2026 16th International Conference on Software Technology and Engineering (ICSTE 2026)
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About this event
2026 16th International Conference on Software Technology and Engineering (ICSTE 2026)
The 16th International Conference on Software Technology and Engineering (ICSTE 2026) will be held in Kobe, Japan from December 18 to 20, 2026. This prestigious event is sponsored by the University of Hyogo and aims to provide a comprehensive forum for researchers, practitioners, and professionals from academia, industry, and government to engage in discussions on the latest research and development in software technology and engineering.
Event Overview
ICSTE 2026 will feature a diverse program including keynote sessions, session keynote speeches, technical sessions, and an academic visit. Renowned speakers from the field will deliver keynote and invited speeches, offering attendees the opportunity to interface with experts in software technology and engineering.
Important Dates
- Full Paper Submission Deadline: July 20, 2026
- Notification of Acceptance: August 20, 2026
- Camera-Ready Paper Due: September 5, 2026
- Conference Date: December 18-20, 2026
Venue and Location
The conference will take place in Kobe, Japan, a beautiful port city in Hyogo Prefecture. Known for its multicultural vibe, historic Western residences, and lively Chinatown, Kobe is also famous for its high-quality Kobe beef and Arima Onsen, one of Japan’s oldest hot spring areas. The city combines tradition and modernity, making it a charming and resilient destination.
Scenic and Cultural Highlights
- Mount Maya Kikuseidai: Offering one of Japan’s top three night views, it provides a stunning panorama of Osaka Bay and the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, best enjoyed from dusk to evening.
- Kitano Ijinkan District: A historic Western-style residential area from the Meiji era, featuring cozy cafes and museums like the Weathercock House and Moegi House.
- Kobe Beef & Nankinmachi: Savor premium Kobe beef and explore Nankinmachi, one of Japan’s top three Chinatowns, known for its delicious Chinese snacks.
- December Event - Kobe Luminarie: A famous annual winter light festival with illumination tunnels honoring the city’s recovery, held from Kobe Station to Meriken Park.
Call for Papers
ICSTE 2026 encourages submissions from both academia and industry. Potential authors are invited to submit papers on the following topics:
Track 1: Software Engineering
- Software Requirements Engineering
- Software Architectures and Design
- Software Development and Maintenance
- Software Project Management
- Software Testing, Diagnosis, and Validation
- Software Analysis, Assessment, and Evaluation
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Software Processes and Workflows
- Reverse Engineering and Software Maintenance
- Aspect-Orientation and Feature Interaction
- Component-Based Software Engineering
- Agent-Based Software Systems, Middleware Techniques
- AI and Knowledge Based Software Engineering
- Empirical Software Engineering and Metrics
- Software Security, Safety and Reliability
- Software Tools and Development Environments
- Programming Languages and Software Engineering
- Embedded and Real-time Software
- Multimedia and Visual Software Engineering
- Emerging Practices in Software Process & Architecture
- Lean & Agile software Development & Practices
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Web Java-based Applications
- Web Service Applications & Foundation
- Web Services-Driven Business Process Management
- Wireless & Mobile Based Applications, Services
Track 2: Modern Information System Construction and Data Management
- Artificial & Computational Intelligence
- Signal & Image Processing
Submission Guidelines
Authors should prepare full versions of papers with a minimum length of 5 pages and submit via the submission system: Submission System. Abstract-only submissions are also accepted for those not intending to publish full papers.
Registration
For a paper to be considered for final acceptance and publication, at least one author must register with a full paid registration by the registration deadline. Papers failing to meet this requirement will be excluded from the proceedings.
Data sheet
2026 16th International Conference on Software Technology and Engineering (ICSTE 2026) – Event Attendee & Buyer Profile Analysis
Event date: December 18–20, 2026
Location: Kobe Campus for Information Science, University of Hyogo, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
Event status: Upcoming
Research date: June 29, 2026
Event Overview
| Event Name | 2026 16th International Conference on Software Technology and Engineering (ICSTE 2026) |
| Event Date | December 18–20, 2026 |
| Event Status | Upcoming |
| Venue | Kobe Campus for Information Science, University of Hyogo |
| City | Kobe |
| State / Region | Hyogo |
| Country | Japan |
| Organizer | ICSTE 2026 organizing committee; conference sponsored by University of Hyogo |
| Official Event Website | icste.org |
| Event Type | International academic and professional conference |
| Primary Category | IT & Technology |
| Secondary Applicable Categories | Science & Research; Education & Training |
| Audience Reach | Global, with strong Asia-Pacific and academic research relevance |
| Estimated Attendance / Expected Footfall | Attendance figure not publicly confirmed by the organizer. |
| Attendance Data Reliability | Low for volume metrics; event dates, location, sponsor, and program format are confirmed from the official website. |
| Main Purpose of Event | To provide a forum for researchers, practitioners, and professionals from industry, academia, and government to discuss software technology and engineering research, development, and professional practice. |
About the Event
ICSTE 2026 is the 16th edition of an international conference focused on software technology and engineering. According to the official event website, it will be held in Kobe, Japan from December 18 to 20, 2026 and is sponsored by the University of Hyogo. The program is expected to include keynote sessions, session keynote speeches, technical sessions, and an academic visit, with participation from industry, academia, and government.
