AE4SF-2026- Advancing Engineering for a Sustainable Future Symposium Vancouver Submission Template

Introduction (heading #1)

The Conference Proceedings will be compiled from electronic file submissions in .docx and .pdf format, provided by the author(s). All accepted papers, case studies, and extended abstracts will be included in the Conference Proceedings, distributed to attendees at the beginning of the conference. In addition, full papers will be published through Belbotika.

To ensure consistent quality and uniformity across all submissions, authors must adhere to the following guidelines. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in papers being returned for revision, potentially leading to rejection due to publication deadlines.

The paper must be written in English in Letter ISO format. Length requirements are as follows: Papers must be 2-4 pages; Case Studies, 2 pages. Margins must be set to 0.8 inch on all sides. Page numbers will follow a local numbering system starting at page 1, with the format 1^stIntSymp-###-??, where ### is the paper's unique number, and ?? is the page number. Page numbers must be centred in the footer.

Full Papers present original and comprehensive research, including a clear problem statement, methodology, data analysis, and conclusions that contribute new theoretical or empirical insights to the field. These papers typically focus on advancing knowledge or developing new approaches within the discipline.

Industry Case Study Papers describe the practical application of engineering principles, technologies, or processes in real-world projects. They emphasize implementation details, project outcomes, challenges encountered, and lessons learned, rather than extensive theoretical development or research analysis.

The text should follow a single-column layout, formatted in 10 pt Arial font, with justification on both left and right margins. Paragraphs, sections, and subsections must be separated by 10 pt blank lines without paragraph indents. Primary headings must be preceded by two blank lines and followed by one blank line, while secondary and tertiary headings require one blank line above and below. A blank line should also separate text from equations, tables, or figures.

Authors are encouraged to use the spell-check and grammar-check tools in their word processor to avoid avoidable errors. English (Canada) should be selected, rather than English (United States).

Guidelines

Content

The paper must include a structured presentation comprising an introduction, detailed information on materials and methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Sections should be clearly defined and numbered using a consistent hierarchy: primary sections as 1., 2., etc., sub-sections as 1.1, 1.2, etc., and sub-sub-sections as 1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc. (limited to three levels). Section and sub-section titles should be formatted in bold, while sub-sub-section titles should not be bold. All data presented in the paper must adhere to the International System of Units (SI).

The responsibility for obtaining written permission to present projects or subject matter in the paper rests solely with the author(s). This includes securing authorization from clients, owners, or other relevant parties involved in the work. Conference organizers operate under the assumption that the necessary permissions have been obtained and bear no liability for the author(s)’ failure to secure such permissions.

Copyright Material

It is the author(s) responsibility to obtain copyright permissions for reproducing any materials, such as figures, tables or photographs, published in any other source. The source of the reproduced material should be referenced in an appropriate way in the paper as well, for example in the caption of tables, figures or photographs. Reference of the source does not waive the author(s) responsibility to obtain reproduction permission. Conference organizers assume the author(s) has obtained the proper permission. Symposium organizers assume no liability for the author(s) failure to gain proper permission.

License Agreement

The authors need not to complete a license agreement for their papers to be included in the proceedings.

Figures and Tables

All figures and tables must be sequentially numbered, appropriately captioned, and centred in the text where they appear. Ideally, figures and tables should follow the paragraphs in which they are first cited. Maintain a 10 pt blank line between the top of the figure or table and its caption, as well as between the caption and surrounding text. Captions should be centred, written in 10 pt Arial font, and provide a concise description of the figure or table.

Resolution of figures

Please ensure that figures are of acceptable resolution (of at least 300 dpi) and that diagrams are labelled with consistent font and size. Sub-figures (a, b, c, etc.) should be labeled below each sub-figure and referred to in the figure caption.

Example:

Figure 1: Write your figure caption here

Formatting of tables

Tables should be as simple as possible, avoiding unnecessary rows and columns to enhance readability. All table cells should have single-line borders, and shading should not be used. Tables must be centred and formatted in 10 pt Arial font, although reducing the font size to 9 pt is acceptable for large tables. Captions should be placed above the table without leaving a blank line in between.

Units should be indicated directly below the heading. Vertical lines as column separators should be omitted. Italics and bold fonts are permissible, and notations or superscripts for references within the table are acceptable.

Submit tables as editable text rather than images. Use 1.5 pt thickness for the upper and lower border lines of the table.

Table 1: Write your table caption here

*Footnote~ for this table.

If a figure, table, or photograph has been previously published, the author must obtain written permission from the original publisher to reprint it in the Proceedings. Additionally, the source of the previously published material must be cited in the caption.

Equations

Equations and formulas should be aligned with the left margin and numbered consecutively. Place equation numbers flush with the left margin in square brackets. Refer to equations in the text using these numbers (e.g., “Eq. 1” or “Equation 1 demonstrates…”). Equations must be separated from the text with blank lines above and below and must use SI units and Arabic numerals without italics.

Example of an equation (Eq. 1):

[1] AP = σ

Conclusions

Authors are required to submit the full paper or case study in docx format through the submission platform at .

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

An unnumbered paragraph at the end of the paper can be used to acknowledge sponsors, design engineers, project engineers, contractors, and/or owners involved in the work. This section should appear immediately before the References section.

REFERENCES

The accuracy of all references is the sole responsibility of the author(s). In the body of the text, references should be cited in parentheses, using the authors’ surnames and the year of publication [e.g., (Seed et al. 1977)].

At the end of the paper, references should be listed alphabetically by the first author’s surname. The first line of each reference entry should not be indented, while subsequent lines should have a two-space (10 pt) indentation. There should be no blank lines between references. Book titles and names of journals, reports, and conferences should be italicized.

Reference formats:

Journal Papers: Last name, Initials. Year. Article Title. Name of Journal, Volume number in Arabic numerals, Pages.

Books: Last name, Initials. Year. Book Title, Publisher, City, State/Province, Country.

Conference papers: Last name, Initials. Year. Article Title. Name of conference, Publisher, City, State/Province and Country where conference took place, volume number in Arabic numerals: pages.

Example of reference list:

Ingold, T.S. and Miller, K.S. 1983. Drained Axisymmetric Loading of Reinforced Clay. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE, 109: 883-898.

Leshchinsky, D. and Perry, E.B. 1987. A Design Procedure for Geotextile Reinforced Walls. Geosynthetics ‘87’, IFAI, New Orleans, LA, USA, 1: 95-107.

Terzaghi, K. and Peck, R.B. 1987. Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice. 2nd ed., McGraw Hill, New York, NY, USA.