[hpc-announce] SAFE-HE 2026 Call for papers (with SCA/HPCAsia 2026)

[Manuel Francisco Dolz Zaragozá]

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Call for Papers

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SAFE-HE 2026

1st International Workshop on Secure and Advanced

Federated Learning with Homomorphic Encryption

held in conjunction with SCA/HPC Asia 2026

January 29, 2026

Osaka, Japan

Workshop website: https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://sites.google.com/uji.es/safe-he2026__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!ZFyEzYIbxDl0zBd7o-0VwVZEGCvvzLJX8DcHBN6B3VtnPZwBAhqgOtuktlPeXan41xmH1-Dsg-n1r89ZMiDk$ 

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Introduction

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As AI systems become increasingly decentralized, the need for secure,
privacy-aware training mechanisms is critical. Federated Learning enables
collaborative model training across multiple parties without requiring the
exchange of raw data, making it a promising approach for data-sensitive
environments. At the same time, Homomorphic Encryption allows computations
to be performed directly on encrypted data, ensuring end-to-end
confidentiality.

SAFE-HE is designed to explore the intersection of these two technologies,
addressing the growing demand for trustworthy AI by uniting researchers and
practitioners from machine learning, cryptography, privacy, and HPC.

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Objectives, scope and topics of the workshop

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The objective of this workshop is to bring together researchers and
practitioners to explore recent advances in integrating Federated Learning
and Homomorphic Encryption, with a focus on both theoretical foundations
and practical implementations. The workshop aims to identify key open
challenges and highlight promising research directions for secure and
efficient distributed learning. A core goal is to foster interdisciplinary
collaboration across the cryptography, machine learning, privacy,
cybersecurity, and systems communities, promoting a shared understanding of
the complex issues at the intersection of these fields. Additionally, the
workshop will serve as a platform to disseminate tools, methodologies, and
results developed under the CIBER-CAFE initiative, supporting the broader
adoption and impact of secure collaborative learning technologies.

We are looking for original high-quality research and position papers on
algorithms, frameworks, and practical applications integrating Federated
Learning and Homomorphic Encryption. Topics of interest include, but are
not limited to:

- Algorithms, protocols, frameworks for FL using HE and other privacy
techniques.

- Fairness, robustness, and trust in decentralized learning.

- Deployment and optimization across platforms, from edge to HPC.

- Benchmarks, datasets, tools for reproducible, efficient secure FL
workflows.

- Socio-technical and regulatory aspects including post-quantum security
and compliance.

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Keynote

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Antonio J. Peña, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Spain

"Deep Learning and Homomorphic Encryption: Where Are We?"

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Publication

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Accepted papers will be published together with SCA/HPC Asia 2026
proceedings.

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Submission Guidelines

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Authors submitting papers for SAFE-HE 2026 must do so via the EasyChair

submission web page for SAFE-HE 2026. Authors are invited to submit

technical papers of no more than 12 pages in PDF format, including

figures and references.

Submitted papers must contain original work that has not appeared in,

and is not under consideration for, another conference, journal, or

workshop. The review process is double-blind.

Format: single-column, maximum 12 pages including figures and

references, following the ACM Proceedings Style.

Templates:

- Word (docx):
https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://www.acm.org/binaries/content/assets/publications/taps/acm_submission_template.docx__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!ZFyEzYIbxDl0zBd7o-0VwVZEGCvvzLJX8DcHBN6B3VtnPZwBAhqgOtuktlPeXan41xmH1-Dsg-n1r8-Jsg1q$ 

- LaTeX (zip):
https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://portalparts.acm.org/hippo/latex_templates/acmart-primary.zip__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!ZFyEzYIbxDl0zBd7o-0VwVZEGCvvzLJX8DcHBN6B3VtnPZwBAhqgOtuktlPeXan41xmH1-Dsg-n1r0ys948k$ 

- Overleaf (ACM LaTeX Template):
https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://www.overleaf.com/gallery/tagged/acm-official__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!ZFyEzYIbxDl0zBd7o-0VwVZEGCvvzLJX8DcHBN6B3VtnPZwBAhqgOtuktlPeXan41xmH1-Dsg-n1r8VK496Q$ 

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Submission Timeline

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- Paper submission: 8 November 2025 (AOE)

- Notification of Acceptance: 30 November 2025

- Camera-ready paper due: 15 December 2025

Submission link: https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=safehe2026__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!ZFyEzYIbxDl0zBd7o-0VwVZEGCvvzLJX8DcHBN6B3VtnPZwBAhqgOtuktlPeXan41xmH1-Dsg-n1r560V16c$ 

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Organizers

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Manuel F. Dolz, Universitat Jaume I, Spain

dolzm at uji.es

Sandra Catalán, Universitat Jaume I, Spain

catalans at uji.es

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Programme Committee

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Darwin Quezada Gaibor, Universitat Jaume I, Spain

Damien Ligier, DESILO, Seoul, South Korea

Luis Bernardo Pulido Gaytan, National College of Ireland, Ireland

Leonel Sousa, INESC-ID/IST, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal