Following the success of previous events, the 16th International Conference on Information Science and Technology (ICIST 2026) will be held in Coimbra, Portugal, on October 1-6, 2026. Located between the two largest Portuguese cities, the conference site features a historic royal city with numerous historical buildings, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site. ICIST2026 aims to provide a high-level international forum for scientists, engineers, and educators to present the state-of-the-art research and applications in neural networks and related fields. The symposium will feature plenary speeches given by world-renowned scholars, regular sessions with broad coverage, and special sessions focusing on popular topics. Technical Co-sponsor: IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society. Accepted papers will be included in the IEEE Xplore. When: October 1 - 6, 2026 (Coimbra, Portugal) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Important Dates: Paper submission deadline: May 15, 2026 Notification of acceptance: June 15, 2026 Camera-ready copy and author registration: July 15, 2026 Abstract submission deadline: September 15, 2026 Website: https://conference.cs.cityu.edu.hk/icist/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Call for Papers and Special Sessions Prospective authors are invited to contribute high-quality papers to ICIST2026. Additionally, proposals for special sessions within the technical scope of the conference are solicited. Special sessions, organized by internationally recognized experts, aim to bring together researchers in specialized, focused topics. Papers submitted for special sessions are peer-reviewed using the same criteria as those for contributed papers. Researchers interested in organizing special sessions are invited to submit formal proposals to ICIST2026. A special session proposal should include the session title, a brief description of the scope and motivation, names, contact information, and brief biographical information on the organizers. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Topic Areas: The topics of contributing papers include, but are not limited to, the following areas: Intelligent Control and Automation Autonomous systems, linear and nonlinear control, learning and adaptive control, intelligent control, optimization-based and optimal control, fault detection and identification, hybrid intelligent systems, networked control, fuzzy logic control, industrial automation, neural control, process control, robot control, mechatronic systems, environmental monitoring and control, intelligent manufacturing systems, microprocessor-based control, motor control, power systems, vehicle control, aerospace applications, and other applications. Intelligent Information Processing Machine learning, adaptive filtering, signal processing, audio/speech processing and coding, higher-order spectral analysis, nonlinear & blind signal processing, neural signal processing, component analysis, array signal processing, parallel and distributed processing, time series analysis, multimedia signal processing, design and implementation of signal processing systems, DSP implementations, embedded systems, image and multidimensional signal processing, image processing & understanding, computer vision & pattern recognition, bioimaging and signal processing, multimedia communications, computer vision & virtual reality, next-generation mobile communications, communication signal processing, modulation and channel coding, network coding, sensor networks, cryptography and information security, and other applications. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Paper Submission Authors are invited to submit full-length papers (8 pages maximum) by the submission deadline through the online submission system. Potential organizers are also invited to enlist five or more papers with cohesive topics to form special sessions. The submission of a paper implies that the paper is original and has not been submitted under review or is not copyright-protected elsewhere, and will be presented by an author if accepted. All submitted papers will be refereed by experts in the field based on the criteria of originality, significance, quality, and clarity. The authors of accepted papers will have the opportunity to revise their papers, taking into consideration the referees’ comments and suggestions. All accepted papers will be submitted for inclusion into IEEE Xplore, subject to meeting IEEE Xplore’s scope and quality requirements. Selected high-quality papers will be included in several journal special issues.