With issues such as climate change, unequal economic development, and exhaustion of non-renewable resources, affecting national economies and lives today, governments and organizations around the world have taken interest in addressing the challenges posing environmental, social and economic threats.

Aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals, to achieve a better and more sustainable future, is the Circular Economy concept. It represents a significant alternative to the traditional linear economy as means of reducing pressure on the environment, boosting economic growth, using and reusing resources and materials for as long as possible. This concept encompasses and applies to other aspects and sectors such as energy efficiency, land management, tourism and more. However, the transition is quite challenging. It sheds new light on designing infrastructure using a greener model and other ways through which cleaner renewable energy and production can incorporate the circular economy model. It does not

This conference will also discuss the intersection between Circular Economy and emerging trends such as Artificial Intelligence as means of improving operation, design and infrastructure optimization. Emerging technologies are being used as a way of blurring the boundaries between all sectors for one main goal: reducing our negative impact on the environment by changing production processes.

Understanding the need to inform and prepare individuals and organizations with the need to stay ahead, IEREK has organized the first International Conference on “Infrastructure for a Circular & Sustainable Economic Development” to be held in the University of Salento of Lecce, Italy.  The conference will be a platform for all researchers, scientists, designers and planner, stakeholders, governmental officials, to be aware of the circular economy concept and it’s adaption in production and infrastructure leading to a more sustainable future.

Throughout this 3-day content-filled event, the opportunity of networking with experts in the field and sharing experiences is maximized. IEREK invites you to join the journey towards a more sustainable future from 7 – 9 September 2021.

• 1. Circular Economy: A Sustainable Solution for a Sustainable Future

  a. Linear and Circular Economy Models.
  b. Sustainable Industrial and Territorial Ecology Concepts.
  c. Innovative and New Models for a Sustainable City Design.
  d. A Sustainable Loop: From Linear to Circular.
  e. Principles as basis for action

• 2. Circular Tourism As A Key Factor

  a. Marine Litter and Tourism Waste
  b. Tourism and Hospitality Sectors In The Circular Economy
  c. Opportunities And Challenges Facing Circular Tourism
  d. Examples of Circular Business Models
  e. Tourism Development Strategies and Plans

• 3. Green Infrastructure and Renewable Energy

  a. Circular Concepts for a Greener Infrastructure
  b. Production and Transportation with Renewable Energy
  c. Repair, Maintenance and Upgrade
  d. Reuse, Remanufacture and Recycle
  e. Sustainable Designs for Greener Infrastructure

• 4. Manufacturing and the Role of Digitalization

  a. Product Design for Reusability
  b. Circular Flow of Materials to Maximize the No Waste Concept
  c. Rethinking Design and Manufacturing
  d. The Rule of the 3Rs: Reduce, Repair, and Recycle
  e. The Use of Digital Technologies in Improving Design & Operations

• 5. International Trade and the Transition to a Circular Economy

  a. Channeling Waste, Sorting and Processing Materials
  b. Challenges of Eco-Design and Recyclability Standards
  c. International Cooperation on Circular Economy Value Chains
  d. Potential Impacts on Trade Flows
  e. An Intersection of Trade and Circular Economy Policies

Payment Instructions:

• Each research paper should have one main author who should pay the full fee (Author fees) regardless of attendance.
• Each co-author has his/her own separate fees to pay for their contribution and/or attendance.
• A research paper fee allows only one author, whether main or co-author, to attend the conference and receive only one copy of the conference abstract book in both hard and soft copies. Extras can be requested for a fee shown below.

Physical/ On-Campus Conference: (Current Plan)

• The ‘Deposit’ column ONLY reserves your physical spot for attending all days of the conference on-campus.
• Payment of the ‘Deposit’ allows you to complete the remaining fees from the ‘total amount required’ on-desk during event days.

Online Conference: (Contingency Plan)

• The ‘Deposit’ column guarantees your virtual attendance for all days of the conference as a contingency plan and counts as a complete payment in case of an online event.

Loyalty Membership Discounts:

The more you attend, the more you're rewarded! 
IEREK offers its loyal participants the following discounts depending on his/her attendance: 

Authors are respectfully requested to abide by the following steps/instructions in order to participate in the "Infrastructure for a Circular & Sustainable Economic Development" international conference and get their papers published...

Step 1: Abstract Submission

- Author (researcher) should submit an abstract file (paper summary) through our online system before the abstract submission deadline.

- Submitted abstract should not exceed 300 words.

- The abstract should clearly state the purpose, results, and conclusions of the work to be described in the final paper.

- You should the most relevant topic to your paper from the conference topics.

- Abstract file should include the author's full name, email address, academic title and affiliation.

- Abstract file should include Co-authors' full name, email address, academic title and affiliation. (if exist)

- The author can use/download abstract writing template to submit the abstract file accordingly (please download from the link provided below).

Step 2: Abstract Review

- Once abstract is submitted abiding the mentioned instructions, it will be sent to undergo revision process by members of our scientific committee, the author will receive abstract feedback and next step action by email within 2 weeks maximum from abstract submission date.

- Once the abstract is accepted, the author will receive abstract acceptance notification by email stating that the abstract is accepted and to proceed with full/short paper submission.

Step 3: Paper Submission

- The author should submit the full/short paper written on the writing template, through our online system before the paper submission deadline (please download the writing template from the link provided below).

- The full/short paper should be written in English as it's the official language of the conference "Infrastructure for a Circular & Sustainable Economic Development".

- The full paper file shouldn't exceed 12 pages while short paper shouldn't exceed 5 pages.

- The full paper should state the major issue(s) addressed, the potential significance of the work, the theoretical and methodological approach(es) pursued, major findings, conclusions, implications, and relevant scholarly references.

- The short paper should clearly mention the major issue(s), methodological approach(es), major findings, conclusions, and relevant scholarly references.

- The full/short paper must be relevant to the conference theme and must be original as we don't accept research papers with similarity rate of more than 20%.

Step 4: Paper Elementary Review

- Once the full/short paper is submitted abiding the mentioned instructions, it is assigned for review by the reviewers of scientific committee in aligning with IEREK revision SOP (double-blind process).

- The author will receive paper feedback and next step action by email within 1-month maximum from paper submission date.

Step 5: Payment

- Once the paper gets accepted, the author will be informed to pay the conference fees so that it could be sent to another 2 members of the scientific committee in order to provide the author with comments/notes that could improve the paper and push it to the limits.

- As soon as payment is confirmed and done successfully, corresponding official documents can be issued from our side such as paper acceptance letter and invitation letter.

Step 6: Paper Final Review

- The paper will be sent for review by another 2 members of the scientific committee in aligning with IEREK revision SOP (double-blind process). Reviewers' comments/notes will be forwarded to the author in order to modify the full paper accordingly. Then, send us the final version of the paper.

Downloads

Instructions of Short Paper Submissions: Authors whom like to submit short papers should be informed that the structure of a short paper should contain its abstract, keywords, introduction, problem statements and the hypothetical solution along with further studies that they will go through when they want to extend their paper to be published online. A short paper fee doesn’t have a chance to receive any type of discount whatever the authors was previously published with IEREK or the author is one of IEREK’s scientific committee and or a representative of a co- host university. A short paper is only published in the conference proceedings book and will not have a chance to be published online by Springer or by IEREK’s Journals unless the author extends their work to a full length paper and pay the requested fee.

To download Abstract Writing Template,  Click Here

To download Paper Writing Template,   Click Here