Student Design Consortium (SDC)
This year we have combined the SDC for IndiaHCI and IDID 2024.
IndiaHCI/IDID SDC 2024 is similar to the SDC at CHI 2024 & CHI 2025, where student teams design and develop solutions for real-world challenges that align with one or more of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
All students are welcome to submit to the SDC track. Submissions to other tracks at IndiaHCI or IDID (such as papers, posters, and demos) do not impact submissions to the SDC track, and submissions to multiple tracks are encouraged.
Selected student teams will present their design solutions at the conference in India, and will be mentored to submit to CHI 2025 SDC.
Main goals of IndiaHCI and IDID SDC 2024
Provide an opportunity for students from a variety of backgrounds (e.g., computer science, HCI, industrial design, product design, visual design, interaction design, etc.) to participate and demonstrate their problem-solving and design skills employing a myriad of approaches (design research, brainstorming, prototyping, implementation, and evaluation).
Provide an opportunity for selected student teams to present at the design competition at the conference, meet the HCI community in the Global South, get an opportunity to network with experienced HCI and Design professionals, and build their portfolio as designers.
Provide students with mentoring and expertise to submit to the CHI SDC 2025
Important Dates
May 15, 2024: Submission Portal opens
August 19, 2024: Submission Deadline
September 5, 2024: Authors will be notified of the decision
(All deadlines close at 23:59 IST)
Submission Details
Forming teams
All teams must have 2 to 5 students. All levels of students are able to compete in the competition (Bachelor and Masters). Students can create their teams across disciplines, degree programs, and universities. All students competing are required to be registered at their place of study for the academic year (2024-2025). There is no limit to the number of teams that may compete from any given university or organization.
All participating teams are required to submit a video pitch and an accompanying poster of their design solutions. Each team member needs to submit their student ID card for proof of student status.
Video submission
The videos should be uploaded to YouTube (providing us the link), the video should be between 3-5 minutes long. Video can use animations, graphics, music, dance, anything creative, or have people speaking to the camera, etc, all forms are welcome. The videos need to clearly answer the questions listed in the design brief (below this section). Students can decide if their videos can be made publicly available (via the SIGCHI blog).
Please follow the CHI2024 resources for more details on the video submission
Poster submission
The poster size should be reduced to one standard letter page and submitted in PDF format. The file must be no larger than 10 Mb in size and must include:
Proposed solution’s name, team name, academic affiliation(s)
Chosen sustainable development goal(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
Compelling, effective visual design
Name and affiliation of mentor/supervisor (if relevant)
From the poster and video submissions, 5-6 finalists will be chosen by the SDC chairs to present at the conference. These finalists will compete for several SDC prizes awarded by an expert reviewing committee at the conference.
Submissions should NOT be anonymous. However, confidentiality of submissions will be maintained 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, with the exception of title and author information, which will be published on the website prior to the conference.
The Design Brief
For the Student Design Competition, we ask you to contribute to one (or several) of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals identified by the United Nations:
No Poverty
Zero Hunger
Good Health and Well-being
Quality Education
Gender Equality
Clean Water and Sanitation
Affordable and Clean Energy
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Reduced Inequality
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Responsible Consumption and Production
Climate Action
Life Below Water
Life on Land
Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
Partnerships for the Goals
The scope of this brief is deliberately broad to provide the opportunity to participate for as many students as possible. Your solution has to be clearly linked to one (or several) of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
You may adopt design strategies such as participatory design, co-creation, and co-design, service design, design for social innovation, inclusive design, and open innovation. You may adopt a participatory design and co-creation approach using existing technologies or you may find opportunities in contemporary developments in technology, such as 3D printing, digital fabrication, citizen sensing, the maker movement, the sharing economy, big data, social networks, IoT, gamification, new sensors and actuators, and Augmented/ Virtual Reality, to name just a few. Remember, though, that sometimes the best design solution or approach may flow from simple yet sharp insights uncovered from research, and might require only minimal technology – what is important is that your solution should be appropriate for the particular goal you are focusing on
Your design solution (and video submission) needs to clearly answer the following questions (what, how, and why):
What: problem identification and relevance to UN SDGs and the local context
What is the relevant “burning” problem, which you are solving?
How are you solving it? Is your design (or “problem”) clearly linked to one of the Sustainable Development Goals? Which one(s)?
Is there prior research on the same “problem” or solution? Have you utilized results from this prior research if so, how?
How: presenting the design solution
Present your design solution, considering, who are the stakeholders, and who will benefit from your solution? How?
Have you considered the entire ecosystem of stakeholders, conditions, and contexts in which you design solutions? Who is included and who is not included?
Does your design use technology in an appropriate and novel way?
Were analysis, synthesis, design, and evaluation systematic and sufficient?
Why: impacts of the design solution - the bigger picture
Was the design validated in an appropriate and valid way to demonstrate the fulfillment of your design goal?
Were genuine stakeholders involved in the process of research, development, and evaluation?
Were the research process and the involvement of stakeholders ethically appropriate (e.g., were institutional guidelines followed)?
What are the limitations of your solution?
Student Design Competition Selection Criteria
There are two rounds of the SDC this year. In the first round, student teams submit a video and poster based on a design brief mentioned above. Round one submissions are reviewed based on:
How the proposed design aligns with the UN SDGs
Clarity and credibility of design focus, problem, purpose, and solution relative to the chosen sustainable development goal(s)
Originality and quality of the design solution, including claims, and their supporting evidence
Innovation within the design process and use of appropriate design methods
5-7 teams will be selected for round two. Teams selected in round one are provided feedback to finalize their designs, videos, and posters. The selection is juried, that is, the IndiaHCI and IDID SDC chairs discuss the selection. The selected teams are invited to present their solutions in a session at the conference (between Nov 7-9th at IIT Bombay) in the SDC track (for round two). At least one member of each selected team has to register for the conference and present in person.
The presentation will be judged by an expert panel (yet to be decided) present in person at the SDC. They will judge based on:
Clarity and organization of the oral presentation
Relevance and clarity of presentation material (e.g., slides, video, poster)
Quality of argument used to justify why the solution is worthy of consideration
Quality, originality, and relevance of design solution
Any queries regarding the SDC submissions should be directed to the SDC chairs - Dr Sumita Sharma (sumita.sharma@oulu.fi) /
Dr Wricha Mishra (wrichamishra@mitid.edu.in) / Dr Ted White (epgwhite@gmail.com)