Call for Papers
Artificial Intelligence is an enabler of sustainable growth, resilience, and digital inclusion, particularly in rural and remote regions where access to infrastructure, expertise, and connectivity is limited. By decentralising intelligence and embedding it into affordable, adaptive, and resource-efficient systems, AI offers a pathway to bridge the urban-rural digital divide. Building on the vision of RuralAI, intelligent, low-cost, and distributed solutions have the potential to unlock unprecedented opportunities for rural communities and industries.
These include precision farming techniques that increase crop yields while conserving resources, environmental monitoring systems that provide real-time insights for managing natural resources, healthcare applications that extend diagnostic and monitoring capabilities to underserved populations, and disaster preparedness tools that enable early detection and community resilience. By aligning technological innovation with the unique socio-economic realities of rural settings, AI can serve as both a catalyst for equitable development and a foundation for long-term sustainability.
Although fascinating, this paradigm faces a set of unique constraints, such as limited connectivity, scarce computing resources, and energy restrictions. These constraints necessitate novel approaches for sharing and processing data, as well as training models. This workshop aims to provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to discuss and share the current and emerging state-of-the-art challenges and solutions on topics including (but not limited to):
Topics of Interest
Algorithms & Architectures
- Lightweight and Energy-Aware Algorithms for Low-Power IoT Devices
- Personalisation and Model Adaptation for Heterogeneous Rural IoT Networks
- Serverless Frameworks for IoT Deployments in RuralAI
- Edge-Cloud Collaboration Models for Rural IoT Applications
Security & Resilience
- Security and Privacy Preserving Techniques in Distributed Rural AI Systems
- Resilient AI Architectures for Intermittent Connectivity in Remote IoT Networks
Sustainability & Ethics
- Sustainable AI for Rural Development: Balancing Efficiency, Scalability, and Environmental Impact
- Policy, Governance, and Ethical Frameworks for Federated Learning in Rural Communities
Applications
- Drone-Based Sensing and Federated Intelligence for Rural Applications
- Agricultural Robotics and Automation Powered by Federated Learning
- Healthcare at the Edge: Telemedicine and Monitoring in Rural Communities
- Multi-Modal Data Fusion in RuralAI Applications
Platforms & Deployment
- Low-Cost and Open-Source Federated Platforms for Rural Innovation
- Scaling RuralAI: From Pilot Deployments to Global Rural Connectivity and Impact
Submission Guidelines
- Papers should be formatted according to IEEE conference proceedings format
- Full papers: up to 8 pages (including references)
- Short papers: up to 4 pages (including references)
- All submissions will undergo a rigorous peer-review process
- Each submission will be reviewed by at least three experts
- Accepted papers will be published in the CCGrid 2026 workshop proceedings
Submission System: TBA
Important Deadlines
| Paper Submission Deadline: | February 15, 2026 |
| Notification of Acceptance: | March 8, 2026 |
| Camera-Ready Papers Due: | March 15, 2026 |
All deadlines are 11:59 PM AoE (Anywhere on Earth)