Call for Proposals

Call for proposals opens: August 20, 2025

Entries close: October 31, 2025

We invite you to submit a proposal for a full concurrent workshop session or an individual presentation to be considered by our LESI 2026 Organizing Committee for the next LESI Annual Conference which will be held in Dublin (April 26-29, 2026). 

Similar to past years, these sessions will run concurrently (4-5 sessions per slot). Individual proposals may be combined to create a complete workshop.

We encourage you to consider timely topics with engaging speakers that will draw interest, be of practical use and address core areas for LES global attendees. This year the submission form includes a list of topics and you’re asked to select the most applicable one to help the Program Committee review submissions and produce a balanced program.  These are broad topics but if you do not see a relevant one that’s fine, we want good submissions whatever the topic and all will be considered equally.   

Please bear in mind the theme of the conference, which is “INNOVATION TO IMPACT: IP as an International Growth Engine”.  What type of environment do we need to spur innovation and enable funding to flow to innovative endeavors? What role can government, industry and academic institutions play? How are different sectors and regions rising to the challenge of maintaining growth through innovation? We are looking for topics that are: (a) interesting, (b) useful to LES members and (c) reflect a unique conversation related to how IP can be (and is) being leveraged to bring needed technologies to the global market.

In your proposal, you should consider the diversity of the proposed panel and select speakers from multiple jurisdictions, different work backgrounds and genders.  You should also consider how you can present a session which would be extremely engaging for the audience (think videos, visual aids and audience interaction!).  Put your creative thinking caps on!

All proposals should identify speakers and/or moderators who will be involved in the proposed session.

A pre-conference preparatory discussion with shortlisted panels will be scheduled.

Please read carefully before completing and submitting your proposal

• A concurrent session will last 80 minutes and can include up to 4 speakers. 

• A well balanced, diverse panel, involving multiple sectors including industry is encouraged.

• An individual presentation will be allocated approximately 15 minutes.

• Each proposal should include an abstract of up to 350 words describing the presentation. (Please do not exceed the word count)

• Speakers will advised of the outcome after December 1, 2025. If you are not selected for a workshop, you may be offered a 30 minute Roundtable slot.

• Speakers will also be required to register for the conference and pay the registration fee by February 13, 2026.

The speakers’ rate to attend the full conference is equal to the super early bird registration rate €1,250. The fee to attend only the day you are presenting will be €700 and there will be an option to attend your session ONLY at no cost.