For the academic community, "upcoming" doesn't mean next month—it means next year. The cycle for prestigious 2026 conferences is already active, with Call for Papers (CFP) deadlines fast approaching.

Whether you are targeting an A* ranked AI venue or a specialized IEEE engineering symposium, missing a deadline often means waiting a full year for the next opportunity.

This guide categorizes the most significant upcoming conferences for 2026 by field and region, focusing exclusively on events with a track record of EI Compendex and Scopus indexing.

1. The "Big Three" AI & Computer Science Events

These are the most competitive and prestigious events. Acceptance here is a career-defining milestone.

• AAAI 2026 (Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence)

  • Dates: January 20 – 27, 2026

  • Location: Singapore (Singapore EXPO)

  • Status: A* Ranked. One of the few major AI conferences held early in the year.

  • Deadline Watch: Submissions typically close August/September 2025.

• CVPR 2026 (Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition)

  • Dates: June 14 – 19, 2026 (Anticipated)

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA

  • Status: The world's #1 rated computer science publication venue (h5-index).

  • Deadline Watch: Paper registration usually closes November 2025.

• ICLR 2026 (International Conference on Learning Representations)

  • Dates: April 2026 (Specific dates TBD)

  • Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Anticipated)

  • Focus: Deep Learning and Generative AI.

  • Deadline Watch: Abstract submission usually due September/October 2025.

2. Major IEEE Engineering & Communications Series

These flagship events are essential for electrical and computer engineers.

• IEEE INFOCOM 2026

  • Dates: May 18 – 21, 2026

  • Location: Tokyo, Japan

  • Focus: Top-tier computer networking and communications.

  • Indexing: EI Compendex, Scopus, IEEE Xplore.

• IEEE ISCAS 2026 (Intl. Symposium on Circuits and Systems)

  • Dates: May 24 – 27, 2026

  • Location: Shanghai, China

  • Focus: The world’s premier networking forum for leading researchers in the active fields of theory, design, and implementation of circuits and systems.

  • Deadline Watch: Submission deadline is typically October 2025.

• IEEE ICC 2026 (Intl. Conference on Communications)

  • Dates: May 24 – 28, 2026

  • Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK

  • Focus: "Connected World for a Sustainable Future" – covering 6G, IoT, and signal processing.

3. Specialized EI/Scopus Conferences in China (2026)

These events offer excellent networking in the Asia-Pacific region and reliable indexing timelines.

• PRAI 2026 (9th Intl. Conf. on Pattern Recognition and AI)

  • Dates: August 14 – 16, 2026

  • Location: Shanghai, China

  • Deadline: March 25, 2026

  • Focus: Applied AI, Robotics, and Image Processing.

• SEAI 2026 (6th IEEE Intl. Conf. on Software Engineering and AI)

  • Dates: June 19 – 21, 2026

  • Location: Fuzhou, China

  • Deadline: January 20, 2026

  • Focus: The intersection of software architecture and intelligence systems.

• ISOEN 2026 (21st Intl. Symposium on Olfaction and Electronic Nose)

  • Dates: May 17 – 20, 2026

  • Location: Chongqing, China

  • Deadline: January 5, 2026

  • Focus: Sensor technology and "Electronic Nose" engineering.

4. Strategic Planning for 2026 Submissions

The "6-Month Rule": For almost all valid academic conferences, the Submission Deadline is 6 to 8 months before the conference date.

• If the conference is in May 2026: You must submit by October/November 2025.

• If the conference is in August 2026: You must submit by February/March 2026.

Actionable Step: Don't wait for the new year. Finalize your experimental data now so you can spend Q4 2025 writing and formatting your papers for these early 2026 deadlines.