January NUI Galway Host 13th Annual Irish Human-Computer Interaction Conference

Researchers at NUI Galway recently hosted the 13^th Irish Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Conference, the second time the University has been chosen to host Ireland’s flagship conference in the field.  The conference was jointly organised by the University’s School of Computer Science, School of Business and Economics, School of Education, and the Data Science Institute.

HCI focuses on the human design aspects of new computer apps, devices and interfaces. With the increasing ubiquity of computers in society and people’s lives, particularly since the emergence of personal computing in the 1980s, HCI has grown as a field of research, and emphasizes the importance of human factors and users’ needs and requirements in the development of novel digital technology.

Karen Young, NUI Galway’s School of Computer Science and Conference Chair, said: “The HCI is the main conference in Ireland for researchers and practitioners in user-centred design, where the focus is on building our community in this important discipline that ensures users’ needs and human design issues are researched and addressed in the development of innovative technology.”

The conference included research presentations and papers from all application domains relevant to HCI, including: AI/Hybrid systems, Living Environments, Gaming, Education, Interaction Design / UX, Health and Aging, and Digital Health and Wellness.

The conference also featured keynotes by leading figures in HCI in Europe and internationally including: Professor Matt Jones, Swansea University, on ‘The Robots are Coming - Be Afraid!; Professor Stephen Brewster, University of Glasgow on ‘Designing New Interfaces for Cars’; and a closing keynote by Rachel O’Donnell, Genesys, on the industry perspective on HCI and user experience design.

The conference website, including presentations and highlights of the event, is available online at https://sites.google.com/view/ihci-2019/home.

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