Human-Computer Interaction & Interactive Technology

Within Scotland, we have a range of world-leading expertise that address the difficult research problems in Human-Computer Interaction.

Every day, huge numbers of people interact with information, and each other, via a diverse set of systems that combine computing and communication. These systems include, but are not limited to, desktop computers, computer clusters, the internet, mobile devices (e.g. phones, tablets, smart watches), cameras, smart homes and vehicles. While the amount of digital information available inexorably increases, our systems remain less usable and useful than they should be, with problems at the interface between human and system unaddressed.

It is of critical importance to design and implement new interfaces and interactions that enable humans to communicate more efficiently with each other and with a range of technologies. This involves creating new kinds of human-machine interfaces based on new modalities such as gestures, biometric sensors and multi-modal input devices, developing new ways of displaying information so that people can understand and explore information to acquire insight, and studying how we design and implement interface

Within Scotland, we have a range of world-leading expertise that address the difficult research problems in Human-Computer Interaction. There is a broad range of internationally leading research, published and presented at premier venues, considering new modalities of interacting and accessing information, representing information, and studying and new methodologies for information system design.

Activities & Funding

The SICSA HCI Theme encompasses over 36 individual research groups at 12 Scottish Universities. Among the activities that we carry out every year are workshops on specific topics, an all-hands meeting with external speakers and group presentations, a pre-CHI day in which ACM CHI contributions are previewed for the local community and a doctoral consortium for PhD students. We also maintain a low-traffic and high-relevance mailing list of over 300 academics and welcome proposals to fund local events in Scotland.

Academics at any Scottish university are welcome to propose HCI events and apply for funding.

Apply for funding

Upcoming events from SICSA HCI

Pre-CHI Day (Hybrid)

The ACM CHI conference is the premier publication venue in the field of HCI, and Scotland-based researchers are contributing extensively to the programme for the 2025 conference which will be held in Japan in late April. The Pre-CHI day is a chance for the Scottish HCI community to see some of the world-leading research going on across Scotland, and allow those not travelling to Japan to talk to authors first-hand and hear about their work.

People

HCI Theme Leads

Connect with our research theme leads regarding events, funding, networking and industry engagement.

Dr Mike Crabb

HCI Theme lead

Mike Crabb is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Computing at Dundee’s School of Science & Engineering. Dr Crabb was appointed as SICSA’s HCI Theme lead in 2023 and also represents University of Dundee on the SICSA Committee.