Call for Submissions
At IEA2027, ergonomics and human factors will take centre stage and we want you to be there, sharing your work, your insight and your ideas. From high-stakes industries to everyday experiences, the congress will showcase how rigorous science and thoughtful design improve the complex systems that shape modern life.
Here’s how you can take part:
1. Download the Call for Submissions
This gives you themes, formats and dates. Take note especially of the key dates to make sure you can comply with them. See below too. (There will be no extensions granted, sorry.)
2. Pick a format
There are several formats to choose from, each with its own template. The templates, listed below, contain guidelines and instructions on exactly what to submit.
3. Write your paper
Once your initial submission is ready, upload it in our Submission Portal by the deadline of midnight on 1 November.
4. Finalise your submission
If you've submitted a research paper or case study and your initial submission is accepted, you’ll be asked to upload a final version, taking into account any reviewer feedback. At that point, we’ll let you know how to prepare for the event.
If you've submitted a proposal for a workshop or panel discussion, we'll be in touch once it has been reviewed.
Not sure?
We ran a webinar that explains how to make a submission. We talked about what type of submissions we're looking for, how to develop your idea, using templates, the submission app, reviews and what happens next. We busted some myths about conferences too. See the replay
Key dates
Congress themes
Click on each theme for more details.
Beyond Automation
Exploring the future of human work in the age of AI and robots
As AI systems and robotics increasingly shape work, mobility, healthcare, manufacturing and daily life, ergonomics and human factors professionals play a critical role in ensuring these technologies are usable, trustworthy, ethical and aligned with human needs. This strand of the conference aims to bring together diverse perspectives to advance our understanding of how humans interact with intelligent and autonomous systems, both digital and physical.
Inclusive by Design
Using human factors to enable truly people-centred design
Inclusive design matters because people are different, and designs that assume a ‘typical’ user often create problems, frustration or risk for many others. An ergonomics and human factors approach helps designers understand how real people think, move and behave in real situations, and use that insight to spot barriers before they cause harm. By designing with human variation in mind from the start, inclusive design leads to solutions that are easier to use, safer and more effective for everyone.
Navigating Complexity
Understanding system interactions and performance impacts
In transport, healthcare, critical infrastructure, digital platforms, defence, finance and many other domains, people work within systems that are interconnected, rapidly changing and only partly predictable. Complex systems challenge traditional linear models of cause and effect. They require new ways of understanding work-as-done, new approaches to design and assurance, and new forms of collaboration across disciplines and organisations. Ergonomics and human factors provides powerful perspectives and methods for making sense of complexity, supporting adaptation and resilience, and improving safety, performance and wellbeing.
Why you should be there
Preparations are well underway to bring you an unforgettable conference experience.
Breakthrough Research
Be the first to hear landmark studies defining the next decade of human factors.
Future‑Focused Innovation
Explore emerging technologies shaping AI, design and human‑system integration.
Skills‑Building Workshops
Take part in hands‑on sessions offering practical methods you can apply immediately.
Industry–Academia Collaboration
Discover partnerships accelerating real‑world impact across global organisations.
Unmatched Networking
Connect with international colleagues, collaborators and industry leaders across sectors.
Iconic London Setting
Enjoy a premier occasion, celebrating the profession in one of the world’s most dynamic cities.
The Venue
Set within the Maritime Suite at Excel London, IEA2027 benefits from a venue designed around people coming together to listen, learn and collaborate. The accessible, flexible layout makes it easy to move between parallel sessions, while its calm, self-contained environment encourages the kind of informal conversations and interdisciplinary connections that define human factors at its best.
Address
Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, London E16 1XL
Early Bird Tickets
Our special Early Bird rates are available until 1 November. All prices exclude VAT.
Discounts are available for ergonomics society members, for students and others. Please see below the ticket options for details.
One Day
£355
+VAT @20%
- Conference admission - any one day
- Lunch
- Refreshments
- Access to conference app
- Digital book of conference abstracts
Two Days
£675
+VAT @20%
- Conference admission - any two days
- Lunch each day
- Refreshments each day
- Access to conference app
- Digital book of conference abstracts
Three Days
£895
+VAT @20%
- Conference admission - all three days
- Lunch each day
- Refreshments each day
- Access to conference app
- Digital book of conference abstracts
Discounts
Current members of the 57 IEA Federated Societies (national ergonomics societies): members from Low-and-Middle Income Countries get 20% discount, all others 10%. Get your discount code below and apply it at the checkout. (For non-members from LMICs, please email us to request a code.)
Start typing your country or national society acronym below.
Students: a 20% discount is applied on upload of your valid student ID during the booking process.
Please note: Membership/student status will need to remain current until the congress. All claims for discounts are checked and the full ticket price will be charged retrospectively if any code has been applied in error. Thanks for your understanding.
Accommodation
Through our dedicated hotel portal, you can book from a selection of hotels at different price points. Together with the ticket options, this gives you the flexibility to find a solution that suits your available time and budget.
FAQs
I've never presented at a conference before and I'm a bit anxious. Can you help?
Yes! Let's start with a myth. Many people assume you need to be an academic to present at a conference. You don't. It's the experiences of those who are seeing and solving problems every day on the front line that's a vital part of these events too.
Have you improved a process? Redesigned a workspace? Made things safer or more comfortable for people? Introduced a new way of working? Influenced the design of a product, service or system? If you've used ergonomics and human factors to make a difference, your experience could help others do the same. Bring it to this congress as a case study.
Submitting a case study isn't as daunting as you might think either. You're not expected to produce a lengthy paper full of complex statistics and arguments. Instead, in just two pages, tell the story of your project: what the challenge was, what you did to solve it, what impact the change had and what the key learning points were.
