Call for Nectar Track Contributions at CAI + CRV
The Canadian AI Conference (CAI) and Conference on Robotics and Vision (CRV), scheduled to take place jointly at SFU Burnaby (Vancouver BC) from May 25–29, 2026, invite you to participate in the Nectar Track Sessions. These sessions aim to bring together participants across all career stages to foster collaboration, innovation, and professional growth while spotlighting emerging ideas and exceptional research in AI related fields. We welcome your contributions to two unique opportunities designed to engage and inspire the Canadian AI community. Participants without papers at Canadian AI/CRV 2026 will be given priority for the Nectar Track.
We will accept papers on machine learning, natural language processing, robotics, and computer vision to two tracks: the spotlight track for recently published and accepted work, and the exploration edge track for presenting preliminary work. There will be two application rounds: Dec. 15 2025 and Mar. 30 2026. Both tracks are non-archival. Submission is lightweight:
Please complete this form by the deadline to submit!
If you have a demo, please submit to the demo track!
1. Spotlight Track on Recently Published and Accepted Papers
Objective
This session showcases outstanding papers in AI (machine learning, NLP, robotics, and vision) accepted at top-tier conferences and journals (e.g., AISTATS, ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR, TMLR, JMLR, ACL, EMNLP, COLM, COLT, ICRA, IROS, RSS, CORL, CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, TPAMI, SIGGRAPH, SIGGRAPH Asia, etc). The goal is to increase their visibility and encourage diverse participation and engagement within the community.
Event Details
- Papers selected by the organizing committee will be featured as oral presentations.
- Authors will additionally have the option to bring posters to facilitate further discussion and interaction with the audience.
- Interactive Q&A sessions and dynamic poster discussions will actively engage students and participants.
How to Apply
Authors should complete this form and include a link to their paper and details of the conference where it was accepted by the deadline. Submissions will be evaluated by a committee based on originality, significance, and impact. All participants must present their papers in-person at Canadian AI or CRV 2026.
2. Exploration Edge Track
Objective
(i) present preliminary ideas, (ii) share hurdles and lessons learned, (iii) propose bold research directions, and (iv) receive feedback while engaging with peers, mentors, and industry.
A poster session for students and early-stage researchers to present preliminary ideas, share hurdles, suggest brave new directions, and share learned insights from past and ongoing projects as well as gain valuable feedback, and engage with peers, mentors, and industry professionals. This initiative fosters innovation and professional growth for the next generation of researchers.
Event Details
- Selected participants will present their ideas during a dedicated poster session, interacting with senior researchers and industry representatives.
- Each presenter may be paired with a mentor for personalized feedback.
How to Apply
Submit the form with a one-page abstract (optional second page for figures; references excluded) and an optional video by the deadline. Evaluation criteria: originality, feasibility, and potential impact. All presenters must participate in person with posters at Canadian AI or CRV 2026.
Important Dates
- Round 1 Deadline:
December 5December 15, 2025 - Round 1 Decisions:
December 19January 5, 2026 - Round 2 Deadline: March 30, 2026
- Round 2 Decisions: April 3, 2026
Contact
We encourage you to participate in these exciting events, which aim to enrich the Canadian AI community.
For any queries, please contact the Canadian AI/CRV 2026 Nectar Track Chairs: aicrv2026nectar@googlegroups.com
Amy Wu (Robotics), Queen’s University
Angel Chang (NLP), SFU
Danica Sutherland (ML), UBC
Evan Shelhamer (Vision), UBC