Eligibility 

The workshop is geared towards senior PhD students and early career researchers in robotics. The notion of a “senior” PhD student varies across geographic locations and programs, and the expectation is that the applicant has a well-defined research outline and has potentially published research at robotics venues. Since we have a limited number of spots each year, we will prioritize applicants who are closer to graduation. Industry research scientists and postdocs within two years of their graduation are also eligible to apply. Researchers and senior postdocs with more than two years of experience are welcome to submit applications, but priority will be given to early career postdocs. Applicants from previous years are encouraged to apply; applications are evaluated by an independent committee each year. Past participants are ineligible.

Research Statement

We seek a two-page research statement containing a high-level description of the research problem(s) that the applicant is addressing in their current and future studies. The research statement must have an explicit title, but there is no requirement to include an abstract section given the page limit. The research statement is expected to contain and will be evaluated for the following:

• Motivation behind the research question(s) addressed in the applicant's studies

• Clarity in defining and scoping the problem

• A brief review of related work on the aforementioned research question(s)

• A description of approaches contributed by the applicant, their novelty and potential advantages over existing ones

• An overview of the future research directions

You can find many good resources for writing a research statement online (such as this and this). We strongly encourage you to look at past RSS Pioneers research statements for reference (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).

Anonymity

The research statement must be anonymized according to RSS guidelines. While detailed instructions may be found in the sample LaTeX template, this largely means that applicants cannot add external links/grant numbers/videos/code repositories that explicitly or implicitly reveal identities. Please make sure to omit both author names and paper titles in self-citations. Anonymization is mandatory, and submissions that are not adequately anonymized will be rejected without review. The anonymity clause applies only to the research statement. An example of an anonymized research statement from previous years may be found here. Other application materials (CV, statement of motivation) do not need to be anonymized because they will not be peer-reviewed, but will be reviewed by a pre-selected faculty committee. 

Template

The main content of the research statement should be no longer than 2 pages. Anything on the third page or beyond must be only references. Submissions should be in PDF format and use the RSS LaTeX or Word templates. Any violation of the template including tampering with margins, font size, and line spacing will be grounds for desk-rejection (i.e., rejection without further review). Please refrain from using PDF editors, such as Mac OS Preview, for processing LaTeX PDF outputs as this may lead to margin violations. 

Statement of Interest

The statement of interest should provide basic biographical information about the candidate and answer the following question: "Why do you want to participate in the workshop, and what do you hope to gain from it?" This statement should be no longer than 3500 characters (about 500 words) and will be entered into a text box in the application portal.

Please take care to describe why the Pioneers program is important to you, including its relation to your current career stage (e.g., close to graduation, entering the job market, etc.) and your institutional and personal background (e.g. first-generation student, regionally underrepresented university, etc.). This section need not be anonymized as this is only evaluated by the program committee.

We will also ask for the following information during the submission process:

• University

• Personal website

• Preferred personal pronouns

• Nationality

• PhD / postdoc start date

• Expected graduation / completion date

• Name(s) of PhD / postdoc supervisor(s)

Curriculum Vitae

An updated academic-style CV should be submitted as a PDF document. For reference, we provide a non-exhaustive list of fields that may be included in the CV as deemed applicable: Education, Work experience, Awards and honors, Grants received, Publications, Projects, Professional service and volunteering, Talks, Students mentored, Teaching experience. Your CV need not be anonymized, as it will only be reviewed by the program committee and faculty reviewers.

Representative Publication

We ask for a PDF copy of one publication, pre-print, or writing sample representative of your research. This uploaded PDF need not be anonymized, as it will only be reviewed by the program committee and faculty reviewers.

Peer Review

The applicant will be required to submit 2-3 peer reviews of other submitted research statements. The research statements for review will be assigned to applicants after the submission deadline. These reviews are expected to be informative and to strictly adhere to the review guidelines stipulated by the program committee. Failure to submit reviews or unreasonable delays will impact accept/reject decisions. 

Please submit your application through OpenReview:

https://openreview.net/group?id=roboticsfoundation.org/RSS/2025/Workshop/Pioneers. 

Your application should include:

1. Title of your research statement;

2. Your name as the author – applications with multiple authors listed will be rejected without review;

3. A list of keywords corresponding to your research statement;

4. Your anonymized research statement (2 pages excluding references);

5. Your CV;

6. A representative publication or writing sample; and

7. Your statement of interest (3500 characters max, around 500 words)

Please note: if you have not created a profile with OpenReview before, you must create an account. Profiles created with an institutional email (school or company) will be automatically activated. However, those created without an institutional email will require a moderation process that may take up to two weeks. Please ensure your OpenReview profile is activated at the time of submission, as we will not be able to make deadline exceptions. For more information on creating an OpenReview profile, we refer applicants to the OpenReview policy page.

The research statement should be anonymized according to RSS standards, and those that are not anonymized will not be reviewed. Other application materials do not need to be anonymized because they will not go out for peer review. We suggest that you refer to your past work in the first person (e.g., "Previously, we have done this...) but anonymize the bibliographic references associated with your past work (e.g., [1] Anonymous authors, “title of the paper,” year). 

Applications are due on February 14, 2025 (anywhere-on-earth). Submissions can be edited until the deadline passes. 

RSS Pioneers is committed to ensure and continually improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of the workshop. Diversity, equity, and inclusion at our workshop mean new perspectives, ideas, and applications, all of which contribute to the success of our field. Individuals from groups underrepresented in robotics, such as minorities, women, and persons with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.