Masters and early Ph.D. students are encouraged to participate in the student activities program at VTS’26, specifically designed for them.
The idea of this program is to bring 10–12 U.S.-based students (M.S./early Ph.D. students currently studying at a university in the U.S.) who would otherwise not attend VTS’26 (i.e., non-authors/co-authors and not participating in the Ph.D. competition or research forum) and expose them to a series of technical talks by industry, academia, and government professionals, as well as a specific session where they can talk to experts from these sectors about what a career in test might look like.
Students can also present posters if they are already active in the community (this does not result in any publication). This program is supported by funding from NSF, and for invited students, we will cover their hotel expenses (rooms to be shared by two students) and the registration fee.
📩 Submission
Participation will be done by sending a resume and a short statement of interest to
Naghmeh Karimi
(nkarimi@umbc.edu).
Applicant’s advisor should also send an email to Naghmeh Karimi stating that he/she will support the student’s participation at VTS26.
📅 Key Dates
| Submission deadline: | April 3rd, 2026 |
| Notification deadline: | Rolling Based (Not later than April 7th, 2026) |
👤 Contact Persons
General Co-Chair: Naghmeh Karimi — nkarimi@umbc.edu