Instructions for Authors | Structural Engineering, Mechanics & Computation Conference

Preparation of Manuscripts

The quality of the published SEMC Proceedings has been consistently high over the years. In publishing the Proceedings of the SEMC 2025 International Conference, we intend to maintain these high standards. As in the past, papers published in the SEMC 2025 Proceedings will be indexed in Scopus and ISI Web of Science, among other major engineering research databases.

Author Instructions have been provided by the publisher, CRC Press/Balkema (Taylor & Francis Group), and these must be strictly complied with in order to ensure uniformity and consistency in the quality of the Proceedings.

Authors of accepted abstracts should prepare camera-ready papers in accordance with the instructions given below. These must be read very carefully before commencing the writing of the paper.

In the successful tradition of the SEMC conference, all papers must be prepared in two versions:

The Full Paper with a maximum length of 6 pages
A Short Paper of length 2 pages (summary of the Full Paper)

Papers exceeding the allocated limits will be returned to the Authors for shortening.

Both the short and the full version of all submitted papers will be reviewed, and only papers that are accepted will be published. Short Papers will be published within a hard-bound printed book; Full Papers will be published in an online e-book.

Both the Full Paper and the Short Paper must be prepared in accordance with the prescribed formatting and layout instructions, and must have the same title and the same authors. The text of both the Full Paper and the Short Paper must be laid out in two columns (except for the title and the abstract at the top of the first page).

The following documents are provided in order to assist with the preparation and layout of papers (these may be downloaded via the links given below): (i) the Read-Me file with general instructions and guidelines on how to get started (this must be read first); (ii) detailed instructions (as issued by the publisher) on the layout and formatting of text, equations, tables and figures; (iii) sample paper on A4 page size (you will notice the content of this is actually the layout and formatting instructions of the publisher); (iv) template for the layout of text on A4 pages; (v) artwork instructions. Authors will also need to complete and submit (vi) the copyright transfer form, and (vii) the permission verification form, both of which are also available via the links given below.

The attention of Authors is particularly drawn to the correct overall appearance of the manuscripts:

For the Full Paper, at the top of Page 1, the title, author details and the abstract must be laid out in one column across the full width of the page, while the rest of the text of the paper after that must be laid out in two columns. The Full Paper must be suitably structured into sections and subsections, with figures and tables incorporated within the body of the paper, and a list of references featured at the end of the paper.
The total length of the Full Paper must not exceed 6 pages, and must not be less than 4 pages.
For the Short Paper, at the top of Page 1, the title, author details and the abstract must also be laid out in one column across the full width of the page, while the rest of the text of the paper after that must be laid out in two columns. The Short Paper must be structured into small sections under appropriate subheadings, as a self-contained summary of the Full Paper. It must have its own abstract (which may be shorter than the abstract of the Full Paper), and feature a few selected references (typically 2 to 5). The Short Paper may include selected figures and tables.
The length of the Short Paper must be exactly 2 pages (i.e. the Short Paper must fill the allocated space). Short papers which are less than 2 pages in length, or which exceed 2 pages, will not be accepted.

The sample paper (see link below) is intended to show what the finished paper should generally look like. Please note that this sample paper (which is used for all Balkema conferences) is simply the layout and formatting instructions of the publisher typeset to look like a paper. It does not reflect the correct length requirements of specific conferences, which generally differ from conference to conference. The SEMC 2025 International Conference requires Full Papers to be a maximum of 6 pages and Short Papers to be exactly 2 pages.

Manuscript-Preparation Documents & Copyright Forms:

Here are the links to the documents for the preparation and submission of manuscripts (including files for LaTex users):

Read-Me File
Layout & Formatting Instructions
Sample Paper (on A4 page size)
Template (for A4 page size)
LaTex Files
Artwork Instructions
Copyright Transfer Form
Permission Verification Form

For technical queries on the formatting and layout of the paper, Authors may contact Mr. Lukas Goosen, Production Manager at CRC Press/Balkema (Taylor & Francis). His email address is: lukas.goosen@taylorandfrancis.com

Submission of Manuscripts

The deadline for the submission of full papers is 1 February 2025. Once you have finished preparing your paper and have put together all the required documents, the following 4 items must be submitted (as 6 files) via the online submission system of the Conference:

The Full Paper as an MS Word file and a PDF (2 files)
The Short Paper as an MS Word file and a PDF (2 files)
The Copyright Transfer Form as a PDF (1 file)
The Permission Verification Form as a PDF (1 file)

The link for accessing the online submission system will be given to the Corresponding Author via the email of notification of acceptance of the abstract. Once you are through, you will need to complete the cover details for your submission, which include the full title of the paper, the reference number of the paper as given by the editor, the name and email address of the corresponding author, the names and email addresses of all co-authors (if applicable), the name and affiliation of the author who will present the paper, and six keywords of the paper. After entering this information, you may then upload the required 6 files, and then click the SUBMIT button to submit everything. The system will immediately send you an automatic confirmation that the submission has gone through. Once your documents have been checked by the editor, you will receive a formal email acknowledgement of the submission (please allow up to 10 days for this).