A call for research directions, with a workshop at ACM SIGIR CHIIR 2027 in Berlin, March 2027.
0 results.
Unsolved
Which information retrieval problems (worthy of a PhD project) are far from solved now that we have LLMs?
Research agendas are usually set by senior researchers. PhD students and early-career researchers set this one: the people who will spend the next decade doing the work.
- Submit an idea by 8 November 2026
- First round, until 23:59 AoE. A second round closes on 18 December.
- Full student fee waivers
- First-round submissions are considered for a waiver on the CHIIR 2027 registration fee, so you can attend the full conference.
- Your name on the paper
- Everyone who submits is credited as a contributor. Join the workshop or help write the paper to become a co-author.
THE CALL
What important IR research problems are still not solved by LLMs?
LLMs have changed what is easy to do in information retrieval. They have far from finished the field: in fact, they make user-centered and system-centered IR more important than ever! We are collecting research directions from PhD students and early-career researchers, and turning them into a research agenda for IR at a workshop at ACM SIGIR CHIIR 2027 in Berlin.
Why the next generation
Senior researchers usually set research directions in IR, and PhD positions are written around them. But the people who will spend the next five or ten years on the field’s open problems should have a say in what those problems are. You probably see some that are not on anyone’s list yet.
This is an invitation to put them on the table.
Bigger than one paper
We are looking for research directions, not paper ideas. A good direction is a problem that one paper will not settle: it needs a series of studies, and could fill a PhD. If you can imagine a PhD position being advertised around it, it belongs here.
Send us a research direction
A few hundred words is enough. There is no competitive selection: every direction is clustered with the others and feeds into the agenda.
Everyone who submits is credited as a contributor on the paper. Join the workshop or help write the paper, and you become a co-author.
The format has been done before, in NLP
Defining a New NLP Playground sets out twenty-odd dissertation-worthy research directions.
Has It All Been Solved? sets out forty-five open questions that require new research and are not addressed by LLMs.
Both were written for researchers at the start of their careers. Unsolved asks the same question of IR, and lets the next generation answer it.
HOW IT WORKS
Send an idea, get your name on the paper
-
Send a research direction
A few hundred words on an important IR problem that is still open in the age of LLMs, and big enough to build a PhD around.
First round closes 8 November 2026, 23:59 AoE. Second round closes 18 December 2026.
-
Get credited as a contributor
Everyone who submits is listed as a contributor on the resulting paper. There is no acceptance decision to wait for.
-
We build the agenda in Berlin
We group the submitted directions into themes and develop them into an IR research agenda. The main in-person work happens at the workshop at CHIIR 2027 in Berlin, in March 2027.
You do not have to be in Berlin to contribute.
-
Help write it, become a co-author
Take part in the workshop or help write and edit the paper to become a co-author.
DEADLINES & FEE WAIVER
Submit by 8 November to be considered for a student fee waiver
- 8 November 2026 23:59 AoE
- First round closes. Submissions in this round are considered for a student full conference fee waiver.
- 18 December 2026 23:59 AoE
- Second round closes. Just as welcome and part of the agenda, but less likely to receive a fee waiver.
- 7–11 March 2027
- ACM SIGIR CHIIR 2027 in Berlin, including the workshop.
About the fee waiver
We want contributors in the room in Berlin. Submit in the first round, and you will be considered for a student fee waiver to attend CHIIR 2027 in Berlin (the whole conference). We aim to get as many of you as possible to finalize the IR research agenda. The submission form asks whether you would like to be considered.
You do not need a waiver or to attend in-person to contribute or to be credited on the paper.
WHAT TO WRITE
A problem worth a PhD
Describe an IR research problem that you think deserves years of work. It is a good fit if it:
- is not solved by LLMs, or is changed by LLMs but not eliminated
- needs a series of papers rather than one, and could fill a PhD
- requires new methods, systems, evaluations, or user research
Not sure how to start? Say what the problem is, why it is still open, and why it deserves sustained research.
There is no required format. You do not need to write a full paper or a position paper. A few hundred words is enough.
THE PAPER
A research agenda for IR, set by the next generation
All submitted directions are clustered into themes, discussed at the workshop in Berlin, and written up as a research agenda for information retrieval: the problems worth the next generation’s time.
Who is on the paper
Contributors. Everyone who submits a research direction is listed on the paper.
Co-authors. Everyone who takes part in the workshop in Berlin or helps write and edit the paper.
Where it goes
Full report in SIGIR Forum, December 2027. Perspective papers to the SIGIR 2028 Perspectives track.
BERLIN
The workshop at CHIIR 2027
The workshop is a SIGIR Futures activity, co-located with ACM SIGIR CHIIR 2027 at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 7–11 March 2027. We print the submitted research directions, cluster them, form thematic groups, and work on the agenda together.
Taking part in the workshop makes you a co-author. You do not need to attend CHIIR or the workshop to submit an idea or to be credited on the paper.
First-round submissions are considered for a student fee waiver to attend. See deadlines and fee waiver.
FAQ
Questions
Who can contribute?
Any PhD student or early-career researcher working in information retrieval or information science. If you are not sure whether you count, submit anyway.
What do I get for contributing?
Your name on the resulting paper, as a contributor. First-round submissions are also considered for a $500 fee waiver for CHIIR 2027.
What is the difference between a contributor and a co-author?
Everyone who submits a research direction is listed as a contributor. Co-authors are those who take part in the workshop in Berlin or help write and edit the paper.
How do the fee waivers work?
Submit by 8 November 2026, 23:59 AoE, and say in the submission form that you would like to be considered. A waiver is worth $500 on the CHIIR 2027 registration fee, so you can attend the full conference.
I missed the first deadline. Should I still submit?
Yes, please. The second round closes 18 December 2026, 23:59 AoE. Second-round submissions go into the agenda and are credited in the same way, but are less likely to receive a fee waiver.
Do I need to attend Berlin?
No. Everyone who submits is credited as a contributor, whether or not they attend. You can also become a co-author without coming to Berlin, by helping write and edit the paper.
How big should the problem be?
Big enough to build a PhD around: a direction that needs a series of papers, not a single study.
How long should my submission be?
A few hundred words is enough.
Does my idea have to be completely new?
No. It needs to identify an important research problem that remains open and worth pursuing.
Is this a normal workshop submission?
No. We are asking for short research directions, not workshop papers, and nothing is rejected. The intention is to include every submitted direction, and to use clustering and discussion to organize and develop them.
CONTACT
Get in touch
Questions about the workshop, submissions, or fee waivers:
nadalic.sotic@uva.nl