Industry

The Industry Track at India HCI 2026 bridges academia and practice. It is a space for practitioners, researchers, and entrepreneurs to share real work: what was built, how it was built, who it was built for, and what it meant for the people it reached.

This year’s conference theme is Design for Dignity. We are not defining it for you. Bring your work and show us what dignity means in your context.

Who Should Submit?

• Designers, UX researchers, and product leaders with a documented project to share

• Entrepreneurs and start-up founders with an HCI-focused story

• Academics working on applied or industry-facing research

• Workshop facilitators with a practical methodology to teach

Industry Case Study

20 min presentation + 10 min Q&A

A documented account of an HCI-focused project with real, measurable outcomes. Present what you built, the decisions you made, the trade-offs you navigated, and what you learned.

Important: Selected presenters may be invited to participate in a curated Panel Discussion.

Eligibility

• Active UX practitioner, researcher, or design leader based in India

• Project with tangible, documented outcomes realised in 2025 to 2026

• Innovation frameworks or methodologies developed during the same period

Interactive Workshop

45 to 90 minutes

Lead a hands-on session that teaches a practical HCI skill, method, or tool. Strong proposals have a clear learning outcome and a concrete activity, not just a discussion agenda.

Format Options

• Skill-building or methodology sessions

• Tool demonstrations

• Collaborative design activities

Start-up Showcase

15 min + 5 min Q&A

A platform for start-ups to share their HCI-focused product, their design decisions, and their journey so far.

Eligibility

• Indian start-ups founded in 2020 or later

• HCI or UX-focused product or service

• Demonstrable user traction or early market validation

Submissions are not anonymous and should include all author names, affiliations, and contact details.

Abstract

Please include a short abstract (150–250 words) summarising your case study, workshop, or showcase alongside your full submission.

The abstract should give reviewers a clear, quick sense of the work before they go into the full materials: 

• What the project or session is, 

• Who it was for, and 

• What makes it relevant to Design for Dignity. 

Think of it as a preview, not a synopsis, it should help us understand what we're about to read, not replace the need to read it.

A strong abstract briefly covers the context, the core idea or outcome, and why it matters to the theme. Save the details, data, and reflection for the full submission.

For Case Studies and Start-up Showcase, clearly describe: 

• Project context, 

• Goals, 

• Methodology, 

• Outcomes, 

• Impact, and 

• Key lessons or challenges.

For Workshops, include: 

• Learning objectives, 

• Session structure, and 

• What participants will leave with.

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

All submissions will be reviewed by an expert panel of industry and HCI practitioners. Selected submissions will present at India HCI 2026, IIT Hyderabad.

For queries, write to the Industry Track Co-Chairs at: industry.indiahci@gmail.com

The industry does not often get asked to account for dignity. It gets asked about growth, retention, and engagement metrics. We think that is a gap worth closing, and we think the people best placed to close it are practitioners who are already doing this work, often without a stage for it.

If that is you, we would like to hear from you. And if you are not sure whether your work qualifies, reach out. The worst we will say is not yet.

Karthi Subbaraman & Thomas Grey Manih.

Industry Track, India HCI 2026