The India HCI SDC (Student Design Consortium) 2026 invites student teams/individuals to design meaningful solutions to real-world challenges by empathising deeply with people, in alignment with our conference theme, “Designing for Dignity” — Inclusive, Accessible, and Respectful Futures in HCI. See the Conference Theme page for more guidance on the theme.

The Student Design Consortium track of India HCI 2026 aims to:

• Provide an opportunity for students from any academic background to demonstrate their problem-solving and design skills through a myriad of approaches. 

• Provide an opportunity for selected student teams to present at the India HCI 2026 conference.

• Provide constructive feedback to students on their design solutions from the India HCI expert community.

• Provide a platform for the students to network with experienced design professionals, academicians, and the larger HCI community in the Global South.

All students are encouraged to submit to the SDC track. Submissions to other India HCI tracks, including papers, posters, and demos, do not affect eligibility for the SDC track, provided that the submissions are distinct and do not overlap with work submitted to other tracks. Selected students will present their design solutions in person at India HCI 2026, to be held at IIT Hyderabad.

Posters

The poster size should be reduced to one standard A3 page and submitted in PDF format. The file must be no larger than 10 Mb in size and must have a concise summary of the project submission, primarily highlighting the following:

• Proposed solution’s name, team name, academic affiliation(s).

• Perspective taken to address the design brief (answering the what, how, and why in the design brief).

• Clear illustrations of key aspects of your proposed solution with compelling visual design.

• Name and affiliation of mentor/supervisor (if relevant).

Videos

The video must provide a brief overview of the design solution and the problem addressed, answering the questions in the design brief (below this section). The video can be between 3 - 5 minutes long and can use animations, graphics, music, etc., to clearly communicate the design with a voice-over wherever required. It should be uploaded to YouTube, providing us with the link. 

Please follow the CHI2026 resources for more details on the video submission.

Design Report

The design project report needs to be around 2 pages (1000 words), in a 1-column layout, single-spaced, with Times New Roman font in 12-pt size, and should detail the design of your solutions with the following sections. 

• Proposed solution’s name, team name, academic affiliation(s)

• Sections of the report need to include: 

1. Abstract, 

2. Introduction & secondary research on existing solutions, 

3. The problem identified as per the design brief, 

4. Design Solution and the perspective taken to address the design brief (answering the what, how, and why in the design brief), and 

5. User testing with iterations wherever possible.

• Clear illustrations of key aspects of your proposed solution with compelling visual design.

• Name and affiliation of mentor/supervisor (if relevant)

Online Submission: All submissions to be made through the India HCI 2026 CMT submission portal.

Team Formation

All levels of students can compete in the competition (Bachelor's and Master's). Students can create their teams across disciplines, degree programs, and universities. 

Teams must have 2 to 5  members, and every participant must be an enrolled student. Each team member must submit their student ID card for proof of student status. However, one student cannot be part of multiple teams.

All students competing must be registered at their place of study for the academic year (2026-2027). There is no limit to the number of teams competing from any given university or organization.

Submissions should NOT be anonymous. However, submissions will be kept confidential during the review process. All rejected submissions will be kept confidential in perpetuity. All submitted materials for accepted submissions will be kept confidential until the start of the conference, except title and author information, which will be published on the website before the conference.

Note: Individual student submissions are also accepted for this student design consortium.

Selection Process

There are two rounds for the SDC. In the first round, student teams submit a poster, a video, and a design report, based on the design brief given below. From those submissions, 5-6 finalists will be chosen by the SDC chairs to present at the conference. These finalists will compete for the ‘Best Student Design Award’, which will be awarded by an expert reviewing committee at the conference.

Selection Criteria

Round 1

The selection is juried (done by at least three independent reviewers) based on the following four parameters.

• Alignment of the proposed design solution with the given design brief.

• Clarity of the problem, purpose, and design focus communicated in the video and poster.

• Originality and quality of the design solution, including claims, and their supporting evidence.

• The use of appropriate design methods to ensure the credibility and validity of the proposed design solution.

The India HCI chairs finalize the selection from the jury’s suggestions and filter around 5-7 teams/individuals for Round 2. The selected teams are further provided with feedback to finalize their designs, videos, and posters. 

Round 2

The selected teams/individuals are invited to present their solutions at the conference (at IIT Hyderabad) in the SDC track. At least one member of each selected team must register for the conference and attend in person. The presentation will be judged by an expert panel at the SDC in person. They will be judged based on:

• Clarity and organization of the oral presentation

• Relevance and clarity of presentation material (e.g., video, poster, slides)

• The quality of the argument used to justify why the solution is worthy of consideration

• Quality, originality, and relevance of the design solution

The Design Brief

Submissions are invited in alignment with the theme of India HCI 2026, “Designing for Dignity” — Inclusive, Accessible, and Respectful Futures in HCI. See the Conference Theme page for more guidance and context on the theme.

Context

Designing for dignity encourages students to explore technologies that can support people and society in ways that respect agency, identity, access, and lived experience rather than merely focusing on efficiency or performance.

Within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), this creates a design space around inclusion, accessibility, participation, localisation, cross-cultural systems, and ethical uses of emerging technologies.

India HCI 2026 invites students to explore how we can create futures that are not only innovative but also respectful, equitable, and grounded in the realities of the Global South.

Challenge

How might we design HCI experiences that uphold and prioritise human dignity in societies?

Design interactions, systems, tools, or speculative futures that:

• Support inclusion and accessibility for people across abilities, ages, languages, and socio-economic contexts.

• Protect human agency, respect, privacy, and autonomy in digital or AI-mediated interactions.

• Address the realities of the Global South through locally grounded, culturally aware, and resource-sensitive design.

• Enable participation, co-design, and meaningful involvement of communities in shaping the technologies that affect them.

• Challenge exclusion, bias, stigma, or structural inequity embedded in products, platforms, or systems.

Designs may be speculative, functional, or hybrid. Bold, imaginative, and critical thinking is encouraged.

Suggested design directions

Students are encouraged to explore any design direction that aligns with the theme. The directions listed below are only suggestive and not restrictive; you are welcome to pursue other directions based on your interests.

• Interfaces that preserve the dignity of people with disabilities, low-literacy users, or older adults

• AI tools that ensure consent, transparency, and bias mitigation while preserving human decision-making.

• Participatory designs co-created with marginalized groups (e.g., rural women, gig workers)

• Privacy-focused wearables or apps for safety and trust in vulnerable contexts

• Frugal innovations addressing infrastructural gaps in healthcare, education, or public services

• Cultural critiques challenging Western-centric biases in mainstream platforms

Contact

For any queries regarding the Student Design Consortium track, please contact the Track Chairs - Herold (herold.pc@mahindrauniversity.edu.in) and Winston (veigas.winston@gmail.com).