Bridging Factions: A Meet-up Connecting Diverse Perspectives in Human–Computer Interaction

Event Description

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) flourishes through methodological diversity, encompassing computational, human-centric, theoretical, and integrative traditions. While this richness strengthens the field, it can also foster silos and misunderstandings. Computational work may be perceived as rigid, human-centric approaches as less rigorous, theoretical perspectives as abstract, and integrators as “jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none.”

Bridging Factions provides a friendly and inclusive environment for CHI attendees to acknowledge, explore, and connect across these divides. Through activities such as a post-it notes interests wall and speed networking, participants will identify shared interests, discover unexpected overlaps, and establish new connections across HCI “factions.” The session welcomes researchers, students, educators, and industry professionals—no prior expertise is necessary.

By the conclusion of the meet-up, attendees will have expanded their networks, gained shared insights into cross-faction collaboration, and developed a stronger appreciation for how diverse approaches in HCI can complement one another.

Goal

The Bridging Factions meet-up aims to encourage mutually beneficial cross-factional engagement within the HCI community. It will create a welcoming and informal atmosphere to support participants to recognise their factions, understand others’, and identify collaboration opportunities.

We believe that the speed networking activity will help attendees expand their professional networks and appreciate the complementary strengths of diverse HCI areas.

Who Should Attend?

• Researchers seeking cross-methodological collaboration
• Educators exploring teaching diverse HCI approaches
• Industry professionals integrating technical, human-centred, and theoretical insights
• Students and early career researchers exploring their place in HCI
• Anyone interested in HCI

No prior expertise required!

Outreach: Mailing lists, social media (Mastodon, Bluesky, HCI Subreddit, Discord, Facebook), universities, and industry networks.

Schedule & Activities

1. Welcome & Framing: Introduction to “factions”, session objectives
2. Presentation & Co-evaluation: Review, refine, propose new factions
3. Post-it Wall: Share research topics, skills, curiosities; organisers match interests
4. Faction Speed Networking: Timed one-on-one/small group cross-faction discussions with prompts
5. Reflection & Wrap-up: Group insights, organisers’ summary, next steps for ongoing engagement

Accessibility & Inclusion

• Adaptable activities & accessible materials
• Live captioning & interpreters
• Spacious room setup for mobility & comfort

We are committed to meaningful participation for all attendees.

Expected Outcomes

• Enhanced professional connections across HCI areas
• Insights from affinity clusters & group discussions
• Ideas for future collaboration (computational, human-centric, theoretical, integrative)
• Documented outputs:
  • Faction Descriptions
  • Meetup Insights
  • Next steps for HCI community-building
• Dissemination: Blog post (potentially ACM Interactions magazine)
• Networking: Invitation to a dedicated 'Bridging Factions' Discord server

Organisers