37th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems CECIIS 2026

September 16th - 18th 2026, Varaždin, Croatia
Special emphasis - The Next Wave of Intelligent Systems and Innovation

The Next Wave of Intelligent Systems and Innovation explores the transformative power of intelligent systems at a moment when technological progress is no longer incremental, but systemic and deeply intertwined with how we understand, model, and act in the world. At the center of attention are disruptive forces such as generative artificial intelligence, alongside smart industry, digital twins, quantum computing, biotechnology, and renewable energy technologies. Together, these domains are radically reshaping paradigms in intelligent and information systems, opening new opportunities for innovation and for the creative creation of economic, social, and sustainable value.


Beyond individual technologies, the conference addresses a deeper shift in how intelligence itself is engineered. Contemporary intelligent systems are increasingly grounded in world models—internal representations that allow systems to reason about their environment, anticipate future states, and act purposefully under uncertainty. These models, often informed by physics-based simulations of the world, enable a tighter integration between data-driven learning and fundamental principles governing physical, biological, and socio-technical systems. Such an approach marks a transition from pattern recognition toward systems that understand structure, causality, and dynamics, thereby bridging artificial intelligence with simulation sciences and computational physics.


This evolution is particularly evident in robotics and embodied intelligence, where intelligent agents must operate in real, complex, and partially observable environments. Here, the fusion of perception, world modeling, and action becomes essential. Robotics research increasingly relies on simulated environments and digital twins of physical systems to train, test, and validate intelligent behavior before deployment in the real world. These developments raise important questions about transferability between simulated and physical realities, robustness of autonomous behavior, and the limits of learning-based control when systems interact with humans, infrastructure, and natural environments.


At the same time, the conference critically examines the evolution of intelligent systems from models designed primarily to provide explanations, as emphasized in explainable artificial intelligence, toward systems capable of independently performing complex, goal-directed tasks. This shift toward autonomy is driven by advances in context engineering, where intelligent systems are no longer isolated algorithms but agents embedded in rich informational, organizational, and physical contexts. By understanding and shaping context—data, constraints, goals, and environmental signals—intelligent agents can reason more effectively, coordinate with other agents, and adapt their behavior over time. However, this growing autonomy introduces significant technical challenges, as well as profound ethical questions concerning responsibility, transparency, accountability, and human oversight.


A central theme of the conference is therefore the synergy between humans and digital technology, with particular emphasis on artificial intelligence as a cognitive partner rather than a mere tool for automation. Instead of focusing solely on replacing human work, the conference explores how intelligent systems can augment human cognitive capabilities, support strategic decision-making, and assist in solving complex, interdisciplinary problems. This human-centered perspective highlights the importance of trust, interpretability, and meaningful human control in the design of intelligent agents and autonomous systems.


The Next Wave of Intelligent Systems and Innovation also recognizes that technological transformation cannot be separated from organizational and societal change. The emergence of intelligent agents, autonomous systems, and simulation-driven decision-making requires a systematic approach to developing strategic competencies, adaptable teams, and advanced digital skills among employees and leaders. Education, lifelong learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration become key enablers of sustainable innovation in an era of rapid technological convergence.


Finally, the conference emphasizes the importance of strengthening collaboration among the key stakeholders of the triple helix model—industry, academia, and policymakers. Only through coordinated efforts can research insights be translated into scalable solutions, regulatory frameworks be aligned with technological realities, and innovation ecosystems be designed to support Europe’s long-term competitiveness and resilience. By fostering dialogue across disciplines and sectors, the conference aims to contribute concrete proposals for shaping the future European industrial ecosystem through design-driven innovation, intelligent systems, and responsible technological development.

Paper submission in Croatian language

Authors who also want to publish the translation of their paper in Croatian, need to upload both the English and Croatian version of the paper (in the same document) for review. English and Croatian versions need to be in parallel columns (side by side). Left column is the paper in English and right column is the paper in Croatian. A camera-ready full paper should be prepared according to the Instructions for Authors and submitted following all the stages of the Paper Submission Process.

Paper publishing

Compliant submissions will undergo a double-blind review process. Only the papers that are submitted on time, are reviewed positively and for which the registration fee is paid can be presented and published. Papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings with ISBN and distributed at the Conference.
Selected papers will be invited to be extended and published in the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences (JIOS).
The previous conference proceedings were indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoS CC). All papers published in the proceedings are available in open access.

Paper Presentations

All accepted papers must be presented in order to be included in the CECIIS 2026 proceedings. At CECIIS 2026, authors can choose one of the following ways to present their paper:

  1. In-person presentation: Attend the conference in person and present your paper in the appropriate scientific section, according to the schedule that will be published later.
  2. Online presentation: Submit your paper to the relevant scientific section that corresponds to your research theme and present it in a single online section. The schedule for the online section will be published later.

During registration, you will be asked to choose your preferred mode of participation – in person or online.

Presentations of scientific papers should last up to 10 minutes, and 5 minutes for questions and answers.

Best paper certificate

The best paper will be selected at the conference, and the authors will receive certificate for it.

Conference papers indexing

Conference Proceedings will be sent for indexing in: Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), INSPEC, Proquest and WoS. The previous conference proceedings were published in Web of Science Core Collection (WoS CC). All papers are published in open access without charge.