Undergraduate Forum
Undergraduate Forum is being organized at COMSNETS 2026 to recognize the contribution of undergraduate students in the COMSNETS ecosystem. Built on the same lines as the Graduate Forum, it aims to provide a platform for undergraduate students and recently graduated professionals to showcase early research and get feedback from experienced researchers in the field. It will provide the attendees an opportunity to interact, receive career advice and build collaborations with other peers and leading researchers. The event will also include talks on recent work and career advice from current PhD students and industry professionals, and an AMA with them.
At least one of the authors of the accepted paper must register for the conference and present the paper at the dedicated session through a formal presentation.
Accepted papers in the main conference lead-authored by an undergraduate student or recent graduate (2025 or later) would automatically be considered for presentation in the undergraduate forum as well.
Best Paper Award
Best “Undergraduate Forum Paper Award” will be awarded based on the presentations by a panel of judges.
Who can Submit?
Current undergraduate students and recent graduates (2024 or later), currently in academia or industry are eligible to submit. For recent graduates, majority of submitted work should have been completed before they graduated. Submissions must include the author’s name, affiliations, and email addresses. We will follow a single-blind review policy. Academic status would be verified using suitable means.
Topics of interest include (but not limited to) broadly computer systems, networks, security, and machine learning.
The topics of interest include (but not limited to) the following:
- 📡 Wireless Communications
- 5G, 6G, wireless broadband, and spectrum technologies. Including WLAN, RFID, NFC, visible light communications, cognitive radio, localization and sensing, CubeSats, and satellite networking.
- 🖥️ Data Center & Edge Computing
- Enterprise networking, data centers, edge and cloud computing integration, and multimedia networking innovations.
- 🌱 Green Networking
- Network sustainability, economics, and energy efficiency in communication networks.
- 🔬 Datasets, Benchmarks, and Testbeds
- Highlighting the foundational role of datasets, benchmarks, and testbeds in networking research for experimentation and validation.
- 🌐 Network Architecture & Operations
- Network architecture, traffic management, caching, content delivery systems, SDN/NFV, internet measurement, and web technologies.
- 🚗 Mobility & IoT
- Mobile network management, mobile sensing, vehicular networks, Internet of Things (IoT), and smart grid communications.
- 🔒 Blockchain & Security
- Network security, privacy, trusted computing, and the application of blockchain and distributed ledger technology.
- 🛠️ Semiconductors and Digital Communication
- Semiconductor advancements in inter- and intra-chip communication, peripheral interfaces (PCIe, USB, etc.), network-on-chip (NoC) systems, and other interconnect technologies.
What to Submit?
We encourage the authors to submit their work with the following as a single PDF file at HotCRP containing:
Resume, a one-page resume informing of your current position, educational details, broad area of research, research experiences, publications (if any), etc.
A three-page Extended Abstract, explaining the problem statement, relevant state-of-the-art, proposed solution approach, preliminary results, future work, appendix and bibliography. Submissions must be in English, in IEEE two-column format (details can be seen on the main conference page) and must adhere to the submission guidelines and template of the main conference. The page limit is three pages (strictly) and no additional page will be allowed. Bibliography does not count towards the page-limit. Submissions not formatted as described above will be rejected without any review.
Upon acceptance, the authors will be requested to submit only the three pages of Extended Abstract for the final camera-ready version. The accepted papers need to be presented at the conference as a 10-minute talk, including QAs from the audience.
For any queries, please email all the co-chairs.
Important Dates:
| Paper Submission deadline | TBA |
| Notification of Acceptance | TBA |
| Camera-ready Submission | TBA |
Undergraduate Forum Co-Chairs
Kaushik Chowhan
Indian Institute of Technology
Gandhinagar, India
Naman Dharmani
Indian Institute of Technology
Gandhinagar, India
Amish Mittal
Microsoft Research
Bangalore, India
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