S+SSPR 2026: Call for Papers

The Joint IAPR International Workshops on Statistical Techniques in Pattern Recognition (SPR) and Structural and Syntactic Pattern Recognition (SSPR), collectively known as S+SSPR 2026, will be held from August 24 to August 26, 2026, in Bern, Switzerland.

This joint event is organized by Technical Committee 1 (Statistical Pattern Recognition Technique) and Technical Committee 2 (Structural and Syntactical Pattern Recognition) of the International Association of Pattern Recognition (IAPR). The 21st edition of S+SSPR will be hosted by the University of Bern, Switzerland.

Following the trend of previous editions, S+SSPR 2026 will be held in close proximity and shortly after the International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR 2026) (https://icpr2026.org/).

Topics of Interest

Authors are invited to submit papers addressing any topic in statistical, structural or syntactic pattern recognition and their applications. Possible topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

SPR Topics (Statistical Pattern Recognition)

• Classification; Prediction; Gaussian Processes
• Randomized Algorithms; Multiple Classifiers
• Ensemble Methods; Model Selection; Feature Selection
• Dimensionality Reduction; Dissimilarity Representations
• Metric Learning; Representation Learning
• Multiple Instance Learning; Clustering
• Semi Supervised learning; Weakly Supervised Learning
• Active Learning; Novelty Detection; Deep Learning
• Generative Models; Adversarial Learning
• Reinforcement Learning; Transfer Learning;
• Domain Adaptation; Data Complexity; Data Modeling

SSPR Topics (Structural and Syntactic Pattern Recognition)

• Structural Matching; Structural Complexity
• Syntactic Pattern Recognition
• Graph-theoretic Methods; Graph Neural Networks
• Graphical Models; Structural Kernels
• Spectral Methods
• Spatio-Temporal Pattern Recognition
• Structured Text Analysis
• Intelligent Sensing Systems
• Multimedia Analysis; Multimedia Retrieval
• Image Document Analysis; Image Understanding
• Shape Analysis

Keynote Speakers

We will invite two highly distinguished researchers to give a keynote speech at the workshop.

• Christopher Morris
  • RWTH Aachen University, Germany
  • Research Focus: Machine learning for graph and relational data.
• TBD
  • One of the two speakers will be the winner of the 2026 Pierre Devijver Prize.

Submission Guidelines

• Authors are invited to submit papers addressing any topic in statistical, structural or syntactic pattern recognition and their applications.
• All manuscripts must not exceed 10 pages, including all references.
• Papers must follow Springer’s Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) style. Templates are available in LaTeX and Word.
• All papers must be submitted via EasyChair in PDF format.
• Papers will be reviewed by at least two or more anonymous reviewers.
• Accepted papers will be published in Springer’s LNCS series, providing that at least one author will register to the workshop and present the paper.

Important Dates

• Paper submission deadline: May 15, 2026
• Notification of acceptance: June 30, 2026
• Camera-ready papers due: July 15, 2026
• Early Bird Registration deadline: Until July 15, 2026
• Regular Registration period: July 16 - August 17, 2026
• Workshop dates: August 24 - 26, 2026

Registration Fees

All prices are in CHF.

Requirements:

• IAPR Members and Students must send proof of status to the Secretariat at corina.masanti@unibe.ch.
• All accepted papers require at least one Early Bird registration from one of the authors.
• Each registration can cover a maximum of three papers.

Included in Registration:

• Access to all presentations, including keynotes.
• Lunches (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday).
• Coffee breaks and snacks.
• Conference dinner.
• Welcome reception.

Early Bird Registration (Deadline: July 15, 2026)

• General: CHF 690
• IAPR Member: CHF 590
• Student: CHF 490

Regular Registration (July 16 - August 17, 2026)

• General: CHF 790
• IAPR Member: CHF 690
• Student: CHF 590

Additional Costs

• Additional Dinner Ticket: CHF 120

Registration Portal: Go to Registration (Note: A direct registration link URL was not provided in the input. Please refer to the conference website or contact the secretariat for the exact registration portal.)

Submission and Camera-Ready

• Submission System: Please visit EasyChair.
• Manuscript Requirements: All manuscripts must not exceed 10 pages (including references) and must adhere to Springer’s LNCS style (LaTeX or Word).
• Camera-Ready Deadline: July 15, 2026. This is a strict deadline.
• Camera-Ready Submission Package: You will need to prepare the following files:
  • A zipped file containing all your LaTeX sources OR a Word file in the RTF format (use the provided LaTeX or Microsoft Word templates).
  • A PDF version of your camera-ready paper.
  • A completed, scanned, and signed copy of the Copyright form.
• LNCS Author Guidelines: Please familiarise yourself with the LNCS author guidelines. Papers longer than the limit or not conforming to the LNCS format will not be included in the proceedings.