SIGCSE vs ICER vs ITiCSE: A Guide to Computer Science Education Conferences

June 29, 2026 // 4 min read

If you do research or teaching in computing education, three conferences come up again and again: SIGCSE, ICER, and ITiCSE. They are all run by ACM SIGCSE, the special interest group for computer science education, and there is real overlap between them, but each has a distinct purpose, audience, and style. Submitting to the right one matters, both for reaching the audience you want and for the kind of review your work will get. This guide explains what each conference is, how they differ, and how to decide where your work belongs.

The three main conferences

SIGCSE Technical Symposium

The SIGCSE Technical Symposium, usually just called SIGCSE, is the largest and best known of the three. It is held every year in late February or March in a rotating United States city, and it is the main annual gathering of the computing education community, drawing well over a thousand attendees. The program is broad: peer-reviewed research papers and experience reports sit alongside panels, special sessions, workshops, posters, and a large exhibition. It is CORE A-ranked and is the place to be if you want the widest audience and a mix of research and practice. If you have a classroom innovation, a tool, a curriculum, or a study and you want it in front of as many computing educators as possible, SIGCSE is the default.

ICER

ICER, the ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research, is the field’s premier pure research venue. It is smaller and more focused than SIGCSE, often close to single track, and it sets the highest bar for research rigor in computing education. Papers are expected to make a clear empirical or theoretical contribution, grounded in the literature and in sound research methods, and the review process is correspondingly demanding. ICER moves around the world each year, with the 2026 edition in Uppsala, Sweden, and it is held in the late summer. If you have a rigorous research study and you want it reviewed and discussed by the people who set the field’s research standards, ICER is the target. It is CORE B-ranked, though within computing education research it carries more weight than that label suggests.

ITiCSE

ITiCSE, Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, is the international conference with a European home base, held each summer in a rotating European city, with the 2026 edition in Madrid. As the name suggests, it leans toward innovation, tools, and technology in teaching, with a strong applied and practice flavor alongside research. Its most distinctive feature is the Working Groups: small teams that form before the conference, work intensively together during it, and produce substantial collaborative reports. Joining one is a great way to get into the community and co-author with people from other institutions. ITiCSE is CORE B-ranked. If your work has an international or European audience, an innovation or technology angle, or you want to join a Working Group, ITiCSE is a strong fit.

How to choose

A short decision guide:

Want the biggest audience and a mix of research and practice? Submit to SIGCSE.
Have a rigorous empirical or theoretical research study? ICER is the most research-focused venue and the one that most rewards methodological care.
Have an innovative tool, technique, or curriculum, or want an international and European audience? ITiCSE fits well, and the Working Groups are a unique way to collaborate.
Early in your career or new to the field? SIGCSE is the friendliest entry point thanks to its breadth and its experience-report and poster tracks, while ITiCSE Working Groups are a good way to build collaborations.

Deadlines and timing

The three conferences are spread across the calendar, which makes it possible to target more than one in a year:

SIGCSE is held in late February or March, with paper deadlines usually in the preceding late summer or early autumn.
ITiCSE is held in early July, with paper deadlines usually in January.
ICER is held in August, with paper deadlines usually in late February or March.

Always check the current call for papers on each conference site, since exact dates shift each year and each conference runs several tracks with their own deadlines.

The wider landscape

SIGCSE, ICER, and ITiCSE are the core three, but the computing education world is larger:

CompEd, the ACM Global Computing Education Conference, brings the community to regions outside the United States and Europe, such as Asia and Africa.
Koli Calling is a respected, research-focused conference held in Finland each November, smaller and more intimate than the big three.
WiPSCE focuses on computing education in primary and secondary schools rather than universities.
Regional conferences such as the Australasian Computing Education Conference (ACE) and UKICER serve their own communities.

Adjacent but distinct are conferences on AI in education such as AIED, on learning at scale such as Learning at Scale, and on engineering education such as FIE and ASEE, which cover education more broadly rather than computing specifically.

Which one is right for you

The three main computer science education conferences are complementary rather than competing, and many researchers publish across all of them over time, matching each piece of work to the venue that fits its contribution and audience. If your work is a finished research study, aim for ICER. If it is a practical innovation or you want the widest reach, SIGCSE and ITiCSE are both strong, with ITiCSE the better fit for an international audience or a collaborative Working Group.

You can browse upcoming editions, dates, and venues for each on their pages: SIGCSE, ICER, and ITiCSE, or see them together on the computer science education conferences page.