. If you invite more than 6 speakers to your Special session, then it is sensible to secure at least 10 speakers and split your Special session into two sessions, with 5-6 talks each.

Please try to attract more speakers from outside MARSS committees, which is important for sustainable development of the conference. Additionally, MARSS aims at increasing the number of female speakers, and at increasing the number of speakers from currently underrepresented regions. Your contribution will be highly appreciated.

Special Session proposals are normally approved by default if the topic fits MARSS scope, so that a formal acceptance of the proposal from the Organization Committee is not required. In uncertain cases the proposer will be immediately contacted by the Organization Committee.

You may offer two options to the speakers in your Special Session:

  1. The first option is to submit a full paper (5-6 pages) to the conference. The full paper submission deadline is April 15, 2025. During peer reviewing, plagiarism check will be made prior to the formal acceptance, to be able to include the final paper into the IEEE Xplore® digital library. Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, will be rejected.
  2. The second option is to make a presentation without submitting a full paper. In this case, 1) the speaker may submit a short paper by June 10, 2025, (1-3 pages, no inclusion into the IEEE Xplore® digital library), or 2) the speaker may present in the Special Session without paper submission.

Papers have to be submitted through MARSS2025 paper management system. The authors must select the suitable Special session from drop-down menu on the submission page. The drop-down menu will include all Special session titles/organizers’ names from the preliminary Special session proposals, so that the authors can easily identify the suitable Special session.

IMPORTANT: If less than five presentations of a proposed Special session are registered for the conference, then this Special session won’t be included into the conference program, and these registered presentations (less than five) will be allocated to other (regular) sessions by the Organization Committee

Please read carefully the following sections as – from previous experience – these issues may easily arise and negatively influence the smooth preparation of your Special session:

  1. Be careful about your wording when you approach your colleagues and ask to contribute by a talk to your Special session. MARSS had a few cases in the past when a speaker in a Special session tried to dispute paying the registration fee and insisted of being “invited” by the Special session organizer. You need to explain your speakers that MARSS policy does not involve “invited speakers”, “VIP speakers”, or any other kind of “more valuable participants”, each conference participant has to pay the registration fee, including Plenary speakers, Special session speakers, Special session organizers, and all Chairs.
  2. There will be participants who are going to make a presentation in two different sessions at the conference. To avoid possible frictions or unexpected talk withdrawals in your Special session, remind your speakers in advance that 1) MARSS does not accept more than two presentations by the same speaker, and 2) MARSS2025 registration fee covers only one presentation, the second presentation at the conference by the same speaker requires payment of an extra fee, see Registration.