Doctoral Consortium: Call for Participation

A schedule of all due dates can be found on the Submissions page.

Quick Facts

Submission deadline: 7 October 2011 (5:00pm PDT) using the PCS Submission System
Notification: 30 Nov 2011
Camera-ready deadline: 20 Jan 2012
Submission format: A single unanonymized PDF (100 KB) document containing (1) a four-page Extended Abstract Format paper; and (2) a three to four-page Appendix. The document must follow the format and structure outlined below, which is specified in detail in the CHI Doctoral Consortium submission template [WORD (50 KB) or PDF (100 KB) format].
Selection process: Curated
At the conference: Accepted submissions will be presented both at the Doctoral Consortium, which is open only to participants, and as a poster at the conference. Please see the Information for Poster Presenters.
Archives: Extended abstracts; DVD and ACM Digital Library

Message from the Doctoral Consortium Chairs

The CHI 2012 Doctoral Consortium provides an opportunity for Doctoral students to explore and develop their research interests in an interdisciplinary workshop, under the guidance of a panel of distinguished researchers. We invite students who feel they would benefit from this kind of feedback on their dissertation work to apply for this unique opportunity to share their work with students in a similar situation as well as senior researchers in the field. The strongest candidates will be those who have a clear topic and research approach, and have made some progress, but who are not so far along that they can no longer make changes. In addition to stating how you will gain from participation, both you and your advisor should be clear on what you can contribute to the Doctoral Consortium.

Erik Stolterman, Indiana University, USA
Stephen Brewster, University of Glasgow, UK
doctoral@chi2012.acm.org

What is the Doctoral Consortium?

The Consortium has the following objectives:

Provide a supportive setting for feedback on students' current research and guidance on future research directions
Offer each student comments and fresh perspectives on their work from researchers and students outside their own institution
Promote the development of a supportive community of scholars and a spirit of collaborative research
Contribute to the conference goals through interaction with other researchers and conference events

The Consortium will be held on Saturday and Sunday, 5-6 May 2012. Depending on the quality of the applicants, the consortium will be held as either a single track or as two tracks, with about 12-15 students per track. Applicants who are selected will receive complimentary conference registration, and a limited, partial reimbursement of travel, accommodation and subsistence (i.e., food) expenses.

Preparing and Submitting your Consortium Proposal

Current graduate students pursuing a PhD project who would benefit from detailed workshop discussions of their doctoral research should submit a single PDF (100 KB) file that includes the following elements, described in detail in the CHI Doctoral Consortium submission template [WORD (50 KB) or PDF (100 KB) format]:

Extended Abstract. A 4-page research description covering central aspects of your PhD work, which follows the structure, details and format specified in the CHI Doctoral Consortium submission template [WORD (50 KB) or PDF (100 KB) format]. Key points include:
- Your situation, i.e., the university doctoral program context in which your work is being conducted
- Context and motivation that drives your dissertation research
- Background/literature review of key works that frames your research
- Hypothesis/thesis and/or problem statement
- Research objectives/goals
- Your research approach and methods, including relevant rationale
- Results to date and their validity
- Dissertation status
- Current and expected contributions
Appendix 1. A one-paragraph statement of expected benefits of participation for both yourself and the other consortium participants (i.e., what will you contribute as well as gain). (1 page)
Appendix 2. A letter of nomination from your primary dissertation advisor, that addresses the questions posed in the CHI Doctoral Consortium submission template [WORD (50 KB) or PDF (100 KB) format] (1 page).
Appendix 3. Your concise current Curriculum Vita (1–2 pages)

Once you have assembled – and tested – the PDF (100 KB) file, the entire submission file should be uploaded following the directions at the CHI 2012 submission site, no later than 17:00 PDT on 7 October 2011.

It is essential for you to ensure that your submission is complete and in accordance with the format and content guidelines in the CHI Doctoral Consortium submission template WORD (50 KB) or PDF (100 KB) format]. Because the Doctoral Consortium Committee expects to receive a large number of applications, submissions that do not meet these requirements will be returned without review.

Doctoral Consortium Review Process

The review and decision of acceptance will balance many factors. This includes the quality of your proposal, and where you are within your doctoral education program. It also includes external factors, where as a group the accepted candidates exhibit a diversity of backgrounds and topics. Your institution will also be taken into account, where we are unlikely to accept more than two students from the same institution and almost certainly will not accept more than one student with the same advisor.

Attendees from previous CHI doctoral consortia should not apply, nor should former attendees of doctoral consortia at major SIGCHI conferences such as CSCW or UIST. Candidates who have a clearly developed idea, who are formally considered by their institution to be working on their dissertation, and who still have time to be influenced by participation in the Consortium will receive the strongest consideration. Participants in the Consortium will be selected by the Doctoral Consortium Committee. Confidentiality of submissions is 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.

Upon Acceptance of your Doctoral Consortium Proposal

Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection on 30 Nov 2011, or shortly after.

Authors of accepted submissions will receive instructions on how to submit publication-ready copy (this will consist of your extended abstract only), and will receive information about attending the Doctoral Consortium, about preparing your presentation and poster, about how to register for the conference at our cost, and about travel arrangements and reimbursement details. All such benefits are contingent on attending the two-day Doctoral Consortium. Please note that submissions will not be published without a signed form releasing publishing copyright to the ACM. Attaining permissions to use video, audio, or pictures of identifiable people or proprietary content rests with the author, not the ACM or the CHI conference.

At the Conference

All participants are expected to attend all of both days of the Consortium, including a group dinner on the first (Saturday 5 May) evening and a wrap-up reception on the second (Sunday 6 May). Each student will present his or her work to the group with substantial time allowed for discussion and questions by participating researchers and other students. Although many fine pieces of work have to be rejected due to lack of space, being accepted into the Consortium is an honor, and involves a commitment to giving and receiving thoughtful commentary with an eye towards shaping the field and upcoming participants in the field.

Students will also present a poster of their work at the main conference. Please see the Information for Poster Presenters. In addition to the conference poster, each student should bring a small version of the poster (e.g., using letter or A4 paper) for sharing with faculty mentors and other students during the Consortium sessions.

Poster board panels vary from venue to venue, but typically you will have a space 4 feet by 4 feet square (1.2 x 1.2 metres). Posters should be designed and printed portrait style and will be hung with materials provided by the conference.

After the Conference

Accepted Doctoral Consortium abstracts will be distributed in the CHI Extended Abstracts, available on DVD and in the ACM Digital Library, where they will remain accessible to thousands of researchers and practitioners worldwide.

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