Instructions for Preparing Manuscripts
Prospective authors are invited to submit full-length original research papers. In submitting a manuscript to ICICST 2026, authors acknowledge that no paper substantially similar in content has been or will be submitted to another journal, conference or workshop during the review period. In such a case, the paper will be rejected without review.
Papers must be electronically submitted to the Microsoft CMT paper submission portal before the deadline expires without exception.
Authors should prepare their manuscripts of 10–15 pages (including all text, figures, and references). The manuscript must be submitted in PDF format only and the file size of your manuscript should not exceed 10 MB . If the final manuscript exceeds 15 pages, there will be some additional charges for each extra page.
Use a proper tool to convert the resulting source into a PDF document that has only scalable fonts with all fonts embedded.
The images embedded in the paper must not contain transparent pixels (i.e., an alpha-channel of a transparent color) since this could lead to problems when displaying or printing the PDF.
The PDF manuscript must not have Adobe Document Protection or Document Security enabled.
Preparing Your Paper
For your convenience, we have summarized in the “Author Guidelines” document how a proceedings paper should be structured, how elements (headings, figures, references) should be formatted using our predefined styles, etc. We also give some insight on how your paper will be typeset at ICICST. The PDF of the Authors Guidelines can be downloaded here:
Proceedings Guidelines for Authors.
Authors must use the manuscript template specified here. The LaTeX and Word templates can be downloaded from the following links:
Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement
ICICST 2026 – International Conference on Innovations in Computing, Communication and Sustainable Technologies
Dr B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar
ICICST 2026 is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct in all aspects of conference management, peer review, and publication. The conference adheres to internationally recognized ethical principles such as those outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and follows guidelines consistent with Social Science Research Network (SSRN) Elsevier Proceedings policies on research integrity and publication ethics.
1. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors submitting to ICICST 2026 must ensure that:
- All submissions are original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere.
- The work is free from plagiarism, duplication, fabrication, or falsification of data.
- Proper acknowledgment is given to all sources, data, and previous research.
- All persons who made significant contributions are listed as authors; all authors approve the final manuscript.
- Conflicts of interest, if any, are disclosed during submission.
- Any use of AI-assisted tools is transparently declared (per Social Science Research Network (SSRN) Elsevier/COPE guidelines).
- Authors agree to cooperate if any ethical concerns or corrections arise after submission or publication.
2. Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers for ICICST 2026 are expected to:
- Provide objective, fair, and timely evaluations of assigned manuscripts.
- Maintain confidentiality and avoid discussing or sharing content outside the review process.
- Declare any conflicts of interest (e.g., financial, institutional, or personal) and decline reviewing such papers.
- Identify potential ethical concerns such as plagiarism, data manipulation, inappropriate citations, or significant overlap with prior work.
- Refrain from using unpublished material for personal research or gain.
3. Responsibilities of Track Chairs and Editors
Track Chairs and Editors shall:
- Make impartial acceptance or rejection decisions based solely on scholarly merit, relevance, and technical quality.
- Ensure that all manuscripts undergo a rigorous single-blind peer review by qualified experts.
- Maintain confidentiality of submissions throughout the review process.
- Investigate allegations of ethical misconduct and take corrective actions in line with COPE flowcharts, including retraction or correction, if needed.
- Prevent any form of discrimination, bias, or influence from commercial, political, or personal interests.
4. Plagiarism and Ethical Screening
To maintain academic integrity:
- All submissions will undergo plagiarism screening using standard tools before being sent for peer review.
- Papers with unacceptable similarity index or identified ethical violations will be desk-rejected without review.
- Repeated or serious misconduct may result in blacklisting of authors from future editions of ICICST.
5. Conflict of Interest
- All participants in the publication process—authors, reviewers, chairs, and editors—must disclose any conflicts that may affect the objectivity or integrity of the conference or proceedings.
- Undisclosed conflicts may lead to rejection or withdrawal of the manuscript.
6. Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions
If errors or ethical concerns are discovered after publication:
- Authors must cooperate with the editors for corrections or retractions.
- ICICST 2026 follows COPE-recommended procedures for handling post-publication issues.
- Proceedings publisher policies (Social Science Research Network (SSRN) Elsevier) will determine the final corrective action.
7. Ethical Research Conduct
Authors must ensure that:
- Research involving humans, animals, or sensitive data complies with institutional ethical approval norms.
- Data is collected, analyzed, and reported with integrity.
- Any third-party material is used with proper permissions.
Review Process
Submission and Initial Checks
- Submission Portal: All papers must be submitted via the conference submission system (CMT): https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/ICICST2026. Submissions received by email will not be considered.
- Format & Length: Authors must follow the ICICST author guidelines (Springer CCIS-compatible template). Submissions not meeting basic formatting requirements will be triaged and authors asked to resubmit in the correct format before review.
- Scope Check: Each submission is screened by the Track Chair or an assigned editor for relevance to the conference scope and the specific track theme. Papers outside the scope will be desk-rejected and authors notified with brief explanation.
- Plagiarism Screening: Every submission undergoes plagiarism screening using standard similarity-detection tools. Submissions with unacceptable similarity or clear evidence of plagiarism will be desk-rejected and may be reported to the author's institution.
Assignment and Reviewer Selection
- Track Assignment: Papers are assigned to one of the conference tracks based on author selection and the initial scope check. Track Chairs may reassign manuscripts to ensure thematic fit.
- Reviewer Pool: Reviewers are selected from the ICICST Technical Program Committee (TPC) and a roster of external reviewers. Reviewers are chosen for domain expertise, prior review performance, and absence of conflicts of interest.
- Number of Reviewers: Each manuscript is assigned to 2–3 reviewers. In cases of borderline scores or conflicting recommendations, an additional expert reviewer or an Area/Track Chair will provide an adjudicating assessment.
- Reviewer Invitation & Acceptance: Review invitations are sent via CMT. Reviewers are requested to accept or decline the invitation within the timeframe specified in the invitation. If a reviewer does not accept or declines, the paper will be reassigned promptly.
Instruction for Manuscript Submission
The manuscript has to be uploaded online at the ICICST 2026 Social Science Research Network (SSRN) Elsevier submission portal at the following link: [Submission Portal]
⮞ Acknowledgement:The Microsoft CMT service was used for managing the peer-reviewing process for this conference. This service was provided for free by Microsoft and they bore all expenses, including costs for Azure cloud services as well as for software development and support.