In 2025, ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim will once again sponsor the PhD Colloquium for PhD students who are within two years of graduation (planning to graduate by December 2027). Students close to graduation will be given an opportunity to showcase their work during a short presentation session and a poster during the Colloquium (apart from the regular tracks). Presenting your PhD work to your peers and the larger simulation community will give you the opportunity to receive valuable feedback and ideas, as well as introduce you to a network that can be very helpful for your career once you graduate.
Ph.D. Colloquium Committee 2025
Chair
Eunhye Song, Georgia Institute of Technology
Members
Cristina Ruiz Martin, Carleton University
Alison Harper, University of Exeter
Sara Shashaani, North Carolina State University
Important Dates
| August 29 |
Submit a 2-page extended abstract using the WSC 2025 submission system. The abstract should be formatted using the poster template in the WSC 2025 author’s kit. |
| September 15 | Notification of acceptance to authors, including details about required revisions. |
| September 26 | Submit final version of the extended abstract. |
| November 14 | Upload slides for the Ph.D. Colloquium presentation in PDF format. The presentations should be 7-minute pitches followed by a 1 minute Q&A. You do not need to submit the poster, just bring poster to the conference. |
| December 7 | PhD Colloquium. Don’t forget your poster! |
Keynote Speaker
Coming Soon
Ph.D. Colloquium Participation Options
There are two options to participate in the PhD Colloquium with different benefits:
- Poster and Presentation: Submit a 2-page extended abstract and presentation slides. Bring your poster to the conference.
Benefit 1: If accepted, both ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim provide a complimentary one-year membership.
Benefit 2: ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim will reimburse the conference registration fee.
- Poster, Presentation, and Full Paper: Submit a 2-page extended abstract and presentation slides. Bring your poster to the conference. In addition, you have submitted a full paper to a regular track (a contributed paper, not an invited paper), and it has been accepted.
Benefit 1: Both ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim provide a complimentary one-year membership.
Benefit 2: ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim will reimburse the conference registration fee.
Benefit 3: You will be eligible to compete for a best paper award, provided that your full paper is accepted in a regular track.
ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim will each award a Best PhD Student Paper prize among those students making a presentation at both the PhD Colloquium and in a regular track at the conference.
Those students who have a contributed paper in a regular track will be eligible for the Best Paper awards. Note that invited papers cannot be considered for the Best Paper awards. Students interested in competing for a Best Paper award should include their contributed paper ID when completing the PhD Colloquium submission. An email should also be sent to the chair of the PhD Colloquium that includes the contributed paper ID and indicates intent to participate in the Best Paper competition.
PhD Colloquium participants have to be present at all events (colloquium and poster session, WSC opening session, ACM-SIGSIM, and INFORMS-Sim meetings) in order to be eligible for all benefits.
Note: Students who showcase their work as a poster in the regular WSC poster session are not eligible to participate in the Colloquium (and vice versa). Hence, one should select to participate in either the regular poster session or the Colloquium (not both).
Submission Requirements
Students interested in participating in the Colloquium should submit a 2-page extended abstract by the deadline using the WSC submission system. Extended abstracts are used for designing the tracks and are included in the proceedings distributed to conference attendees, but they are not included in the archival version of the proceedings in IEEE and ACM repositories. The extended abstract is required for all Colloquium participation options. The abstract should have a single author (the student) and must be formatted using the poster template in the WSC Author Kit.
In addition, the advisor needs to send an email to the chair of the PhD Colloquium Committee by October 10, 2025 that states:
- That the PhD student is within two years of graduation
- That the PhD student is the main author of the submission
- That the PhD student will attend WSC 2025 and participate in the PhD Colloquium
- The society they belong to: INFORMS or ACM
Students are only allowed to participate in a WSC PhD Colloquium one time.
Additional Information about the Colloquium
Presentations: If you submit a student paper for the conference, you can use your presentation for the PhD Colloquium as well as for the track presentation. You may need to edit the slides, as we may have more time constraints. This year, presentations will be just short pitches followed by a brief Q&A. You do not have to present something special in the PhD Colloquium that cannot be used in the regular sessions.
Student Papers: Student papers are part of the regular conference and fall under the submission and review guidelines as documented on this WSC website. A full paper is not required to participate in the PhD Colloquium. However, if you have an accepted paper at WSC 2025 and participate in the PhD Colloquium, then you are also eligible to compete for a Best Paper award.