Perhaps the biggest thing holding you back isn't writing a submission, it's the thought of talking to a room full of strangers. That's completely understandable. The reality is that the audience isn't there to judge you - and they don't bite! They're friendly, eager to learn from your experience and discover ideas they can take back into their own organisations.
And remember, you're the expert on your own project. Nobody knows the challenges you faced, the decisions you made or the lessons you learned better than you do.
There's plenty of reward here too. You'll gain confidence in your own work and abilities, reflect on your own practice, build your professional profile, get insight from others and make connections with people working on similar challenges.
So if you've been thinking, "I'm not sure I'm experienced enough" or "I've never presented before", take that first step. You'll be pleasantly surprised by just how much you and everyone else in the room gains from it.
And lastly, we don't bite either! We're here to help you with advice and guidance every step of the way.
Do I need to be an expert to present at this congress?
No. Human factors is a profession that relies on continuous learning. Whether you're a early-career practitioner, a PhD student or an experienced professional, your perspective can help others think differently.
The challenges facing our profession are becoming more complex, more global and more interconnected. Bringing together researchers, practitioners and students from around the world really matters. If your work has something to contribute, we'll all want to hear it.
I want to submit a case study. What things do I need to consider?
Great question, here's 5 top tips for you:
- Open with the problem as the reader would have experienced it, not as you now understand it in hindsight. This is what makes a case study relatable rather than just a report.
- Be honest about constraints. What you could and couldn't influence (budget, timeline, organisational politics) is often more instructive to other practitioners than the intervention itself.
- Trace a clear line from problem to intervention to outcome. A case study that jumps straight to "and then we fixed it" loses the reasoning that other people actually want to borrow.
- Quantify the outcome if you can, but don't force it if you can't. A qualitative shift, honestly described, is more credible than a fabricated metric.
- Name what you'd do differently. This is usually the single most valuable sentence in a case study submission, and the one people skip out of instinct to present a clean success.
Don't worry too much about perfection. Just make sure you're clear about what you did, why it mattered and what someone else could take from it. You'll get a chance to hone it in your final paper.
I want to submit a research paper. Do you have some tips for me?
Yes, here's 5 things to think about:
- Lead with the contribution, not the method. In a short, 2-3 page paper there's no room for a slow build. Say in the first paragraph what's new or useful about what you found, then justify it.
- Pick one or two findings and go deep. Reviewers remember papers that make one point well. A paper trying to cover everything ends up saying nothing memorably.
- Let the data do the talking, briefly. One well-chosen table or figure does more work than a paragraph of descriptive stats. Use the word count you save to interpret it instead.
- Address the "so what" explicitly. A short paper has no room for readers to infer implications themselves. Spell out why this work is important, what it changes.
- Cut the literature review or references to the two or three sources that actually frame your work. A comprehensive review and further references belong in your final paper, here it just steals space from your own contribution.
I'm not sure about the submission process. Can you talk me through it?
Yes, we ran a webinar on this topic - including answering lots of questions from the audience. See the replay
If my paper is accepted, will it be published?
There are several ways accepted papers can be published:
- They will be published by CIEHF in a digital book of proceedings which will be made available to all delegates before the event and more widely afterwards.
- They will be published online here after the event: https://publications.ergonomics.org.uk/
- Each paper will have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) allocated to it so it will be easily discoverable by global research search engines, library catalogues and databases.
- Authors will be given the option to expand their paper and submit it for publication in a special issue of a relevant journal (more information about this will follow).
Do the tickets include accommodation?
No, the tickets give you entry to the conference with lunch and refreshments through the day. We’ve kept accommodation separate so you can book it according to your budget through our hotel portal.
Can I claim back the VAT included in my ticket price?
The short answer is, it depends.
As a UK in-person conference, VAT is charged to all delegates, including those based overseas, because admission to events is taxed where the event physically takes place.
Individuals can't claim VAT back. UK organisations can claim VAT back if they are VAT registered.
For organisations outside the UK:
The UK tax authority, HMRC, will generally allow you to reclaim UK VAT directly from them (not from your own tax authority) under the UK overseas refund scheme. This includes businesses established in:
- EU countries
- Norway
- Switzerland
- Canada
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Japan
- Singapore
- UAE
- United States
HMRC’s guidance says claims are only refused where the claimant’s country has a refund scheme but specifically excludes UK businesses from using it.
The official HMRC guidance is here:
Refunds of UK VAT for non‑UK businesses (VAT Notice 723A)
Refunds of VAT for businesses visiting the UK
Please note, claiming back VAT is your organisation's responsibility and not the conference organiser's.
I’d like to use the occasion to gather a few people together for a meeting. Can you help with that?
Yes, we can!
We have a few rooms reserved specifically for this purpose. Please complete our booking request form with the meeting details and we’ll do our best to accommodate you. You can find more information on the form itself.
How can I persuade my organisation to let me attend?
We have a letter template that describes the reasons why you should go and what your organisation will get in return. Simply fill in the relevant details and send it to your manager or decision-maker.
Content Partners
We're working with our content partners to bring you the latest work and insight in their sectors.
Supporters
We're grateful to our supporting organisations for giving their employees time to help us plan the congress.
Be a sponsor or exhibitor
Sponsorship of IEA2027 offers meaningful visibility and influence with a highly engaged, international audience. Whether your goal is brand presence, thought leadership or targeted engagement, our flexible packages are designed to help you connect with the people who are driving change across sectors, from healthcare and transport to AI, system design and beyond.
We’ve got a range of sponsorship and exhibition packages that start from £2500. Check our brochure to find out more.
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