Student Design Competitions as an Awareness-building activity for HCI in the Global South

Abstract

Increasing the awareness for the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in the Global South faces many challenges. The value of integrating HCI into computer science programs is still in its infancy across locations. Drawing from 16 years of experiences supporting Student Design Competitions (SDCs) in Latin America and Africa, in this paper we reflect on the intrinsic and extrinsic value of the CHI SDC in conjuction with local and regional events to address this challenge. Via the competitions, students get exposed to global perspectives on HCI, and industry experiences first hand the power of bringing students together. The SDC provides regional and global visibility for local research and HCI groups, which would be impossible otherwise. It allows the student teams to be on par with other teams worldwide. This, in turn, supports local researchers to raise resources both locally and regionally. Participation in the SDC, however, needs reframing and more support to deliver its full potential.