Objective
For the first year in 2025, ECRTS will introduce a Shadow Technical Program Committee (STPC) evaluation and review process. The primary objective of the STPC is to create an immersive training platform for young and emerging researchers. Participation in the STPC aims to offer early-career researchers hands-on experience in the peer-review process, developing and refining their evaluation and reviewing skills under the guidance of more experienced reviewers in an inclusive environment. Thus, by participating in the STPC, young researchers will gain a nuanced understanding of the key steps involved in evaluating research papers, from initial assessment to final decision-making. In addition to refining their reviewing skills, this process will equip STPC members with valuable insights into how to prepare solid, well-structured submissions for top-ranking conferences in the broad field of real-time and embedded systems. This will enhance their ability to structure and present their own research effectively in future submissions.
By fostering these skills, the STPC initiative supports and strengthens ECRTS’s commitment to academic rigor and community-building, ensuring that the next generation of real-time and embedded systems researchers is well-prepared to contribute to the field with confidence and preparedness.
Overview and Key Aspects
The Shadow Technical Program Committee will operate in parallel with the main Technical Program Committee (TPC), but will be largely organized independently in terms of timeline, structure of the discussions, and meetings. This structure will enable the STPC to carry out its evaluation process independently, under the guidance of an STPC chair appointed by the ECRTS steering committee and the main TPC chair. As further detailed below, the composition of the STPC will be determined by the STPC chair. It will be comprised of a number of invited members while also allowing self-nominations via a public call. The key aspects for reference to authors and prospective STPC members are described below.
1. Opt-in Submission for Authors
When submitting a paper for consideration to ECRTS 2025, authors will have the option to also submit their paper for additional evaluation by the STPC. This choice will be given to the authors directly in the submission form and will not require any additional steps. By allowing their submission to be forwarded to the STPC, the authors understand that their paper will be used as training material for the young researchers who comprise the STPC. Thus, participation in this process is purely voluntary and designed to ensure that the authors retain control over the visibility of their work within this experimental setting. Moreover, the assessment of the STPC will not influence the final paper acceptance decisions.
2. Anonymized Feedback Exchange
After the final acceptance decisions are made, anonymized and digested feedback from each committee will be shared reciprocally. Specifically:
- The STPC’s aggregated, anonymized feedback on each paper will be made available to the main TPC, providing unique insights into the perspectives of early-career reviewers;
- Likewise, feedback from the main TPC will be anonymized, aggregated, and shared with the STPC members to understand the main TPC’s evaluation and decision-making criteria. This will serve as invaluable training material for early-career STPC members.
3. Dedicated STPC Chair & Review Process
The STPC will be overseen by a dedicated STPC Chair who will manage its activities, discussions, and meetings. Led by the chair, the STPC will run its review process in parallel with the main TPC. The STPC will, therefore, have its own timeline, review phases, and meetings. The STPC Chair will be responsible for coordinating said activities to ensure alignment with ECRTS’s standards and main TPC timeline.
4. Recruitment and Composition of STPC
The STPC will be composed of a mix of invited members and selected applicants. An open application process will allow ECRTS to reach a broader pool of potential reviewers. Doing so will promote diversity and inclusivity in the STPC, ultimately aiming at a balanced representation of experienced and new reviewers. In addition to training future reviewers, the process is also intended to provide prospective ECRTS authors with unique insights on the internal review process of ECRTS, clarifying how novelty and merit is assessed for cutting-edge research in the field.
5. Conflict of Interest (CoI) Management
The STPC members will undergo the same conflict assessment procedure as the main TPC members. This ensures that conflicts of interest are managed carefully, protecting the integrity and impartiality of the review process.
6. Experimental Nature and Flexibility
ECRTS 2025 will be the first edition to introduce the STPC review process. As such, this initiative is to be considered experimental in nature. The flexibility to suspend the STPC review process mid-way is retained shall significant and serious issues arise that threaten to compromise the integrity of the main decision process and/or authors’ confidentiality. The ECRTS leadership will evaluate the outcomes of the experiment to determine the benefits and feasibility of continuing this initiative in future editions.
7. Benefits and Future Prospects
By creating an STPC, ECRTS fosters a culture of mentorship and skill development for both future reviewers and future TPC chairs. We expect that doing so will enhance the quality of peer reviews in our conferences and support the development of future leaders in the embedded and real-time systems community. If successful, this initiative could become a standing feature of ECRTS, contributing to the sustainability and rigor of the conference’s scientific merit assessment process.