From a business-intelligence perspective, this is primarily a knowledge-led, research-oriented conference rather than a large commercial expo. It is most relevant for software engineering research partnerships, university-industry collaboration, technical recruiting, developer tool positioning, enterprise software thought leadership, and niche B2B outreach into R&D, engineering, and advanced information systems communities. It is less suitable for high-volume retail-style attendee list building, but potentially valuable for precision targeting of technical decision-makers, faculty, applied researchers, and innovation stakeholders.
1. Who Attends: Buyers / Attendees
| Buyer / Attendee Segment | Typical Organizations | Buying Role or Influence | Relevance to Exhibitors / Suppliers |
|---|---|---|---|
| University researchers and faculty | Universities, engineering schools, computer science departments | Influence adoption of research tools, publishing platforms, lab software, collaboration systems, and educational technologies | High for research software, developer tooling, cloud credits, academic licensing, and innovation partnerships |
| Industry R&D engineers and software architects | Software firms, enterprise IT teams, product engineering groups | Evaluate software engineering practices, testing tools, AI-assisted development, and architecture approaches | High for developer platforms, QA automation, DevOps, observability, and secure SDLC solutions |
| Government technology and research professionals | Public research institutes, digital government teams, policy-linked technical units | Influence public-sector research collaboration, technology evaluation, and innovation programs | Moderate to high for secure software, digital transformation, and public R&D partnership offerings |
| Graduate students and doctoral researchers | Universities and research labs | Often users and influencers rather than budget owners; shape future adoption and research direction | Relevant for recruiting, academic community building, and entry-level tool adoption |
| Technical program and engineering managers | Software vendors, enterprise digital teams, research commercialization units | Assess roadmap alignment, vendor partnerships, pilot projects, and process improvement initiatives | High for enterprise pilots, consulting, technical services, and co-development opportunities |
| Industry-academia partnership leaders | Innovation offices, research centers, corporate partnership teams | Influence sponsorships, funded research, joint papers, and commercialization collaborations | High for strategic partnerships, grants, sponsored research, and ecosystem development |
2. Event Location and Attendee Geographic Origin
| Geographic Area | Likely Attendee Origin | Buyer Concentration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kobe | Host-city participants, university faculty, local research affiliates, nearby software professionals | Moderate | Venue-city advantage supports local academic and institutional attendance. |
| Hyogo Prefecture | Regional universities, applied research institutes, and technology-linked organizations | Moderate | Regional concentration likely around educational and public-sector research entities. |
| Kansai region | Attendees from Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and surrounding business and academic hubs | High | Kansai is a logical draw area for software engineering, university research, and technical professionals. |
| Japan national | Researchers and industry practitioners from major Japanese cities and institutions | High | Official positioning as an international conference supports nationwide academic and professional reach. |
| Asia-Pacific | International authors, speakers, and researchers from neighboring countries | Moderate to high | Typical for academic software conferences; current-year country list not publicly disclosed. |
| Global | International research and professional attendees | Selective | Global intent is confirmed by conference positioning; exact country participation is not publicly confirmed. |
3. Audience Reach
| Reach Level | Assessment | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Global | Primary classification | The conference is explicitly positioned as an international event and invites participants from industry, academia, and government. |
| National | Secondary reach description | Japanese universities, labs, and software engineering groups are likely to form a strong attendance base due to host-country convenience. |
| Regional | Secondary reach description | Kansai and nearby business and academic hubs should be well represented given the Kobe location. |
4. Sample Buyer Companies and Websites
| Buyer Company / Organization | Buyer Type | Why It Is Relevant | Website | Best Job Titles to Target | Evidence Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current-year attendee, speaker, exhibitor, and sponsor organization lists are not publicly disclosed in the provided official source extract. The table below includes only directly supportable organizations. This event has limited public organization-level attendee visibility, which reduces suitability for high-volume confirmed attendee list building. | |||||
| University of Hyogo | Academic sponsor / host-side institution | Officially named on the event website as sponsor; likely central to venue coordination and host-side participation. | u-hyogo.ac.jp | Professor, Associate Professor, Dean, Research Center Director, IT Director, Partnership Manager | Confirmed Sponsor / Exhibitor |
Practical note: For prospecting expansion beyond confirmed organizations, this event is better approached through role-based Apollo targeting across software engineering, higher education, and research-led institutions rather than through a verified current-year attendee company list.
