Regular papers
Original, previously unpublished innovative research in evolutionary computation.
AI/CORE B
IEEE CEC 2026
IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation
June 22-26, 2026Maastricht Exhibition & Congress Centre (MECC), The NetherlandsOfficial conference site Site reachable
The IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC) 2026 is a leading international forum for presenting innovative research in evolutionary computation and related fields. It is part of the 2026 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence and welcomes submissions across theoretical, algorithmic, and applied domains of evolutionary algorithms and their intersections with machine learning, optimization, and real-world applications.
Key deadlines
Verified September 9, 2026Full paper
February 1, 2026
AoE
Conference timeline
Submission and decisions
Full paperKey deadline
February 1, 2026 · AoE
Paper fit
Contribution paths
A strong submission should clearly identify its contribution and evaluate it appropriately.
Late-breaking papers
Papers submitted after the regular deadline, with a separate notification date.
J2C (Journal to Conference) papers
Papers previously published in journals that are being presented at the conference.
Research areas in scope
01
Evolutionary Computation Algorithms
AlgorithmsAnt colony optimization and swarm intelligenceArtificial immune systemsBayesian optimizationCoevolutionCultural algorithmsDifferential evolutionEstimation of distribution algorithmsEvolutionary computation theoryEvolutionary developmental systemsEvolutionary programmingEvolution strategiesGenetic algorithmsGenetic programmingHeuristicsHyper-heuristicsInteractive evolutionary computationLearning classifier systemsMemetic algorithmsMulti-meme and hybrid algorithmsMolecular and quantum computingMulti-objective evolutionary algorithmsParallel and distributed algorithmsParticle swarm optimizationRepresentation and operatorsSelf-adaptation in evolutionary computation
02
Evolutionary Machine Learning
Evolutionary Machine LearningAutomated design of metaheuristicsEvolutionary fuzzy systemsEvolutionary neural architecture searchEvolutionary reinforcement learningFairness-aware optimizationFederated and secure optimizationLarge language models for optimizationMetaheuristics and hyper-heuristicsMulti-objective machine learningNeural optimizationSurrogate-assisted data-driven optimization
03
Optimization
OptimizationCombinatorial optimizationConstraint handlingDynamic optimizationLarge-scale optimizationMulti-modal optimizationMulti-task optimizationNumerical optimizationOptimization under uncertaintyOn-line planning, e.g., rolling horizon evolutionRobust optimizationTransfer optimization
04
Related Topics
Art and musicArtificial life and adaptive behaviorAutonomous mental and behavior developmentBiometricsBioinformatics and computational biologyClassificationRegressionClusteringTime series analysisImage analysis and computer visionData miningDefense and cybersecurityDrug designEngineering designEvolvable hardwareEvolutionary software engineeringEvolutionary roboticsGamesFinance and economicsIntelligent systemsLarge language modelsMulti-agent systemsReal-world applicationsTheoryCausality and evolvabilityConvergenceFitness landscape analysisNoisy fitnessRobustness and neutralityRuntime analysisScalability and complexity analysisIndustry applications
Policies worth checking twice
- Papers must be original and previously unpublished.
- No extensions will be given for the paper submission deadline.
- After the presenter registration deadline (15 April), no changes to presentation mode are permitted.
- The conference has a policy regarding LLM use by reviewers (referenced but not detailed in the provided text).
Official sources
Compiled from the official call for papers. The organizers’ pages remain authoritative.
Official conference siteImportant dates & deadlinesWorkshopsFinal Author InstructionsDaily ProgramTutorials
Last verified September 9, 2026