CCS Young Scholars Development Program

ACM CCS is proud to host the Young Scholar's Development Program as part of the main agenda of CCS 2025 . This initiative is designed to bring together promising young researchers and provide opportunities for networking, mentorship, and professional development. The program will be held on Tuesday, October 14th, during the CCS 2025 conference. Please reach out to ccs25-ysdp-chairs@acm.org or betul.durak@microsoft.com and fli@ku.edu for any questions.

A limited number of travel grants are available to support student participation. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit their application along with a CV including a name as a reference letters provider to be considered for funding.

Tentative Program

• 12:00–13:00: Conversation starters and ice-breaking lunch session
• 13:00–13:30: Break
• 13:30–14:00: Invited speaker: Daphne Yao
• 14:00–15:00: Panel discussions
• 15:00–15:30: Break
• 15:30–16:00: Invited speaker: Xiaojing Liao
• 16:00–17:00: Young scholar development with discussion session chairs

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is there any difference between the YSDP Travel Grant and the CCS Student Conference Grant?
Yes, there is a difference. The YSDP Travel Grant is not limited to students—it can also support post-docs or junior professors. If a student applies for both the Student Conference Grant and the YSDP Travel Grant and receives both, we will discuss the case. If the committee approves the applicant to receive both funds, the applicant will need to submit an expense report with different expenses for different funds. Even though we do not cover all expenses (such as registration, airfare, and hotel) for CCS, we do our best to provide partial funding to help offset the costs.

2. How many references do you need in the application? How can I ensure you receive the reference letter?
You should include at least one reference name in your CV. We will contact the person you list directly. Note that we do not accept letters submitted by applicants themselves. We may reach out to the reference using a publicly affiliated email address if available, rather than the one you provide. While we will attempt to contact them multiple times, we cannot guarantee a response. If you want to make sure the letter is received, please follow up with your reference, as our system does not show whether the letter has been submitted.

3. What are you looking for specifically for the program? What are the evaluation criteria?
A strong CV with good publications or impactful results is important. We aim to accept as many domain experts as possible. The reference letter helps us understand your strength at your work. Evaluation criteria are not strictly defined due to the variety of applicant backgrounds. We prioritize junior researchers who are likely to benefit from the program. In some cases, we may interact with applicants before making funding decisions. Each case is considered individually.