Call for Applications: Arabic NLP School @ EACL 2026 (Rabat, March 24)

[Nizar Habash]

Dear Colleagues and Students,

We are pleased to invite applications to the Second Arabic NLP School, a one-day intensive program organized by SIGARAB and co-located with EACL 2026, to be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Rabat, Morocco. 

https://arabicnlpschool2026.sigarab.org/

Building on the success of the first Arabic NLP School (co-located with COLING 2025), the 2026 edition introduces a redesigned, highly practical format focused on developing end-to-end research skills in Arabic NLP. The program will guide participants through the full research lifecycle, including:

• Formulating research ideas and questions
• Conducting responsible and comprehensive related-work reviews
• Designing meaningful experiments
• Curating and annotating data
• Preparing submissions and camera-ready papers
• Effectively presenting research at conferences

While these skills are broadly applicable to NLP research, the School places a strong emphasis on Arabic language technologies, Arab cultures, and the needs of emerging researchers from the Arab world.

The Arabic NLP School is intended for a diverse audience, including undergraduate and graduate students, PhD candidates, researchers, and industry or government practitioners with an interest in Arabic NLP.

Arabic NLP School 2026 is a free application-based program. See details for application below.

Important Dates

• Application Deadline: January 31, 2026
• Acceptance Notification: February 9, 2026
• Arabic NLP School: March 24, 2026
• Location: Rabat, Morocco

The application form is available here: 👉 [Application Link]

We encourage you to apply and to share this call with interested colleagues and students.

More information will be announced soon.

Sincerely,
The Arabic NLP School Organizing Committee
Nizar Habash (NYU Abu Dhabi)
Houda Bouamor (Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar)

[Amr Keleg]

Dear Nizar,

May I ask about the possibility of funding the flight and accommodation fees for some junior participants as well? I understand this might be a big ask, but if that's possible, then it would be great for lots of smart minds who would be deterred from applying for the lack of funding.

In any case, thanks a lot for organizing this. It is really great to see these community-building events gaining traction, thanks to all the great efforts and initiatives of you all.

Best Regards,
Amr

[Nizar Habash]

Dear Amr, 

Thank you very much for your kind message and for raising this important point. 
Unfortunately, we do not have funds allocated for covering flights and accommodation 

for additional participants. Typically, for the NLP schools, the primary intended audience 

is attendees of the main conference and members of the local community of the conference. 

Participant travel and accommodation are expected to be funded by their universities.

The school event itself is free of charge.

Best,
Nizar

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Nizar Habash

Professor of Computer Science

New York University Abu Dhabi
https://www.nizarhabash.com/ 

[Amr Keleg]

Thanks for taking the time to clarify this. I can see the rationale, and I am sure the local community will benefit a lot from the event.

Regards,
Amr