5. Job Profiles, Industries and Event Type
| Priority | Job Title / Function | Department | Seniority Level | Why This Role Matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Professor / Principal Investigator | Research / Academic | Senior | Drives research priorities, tool selection, collaborations, and publication-related decisions. |
| 2 | Software Engineering Director | Engineering | Director | Relevant for applied engineering practices, platform adoption, and team-level process improvement. |
| 3 | Software Architect / Solutions Architect | Engineering / Architecture | Manager to Senior Individual Contributor | Influences software design methods, frameworks, reliability, security, and scalability decisions. |
| 4 | CTO / Head of Engineering | Executive / Technology | C-Level / VP | Key decision-maker for higher-level technology partnerships and strategic tooling decisions. |
| 5 | Research Scientist | R&D | Mid to Senior | Relevant for evaluation of advanced methods, experimentation tools, and applied research collaboration. |
| 6 | IT Director | IT | Director | Important for infrastructure, deployment, systems procurement, and academic enterprise technology adoption. |
| 7 | Product Manager | Product | Manager | Translates software engineering innovations into roadmap and commercialization opportunities. |
| 8 | Partnerships Director / Industry Liaison | Partnerships / External Relations | Director / Head | Relevant for sponsored research, university-industry collaboration, and technology transfer. |
| Priority | Apollo Industry | Why It Fits the Event | Best Buyer Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Information Technology & Services | Core fit for software engineering and enterprise IT practitioners | Developer tools, consulting, enterprise platforms |
| 2 | Computer Software | Direct match with conference theme | Engineering workflows, testing, product development |
| 3 | Higher Education | Strong relevance due to university-hosted, research-oriented format | Academic partnerships, research software, campus IT |
| 4 | Research | Applicable for labs, institutes, and applied research organizations | R&D collaboration, simulation, analytics tools |
| 5 | Computer Hardware | Relevant where embedded and real-time software topics intersect with hardware systems | Platform integration, embedded engineering |
| 6 | Computer Networking | Web services, mobile systems, distributed systems relevance | Networked application infrastructure and systems research |
| 7 | Computer & Network Security | Software security and reliability are explicitly relevant topics | Secure SDLC, application security, compliance |
| 8 | Government Administration | Official description includes government professionals | Digital government R&D, public-sector software modernization |
| 9 | Education Management | Relevant for administrative and institutional buyers around universities | Learning systems, research administration tools |
| 10 | Industrial Automation | Relevant where embedded, real-time, and applied systems engineering intersect | Engineering software, controls integration, applied computing |
6. Estimated Attendance
| Metric | Figure | Status | Source / Basis | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated total footfall | Attendance figure not publicly confirmed by the organizer. | Not Publicly Confirmed | Official event website extract | No attendee count stated in the provided official source. |
| Exhibitor count | Not disclosed | Not Publicly Confirmed | Official event website extract | This appears to be a conference, not a trade-show-led exhibition. |
| Buyer count | Not disclosed | Not Publicly Confirmed | Official event website extract | No formal hosted-buyer or procurement program identified in the provided source. |
| Speaker count | Not disclosed | Not Publicly Confirmed | Official event website extract | Keynote and invited speakers are referenced, but number not stated. |
| Sponsor count | 1 publicly identified sponsor | Confirmed | Official event website extract | University of Hyogo is explicitly named as sponsor. |
| Historical attendance | Not available from provided official source | Historical / prior-year evidence unavailable | Provided source set only | No prior-year attendee data supplied in the source material. |
7. Key Focus Areas and Buyer Engagement
| Focus Area | Typical Buyer Need | Buyer Engagement Opportunity | Relevant Supplier Offering |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineering | Better development practices, architecture, maintenance, and quality assurance | Technical demos, research papers, architecture case studies | Dev tools, SDLC platforms, QA automation, code analysis |
| AI and knowledge-based software engineering | Applied AI for development, productivity, and intelligent systems design | Workshops, proof-of-concept discussion, collaborative research | AI-assisted coding, ML platforms, model lifecycle tooling |
| Software security, safety, and reliability | Secure and dependable software development methods | Risk-oriented conversations with engineering and IT stakeholders | Application security, code scanning, testing and compliance tools |
| Web services and SaaS | Scalable service delivery, integration, and cloud-native application design | Platform positioning and systems integration dialogue | Cloud software, APIs, platform engineering, integration services |
| Embedded and real-time software | Reliable performance in hardware-connected and time-sensitive environments | Applied engineering discussions with industrial and systems teams | Embedded toolchains, runtime monitoring, simulation environments |
| Modern information systems and data management | Improved system construction, intelligence, and data workflow effectiveness | Cross-functional conversations with data, platform, and research stakeholders | Data platforms, analytics, architecture consulting, enterprise systems |
