CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Open through 15th September 2026
ICS26 is a multi-disciplinary conference focused on the challenges of sustainability transitions in society, environmental change, and sustainable use of natural resources. ICS26 is organized into five working groups: sustainable resource society, water, biosociety, climate, and computational modelling and photonics. ICS26 is jointly organized by a consortium of six Research Communities from University of Eastern Finland: RESOURCE, FOBI, WATER, CLEHE, PHOTONICS, and COMMIT.
The conference will be held on-site at the Joensuu Campus of the University of Eastern Finland.
We warmly invite paper or poster submissions covering the themes of sustainability transitions and transformative innovations; these are described in detail in the session descriptions. We especially welcome submissions that explore and discuss the ICS26 special theme:
Restoration Futures: Sustainability Transitions, Nature Governance, and Transformative Innovations
ICS26 offers a platform for researchers across all scientific fields to share research insights and discuss how technological, social, institutional, and cultural innovations can be transformative – reshaping entire systems toward more sustainable, equitable, and resilient futures.
You are all warmly invited to give presentations and discuss your ongoing research and projects with key scholars from different research disciplines. Please see the more specific topic descriptions at ICS26 website and submit an abstract (200-300 words) by 15th September 2026. Decisions are posted by the end of September.
PLEASE NOTICE that you need to register for the event on a separate form. Link to the registration form: Registration
There are no conference fees for conference participation. There is a small fee (10€/person) for participation in the conference dinner that will be arranged at the Sokos Hotel Kimmel.
Contact email: ics@uef.fi
ABSTRACT / POSTER / SESSION TOPICS
Parallel sessions are held on Thursday (Nov 5th) afternoon and Friday (Nov 6th) morning. Posters are on display during the whole conference. A separate poster session is organised during Campus Tour late Thursday afternoon.
The sessions specific to each Research Community are described below.
SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE SOCIETY: Circular Economy, Energy and Raw Materials (RESOURCE RC) sessions bring together multidisciplinary perspectives on sustainability transitions. Achieving long-term goals for a sustainable future and carbon neutrality requires rapid and profound transformations in core societal systems, governance approaches, and business practices. Sustainability transitions involve shifting from resource-intensive models to resource-wise and carbon-neutral solutions. Circular economy, energy, and raw materials are key areas where these transitions take place.
RESOURCE sessions invite researchers and professionals from various disciplines to submit abstracts related to these themes. We particularly encourage contributions from young scholars, professionals, and doctoral students. The conference fosters interdisciplinary dialogue across fields such as environmental policy, economics, business studies, law, geography, history, sociology, and cultural studies.
The special topics for the RESOURCE sessions are:
- Encouraging sustainability transitions and transformations in businesses, organisations, and communities both locally and for scaling up globally
- Plural Knowledge Systems and Conflict-Sensitive Sustainability Transitions: Governance, Practice, and Ecological Restoration
- Sufficiency in the Circular Economy
- Young people´s agency in sustainability transformations
More information about the RC: https://www.uef.fi/en/research-community/sustainable-resource-society-circular-economy-energy-and-raw-materials-resource
CLIMATE FORCING, ECOSYSTEMS and HEALTH research community (CLEHE RC) brings together scientists from the multidisciplinary fields of aerosol physics, environmental science and climate law and policy aiming to increase understanding of various direct and indirect climate change and mitigation measures and their health effects. The CLEHE session welcomes papers in different fields of research including studies on natural and anthropogenic emissions, natural feedback mechanisms, mitigation technologies, actions and policies as well as human health.
The special topics for the CLEHE sessions are:
- Carbon capture, sequestration, utilization and carbon sequestration in ecosystems
- Circularity in respect to the novel technologies and green transition
- Air pollution from anthropogenic activities and its mitigation
- Impacts of natural fires on air quality, biosphere and climate
- Natural feedback mechanisms in relation to climate change
- Climate change and human health
- Climate actions and policies
More information about the RC: https://www.uef.fi/en/research-community/climate-forcing-ecosystems-and-health-clehe
FOREST AND BIOECONOMY (FOBI RC): Transition to a low-carbon and resource-efficient society in Europe and globally is a key requirement for climate change mitigation, for which forests and the forest-based bioeconomy can contribute largely. However, in sustainable and climate smart forest management and utilisation we must simultaneously take account multiple ecosystem services, climate-induced risks to forests and forestry (e.g., storms, drought, forest fires, and bark beetles), and the need to adapt to and mitigate climate change. It also requires the development, production, and marketing of innovative forest-based products that could replace fossil-intensive products and increase the carbon storage of wood-based products. In FOBI, we aim to provide the necessary scientific knowledge needed to transfer into a biosociety, that relies on sustainably managed and utilized forests and sustainable production and consumption of pro-environmental products and services to mitigate climate change. In our thematic session, we will discuss science-based solutions needed for improving the sustainable and multifunctional management and use of forests for different ecosystem services and creating and accelerating sustainable bioeconomy markets and business in forest-based bioeconomy.
The special topics for the FOBI sessions are:
1. Current research on forest economics, policy and foresight at UEF School of Forest Sciences
2. The politics of the EU Nature Restoration Law
3. Bridging the Sustainability Intention–Behavior Gap
4. Towards more sustainable land use planning – decision support in the changing operating environment
More information about the RC: https://www.uef.fi/en/research-community/forests-and-bioeconomy-fobi
COMMIT RC co-organizes a joint cross-disciplinary session with PHOTONICS RC on Data, Imaging and Technologies for Sustainability Transitions.
COMPUTATIONAL MODELLING, IMAGING AND DATA SCIENCE (COMMIT RC) research community brings together internationally recognized scientists in computational modelling, data analysis, inverse problems, and imaging, who advance the science on the highest level in their research fields. We provide novel methodologies and solutions to various modelling, imaging, and sensing problems that arise from industry, healthcare, and environment. Through our developed methodologies and technical advancements, we tackle the global challenges that UEF’s strategy is rooted in.
PHOTONICS (PHOTONICS RC) is a multidisciplinary consortium that unites research and education in optics and photonics across departments and campuses at University of Eastern Finland. Coordinated by the Center for Photonics Sciences, the community brings together expertise from biology, chemistry, computer science, medicine, and both fundamental and applied physics. Its collaborative approach further extends to fields such as electronics, forestry, environmental science, geography, and pharmacy, creating a broad and integrated research environment.
The session welcomes contributions to data science, modelling, imaging, machine learning, simulations, sensing, photonics and digital tools for sustainability transitions, environmental understanding, restorative futures and responsible innovation.
The special topic for the COMMIT-PHOTONICS session is:
- Data, imaging and technologies for sustainability transitions
More information about the RCs: https://www.uef.fi/en/research-community/photonics
https://www.uef.fi/en/research-community/computational-modelling-imaging-and-data-science-commit
SUSTAINABLE CO-MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES AND AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS (WATER RC) provides interdisciplinary solutions for sustainable, responsible, and integrated utilization of the aquatic resources by combining expertise from various scientific disciplines.
The special topics for the WATER sessions are:
- Circular Wastewater Systems for Sustainable Cities
- Water Futures and Nature-Based Solutions in Social-Cultural-Ecological-Technological Systems
- Emerging pathogens in a changing climate: a threat to food security – implications for aquaculture and wild fish
More information about the RC: https://www.uef.fi/en/research-community/sustainable-co-management-of-water-resources-and-aquatic-environments-water