The Editorial Committee of the NILIS International Research Conference (NIReC 2026) of the University of Colombo invites all interested researchers to submit abstracts to be considered for presentation at the Technical Sessions of the NIReC 2026. The abstracts should be based on original research and, if accepted, should be presented by the Author/a Co-author at the NIReC.

Please carefully follow the attached guidelines for abstract preparation. Submissions that do not adhere to the specified format or are received after the deadline will not be considered for review. The Editorial Committee reserves the right to make editorial adjustments to enhance the clarity and quality of accepted abstracts.

Guidelines for Submission of Abstracts

Authors are requested to adhere strictly to the following guidelines when preparing and submitting abstracts for the NILIS International Research Conference (NIReC 2026):

1. Originality
   Abstracts must present original research that has not been published or submitted elsewhere.

2. Authorship Limits
   Each author may submit one abstract as a single author and be a co-author on up to three additional abstracts. No author may be listed on more than four abstracts in total.

3. Scope of the paper
   Preference will be given to research aligned with the theme of the symposium. However, it is encouraged to submit abstracts of any topic relevant to information studies. This includes health information, financial information, legal information, government information, digital information, media etc.

4. Author Information Formatting

   • Use capital letters only for initials and the first letter of surnames.

   • Include the affiliation with the name of each author.

   • If authors represent multiple institutions, indicate affiliations with superscript numbers and list institutional addresses accordingly.

   • Example (multiple authors):
     P. Menikpurage¹, D. T. U. Abeytunga¹, R. L. C. Wijesundara²
     ¹ Library, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
     ² Department of Performing Arts, Sri Palee Campus, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

5. Title
   The title should be concise and relevant. Use capital letters only for the first word and proper nouns.

6. Abstract Length
   The body of the abstract (excluding title, authors, affiliations, acknowledgements, and keywords) must not exceed 300 words.

7. Acknowledgements
   Should be limited to funding agencies and relevant institutional support.

8. Keywords
   A maximum of five keywords should be included.

9. Formatting Requirements

   • Font: Times New Roman, size 11

   • Spacing: 1.5 lines

   • Margins: 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides

   • Abstract should fit on a single A4 page

10. Language and Clarity
    Abstracts must be coherent, clearly written, and free from grammatical or typographical errors.

11. Submission Format
    Submit as a single Word document containing two versions of the abstract:

    • Version 1: With names and institutional affiliations.

    • Version 2: Title and abstract only (anonymous for review purposes).

12. Extended Abstract Requirement
    All submissions must include an extended abstract of 1000-1500 words in length, in addition to the short abstract. Only the short abstract will be published in the proceedings, while the extended abstract will be used for the review process.

13. Declaration Form

    • A declaration form (template provided here) must be signed and submitted by the Corresponding Author with each abstract.

    • If the corresponding author is a student and the submission is based on a supervised research, the form must also be signed by the supervisor(s). It is recommended that supervisors become co-authors of the paper submitted to NIReC 2026.

14. Presentation Responsibility
    Presentations must be made by the author/one of the co-authors. If the nominated presenter is unavailable, the Corresponding Author must either withdraw the submission or designate another co-author to present.

15. Review and Editorial Rights
    The Editorial Committee reserves the right to reject abstracts that do not comply with the guidelines and to make minor edits to accepted abstracts for clarity and consistency.

16. Submit through the online CMT Platform

17. Last date and time for submission is 31.07.2026 11.59 pm.

Note: All submissions must include both an abstract and an extended abstract. While only the abstract will be published in the symposium proceedings, the extended abstract is required to support the review process, enabling reviewers to make a well-informed assessment of the submission.

If you have any inquiries contact nirec@nilis.cmb.ac.lk