In Brief

Demonstrations present first-hand experience with research prototypes or operational systems. They provide opportunities to exchange ideas gained from implementing IR systems and obtain feedback from the expert search users of SIGIR. Contributions from startups and industry are also welcomed. Accepted demonstration submissions will appear in the conference proceedings.

A good demonstration submission should be interesting to a SIGIR audience, and expose people to new problems, tasks, or innovative solutions to existing problems that are not well served by a research paper. The demonstration submission should address the following questions: Who is your target user? Why does your system exist and why is it important? What problem is your system trying to address? What does your demonstration do and how does it work? What does it look like? How does it compare with existing systems? Finally, how and when might your technology have an impact, either technically, commercially, or societally?

We especially encourage innovative and creative prototypes attempting to highlight and explore novel problems. Some examples include, but are not limited to:

• Novel demonstration of vulnerabilities in existing information systems
• Innovative user interfaces and modalities
• New use cases of search technology
• Novel approaches to information seeking tasks
• New methods for more inclusive access to search and information
• Examples of new search problems and challenges

Demonstration submissions are welcome in any of the areas related to any aspects of IR. Key criteria for evaluation will be novelty of a solution and the potential impact on research or practice. Papers on incremental research advances or comparison of existing methods that would be a better fit as a short paper submission are strongly discouraged.

Important Dates

Deadlines time zone: Anywhere on Earth (AoE)

• Abstract submission: February 4, 2025
• Demo paper submission: February 18, 2025
  
  
  Due to SWIRL there are 2 weeks between the abstract and paper submission!
• Demo paper notifications: April 4, 2025

Submission Guidelines

Submissions of demonstration papers must be in English, in PDF format, and be at most 4 pages (including figures) in length + unrestricted space for references. It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure that the PDF submission has been uploaded successfully. We suggest downloading the PDF after submission to check it is ok. Submissions that are over the page limit and incomplete submissions will be rejected without review. Authors should also go through ACM’s authorship policy before making a submission.

Suitable LaTeX, Word, and Overleaf templates for SIGIR are available from the ACM Website (use the sigconf proceedings template). Papers should be submitted electronically via the EasyChair SIGIR2025 demo paper submission site.

The PDF of your demonstration submission MUST include either a link a) to a video recording or b) to the online web interface of your system (login details shall be specified in your submission if applicable). This is to help reviewers and readers of your demonstration paper intuitively and fully understand your system. Papers without a working link will be desk rejected without review.

Please note that, unlike short and full paper submissions, demonstration submissions are single blind. You are not expected to take measures to conceal your identity from reviewers.

Authors should note that changes to the author list after the submission deadline are strictly prohibited without permission from the PC Chairs.

At least one author of each accepted paper is required to register for, attend, and present the work at the conference or the paper will not appear in the conference proceedings in the ACM Digital Library.

Submission System

All papers are to be submitted via EasyChair, selecting “SIGIR 2025 Demonstrations” track,at:

https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=sigir2025

In-Person Attendance Policy

SIGIR 2025 is an in-person conference. Despite the challenges it may pose, we believe that an in-person conference is more beneficial in terms of direct engagement and networking opportunities, more dynamic exchange of research ideas, and welcoming and nurturing newcomers.

All accepted papers (including all tracks) to the main conference and workshops are expected to be presented in-person. We anticipate that at least one author from each accepted paper will attend the conference in person to deliver the paper and address audience questions during the Q&A session. No pre-recorded videos will be accepted. More information at the SIGIR 2025 In-presence Policy page.

Child Care Service

SIGIR 2025 promotes inclusion and attendance also by organizing a child care service, in order to foster work-family balance by offering congress attendees the opportunity to attend events with their children.

Children from 0 to 12 years of age are welcomed in a specially set up room inside Padua Congress Center throughout the duration of the congress. A colorful, “warm”, safe and welcoming environment, in the same structure that hosts the congresses, a protected place where parents can leave their children, but at the same time stay in touch with them during the breaks of the different sessions.

The nursery space dedicated to the 0-3 age group, equipped with a changing table and other facilities dedicated to the little ones, is next to the kids’ area for children over 3 years old and a cinema room for screenings.

The activities are run by a company specialized in education services with expert staff, appointed by Padua Congress Center, and include thematic workshops - from painting to creative activities - as well as playtime also in the open air, in the facility's outdoor spaces. Children are also offered lunch.

The service is available - for a fee (depending on sponsors) - to all SIGIR 2025 attendees who request it. For more information and updates, check out the SIGIR 2025 Child Care page.

Demo Chairs

Eugene Agichtein,  Emory University, USA

Yubin Kim,  Vody, USA