COSEAL Workshop 2026

Overview

The COSEAL (Configuring and Selection of Algorithms) Workshop is a premier international event bringing together researchers from academia and industry across all areas of Automated Artificial Intelligence (AutoAI), including automated machine learning, model selection, hyperparameter optimisation, neural architecture search, and performance prediction. The 13th edition will take place on 18-20 May 2026 in Aachen, Germany at the Stadtpalais der Erholungsgesellschaft.

This year, we are celebrating 50 years since Rice’s 1976 paper introduced algorithm selection with a special session dedicated to this topic.

COSEAL workshops provide the chance to discuss ongoing research and recent results with other researchers. Presentation formats are oral presentations, poster pitches and poster sessions. There are no paper submissions and no formal proceedings.

Ready to join us? Fill out the pre-registration form here: https://www.soscisurvey.de/coseal2026/. Please note that the form will close on 15 February 2026 28 February 2026. Please also note that this year simply filling out the form does not automatically entail securing a spot at the workshop — find more details below!

Scope of the Workshop

The scope of COSEAL includes, but is not limited to:

Algorithm selection
Algorithm configuration
Algorithm portfolios
Performance predictions and empirical performance models
Bayesian optimization
Hyperparameter optimization
Automated machine learning (AutoML)
Neural architecture search
Meta-learning
Algorithm and parameter control
Explorative landscape analysis
Programming by optimization
Hyper-heuristics

Important dates

Pre-registration deadline: ~~15 February 2026~~ extended until 28 February 2026
Workshop dates: 18-20 May 2026

Workshop Location

COSEAL 2026 will be held in the Stadtpalais der Erholungsgesellschaft, close to the historic city center of Aachen.

Aachen is easily reachable by train:

ICE (high speed trains) from Brussels, Cologne and Frankfurt;
Eurostar from Paris and Brussels;
Various Regional Express trains from North-Rhine Westphalia.

If you would like to come by plane, you have the following options:

Flight to Cologne/Düsseldorf, then train to Aachen;
Flight to Frankfurt, then ICE to Aachen;
There is a regional airport between Aachen and Maastricht, from which you can arrive to Aachen by taxi or public transport (the latter is complicated).

Registration Fees

Registration is FREE (but mandatory)! Please note that all other costs (accommodation, food, travel) are at the expense of the participants.

Important Note on Participation: Due to venue capacity restrictions, we have a strict limit of 100 participants. As we expect high interest, simply filling out the registration form does not automatically guarantee your place at COSEAL 2026. We will review all pre-registrations by the end of February and send out the confirmation emails to the selected participants. Participation will not be granted on a first-come-first-serve basis, and presenting a poster and/or giving an oral presentation increases the chances for successful registration.

Evening events

To foster additional discussions, COSEAL 2026 will have networking events on Monday and Tuesday evening:

Reception on Monday 18 May 2026, attendance is free for COSEAL participants.
Aachener Dom tour (tour of the historic Cathedral of Aachen) on Tuesday 19 May 2026, attendance is free for COSEAL participants.
Workshop dinner on Tuesday 19 May 2026. Likely, participants will pay for the dinner themselves.

Accommodation

To make your stay easier, we have pre-reserved 70 hotel rooms in Aachen (which will be at the expense of the participants). Once your place is confirmed, we will send you the special booking link, which you can use if you wish to book one of these rooms.

Schedule

The schedule for the workshop is available at https://www.aim.rwth-aachen.de/coseal_schedule.html

COSEAL 2026 Overview Schedule Download

Detailed schedule:

COSEAL 2026 Workshop Schedule Download

Additional Information

Details regarding presentations and posters:

Presentations are 15 minutes long with additional 5 minutes for Q&A
Pitches are 3 minutes long with additional 2 minutes for Q&A
Posters should be in A0 portrait format

Please let us know if you would like to modify/add/remove a presentation/poster/pitch. Note that we got a large number of presentations, and therefore could not schedule all of them as full presentations. Therefore, some presentations are scheduled instead as a pitch + poster, please let us know if this arrangement does not work for you.

In the morning session of the last day, we will have a special session about 50 years of algorithm selection, organised by Lars Kotthoff. We are happy to announce that the special session will include a keynote by Kate Smith-Miles, and a panel discussion on the future of algorithm selection.

The dinner on the second evening requires pre-payment. Full details have been sent out to all registered participants. If you haven’t received an email, please contact us.

Information about the Dom Tour

Tips Download

Lunch Options

Some ideas we had for lunch (there are of course other places around, but these are the ones we know)

Kapuzineerkarree: 5 min walk
                 Rewe (local discounter, salad bar, sushi to go, sandwiches)
                 Losteria (Pizza, might take some time)
                 Aga Gemüsekebab (very nice (Falafel) kebab, just outside Kapuzineerkarree)
                 Kaiserwetter (restaurant with standard nonlocal dishes)

Around Stadtpalais: 5 min walk
                 Malema (restaurant,Turkish,closed Mondays)
                 Mr Greek (Greek fast food)
                 Aachener Brauhaus (good for german classics)
                 Vabene (Good pizza, near our office)

Towards the cathedral: 10 min walk
                 Moss, Nobis at the cathedral (local bakeries)
                 Restaurant Elisenbrunnen (nice seating outside, some german classics)
                 Minh Chau (Good Vietnamese food)