Lead Quality Assessment
| Factor | Assessment | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer relevance | Medium to High | Strong if the offering targets software engineering, research tools, academic technology, or technical partnerships; weaker for mass-market B2B products. |
| Decision-maker availability | Medium | Senior technical and academic influencers are likely present, but procurement-style budget holders may be fewer than at commercial expos. |
| Data collection potential | Low to Medium | Public current-year organization disclosure is limited, reducing direct attendee list verification potential. |
| Apollo targeting potential | High | Role-based targeting across software, higher education, research, and public-sector technology is practical and scalable. |
| Geographic targeting potential | High | Japan, APAC, and global technical communities can be filtered efficiently around the event theme. |
| Best outreach approach | High-value technical outreach | Use thought leadership, research collaboration angles, engineering pain points, and solution-specific messaging rather than generic sales outreach. |
| Overall lead quality | Medium | Good for niche technical lead generation, weaker for high-volume verified attendee acquisition. |
| Best use case | Precision B2B targeting | Best for engineering software vendors, academic technology providers, R&D partnerships, and advanced developer solutions. |
| Limitations / risks | High disclosure risk | Limited public attendee transparency means this event is not ideal for selling a large confirmed attendee list without supplementary verification. |
Apollo.io Targeting Recommendation
| Filter Type | Recommended Filters | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo industries | Computer Software; Information Technology & Services; Higher Education; Research; Computer & Network Security; Government Administration; Education Management; Computer Networking; Computer Hardware; Industrial Automation | Build a high-relevance audience aligned with conference themes and attendee profiles. |
| Departments | Engineering; Information Technology; Research; Product Management; Education; Operations; Partnerships | Focus on technical, research, and collaboration-oriented functions. |
| Seniority | C-Level; VP; Director; Head; Manager; Owner; Senior; Professor-equivalent where available in titles | Capture both budget owners and strong technical influencers. |
| Job titles | CTO, Head of Engineering, Engineering Director, Software Architect, IT Director, Research Scientist, Professor, Principal Investigator, Product Manager, Partnerships Director | Match the likely attendee and influencer profile of the event. |
| Geography | Japan first; expand to APAC; then global for niche technical outreach | Start with host-market density, then broaden to likely international participants. |
| Employee size | 11–50; 51–200; 201–500; 501–1,000; 1,001–5,000; 5,001+ | Covers startups, scale-ups, institutions, and enterprise buyers relevant to software engineering and research. |
| Keywords | software engineering, software architecture, testing, DevOps, secure SDLC, AI, knowledge-based systems, web services, SaaS, embedded software, real-time systems, information systems, data management | Align outreach with official track topics. |
| Technologies | Use if relevant: cloud, CI/CD, application security, software testing, AI/ML stack, API management | Refine toward organizations with active engineering maturity or transformation programs. |
| Revenue range | Optional; prioritize by solution price point | Useful when segmenting enterprise software buyers from academic or research institutions. |
| Company type | Private; Public; Educational Institution; Government Organization | Reflects the official audience mix of industry, academia, and government. |
Suggested Apollo Search Logic: Target organizations in Japan and APAC using combinations such as “software engineering” OR “software architecture” OR “software testing” OR “DevOps” OR “embedded software” OR “real-time systems” OR “information systems” OR “research lab” OR “computer science department” OR “AI engineering.” Pair these with title filters such as CTO, Engineering Director, Software Architect, IT Director, Professor, Principal Investigator, and Research Scientist.
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Sources & Verification Notes
| Source | Type | What It Verified | Reliability |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICSTE 2026 Official Website | Official event website | Event name, dates, city, country, sponsor, event purpose, participant types, program elements, important deadlines, and topical scope | High |
| ICSTE 2026 Submission System | Official submission link referenced on event website | Supports evidence that the conference is actively collecting submissions for the 2026 edition | Medium to High |
| Provided event details from user request | User-supplied structured information | Venue name and full location detail used where not contradicted by the official website extract | Medium |
Verification note: The official source confirms the event dates, host city, country, sponsor, and conference positioning. The provided official website extract does not disclose attendance volume, buyer program counts, exhibitor counts, or a current-year organization-level attendee list. Accordingly, those fields are clearly marked as not publicly confirmed. This event is suitable for targeted B2B outreach and Apollo-based role segmentation, but only moderately suitable for confirmed attendee list building due to limited public participant disclosure.
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