Doctoral Consortium

Interaction Design and Children 2023 is now accepting applications for its Doctoral Consortium (DC) track. The DC is a forum for PhD students to present their work, to receive feedback and guidance by experienced researchers in the field. It is an opportunity to discuss first results, future plans, stumbling blocks and difficulties towards finishing their PhD research. It is a closed event where only PhD students can participate. Interested students should submit an extended research abstract (up to 4 pages, excluding references) describing:

  • The research topic (context, motivation, most important related work)
  • The research question you are trying to answer
  • The work so far (any studies or initial work)
  • The methods used so far
  • The planned next steps

Abstracts will be reviewed and selected on the basis of quality and the benefit students may derive from participating in the DC. Preference will be given to students who: have already worked at least 9 months on their PhD and have more than 9 months of work left to do. We strongly encourage applications from those with diverse backgrounds to increase the diversity of thought and perspective within the DC and IDC community.

The National Science Foundation has generously provided funding to support registration and travel for accepted students. We will post the application form here in April.

Submission

  • An extended abstract (a PDF file which should not exceed 4 pages in length, excluding references). Submissions should use the ACM CHI Publication Format.
  • A brief cover letter presenting: (i) a short description of what you will bring and add (from your diverse perspective) to the DC, and what you hope to gain; and (ii) a statement of the intended contribution of your PhD research (how your work should move the field forward).
  • A brief recommendation letter from your main thesis advisor supporting your application

Submit your material via the Precision Conference System.

Those accepted to the Doctoral Consortium will automatically be selected as Student Volunteers and will receive some financial assistance to participate in the conference.

Important Dates

Submission Deadline: March 15

Author Notification: April 19

Application for Travel and Registration Support: May 10

Faculty Mentors


Janet Read
University of Central Lancaster

A pioneer in the research area of Child Computer Interaction, Janet is an academic within Computer Science where she has taught a range of subjects including HCI, Research methods for CS, User Centered Security, Interaction Design, and Mathematics.


Lana Yarosh
University of Minnesota

Svetlana “Lana” Yarosh is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science & Engineering Department at University of Minnesota. Her research in HCI focuses on embodied interaction in social computing systems. Lana is currently most proud of graduating her first batch of amazing PhD students, being a writer for CrashCourse AI, and being recognized for her contributions to undergraduate education with a Horace T. Morse Award. Lana has two Bachelors of Science from University of Maryland (in Computer Science and Psychology), a Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing from Georgia Institute of Technology, and two years of industry research experience with AT&T Labs Research.


Kylie Peppler
University of California, Irvine

Dr. Kylie Peppler is a professor of Informatics & Education and Director of the Creativity Labs at University of California, Irvine. She engages in research that focuses on the intersection of arts, computational technologies and interest-driven learning. She holds a Ph.D. in Urban Schooling from UCLA, where she was part of the NSF-sponsored team that designed and studied the Scratch platform. Dr. Peppler earned an NSF early CAREER award for her work on how e-textiles and other computational construction kits popularized through the Maker movement can deepen learning and broaden participation across a range of STEM fields.