Doctoral Consortium

The CHI PLAY 2018 Doctoral Consortium provides an opportunity for doctoral students to explore and develop their research interests in games and HCI 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.

Quick Facts

All times are 23:59 Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone (UTC -10:00).

Important dates

  • July 13, 2018: Doctoral Consortium submission deadline
  • August 17, 2018: Notification of acceptance
  • August 31, 2018: Final camera-ready abstracts due
  • October 28, 2018: Consortium held on Sunday, as a single track.

Submission

  • Submission is a single PDF document containing:
    • 4 page (excluding references) SIGCHI Extended Abstract Format paper
    • 3 to 4 page appendix
    • The document must follow the format and structure outlined in the Doctoral Consortium CFP, which is specified in detail in the message from the Doctoral Consortium Chairs
  • Submissions must be made using the Precision Conference System
  • Submissions are not anonymous and should include all author names, affiliations, and contact information

CFP

  • Submission deadline: July 13, 2018 (23:59 UTC -10:00)
  • Notifications: 17 August, 2018
  • Camera-ready abstracts due: 31, August, 2018
  • Consortium: Sunday 28th October 2018
  • Submission format: 4 pages in ACM SIGCHI (Extended Abstract) format, excluding references, and a three to four-page Appendix, poster presentation at the conference
  • Students accepted for the Doctoral Consortium are automatically eligible to become student volunteers and receive complementary registration for the CHI PLAY conference in exchange.

Accepted submissions

  • Accepted submissions will be presented both at the Doctoral Consortium, which is open only to participants, and as a poster at the conference.

Archives

  • Extended abstracts in the ACM Digital Library

Registration fees

  • Students accepted for the Doctoral Consortium are automatically eligible to become student volunteers and receive complementary registration for the CHI PLAY conference in exchange.

Committee Members and Questions

Please direct any questions to the Doctoral Consortium Chairs at doctoral at chiplay dot acm dot org:

Stefan Greuter – Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
Elizabeth Veinott – Michigan Technological University, USA
Sebastian Deterding – Digital Creativity Labs, University of York, UK

What is the Doctoral Consortium?

The Consortium has the following objectives:

  • Provide a setting where students can present their work and meet other students
  • Provide 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

Preparing and Submitting

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. Current graduate students pursuing a PhD project who would benefit from detailed workshop discussions of their doctoral research should submit a single PDF file that includes the following elements, and is formatted using the SIGCHI Extended Abstracts format:

  • Extended Abstract. A 3-4 page research description (excluding references) covering central aspects of your PhD work, which speaks to the following key points:
    • Context and motivation that drives your dissertation research
    • Research objectives/goals/questions
    • Background/literature review of key works that frames your research
    • Hypothesis/thesis and/or problem statement
    • Your research approach and methods, including relevant rationale
    • Results to date and their validity
    • Dissertation status and next steps
    • Current and expected contributions
    • References (these don’t count towards the 4 page limit)
  • 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 (1 page).
  • Appendix 3. Your concise current Curriculum Vita (1-2 pages)

Once you have assembled – and tested – the PDF file, the entire submission file should be uploaded following the directions at the CHI PLAY 2018 submission site, no later than July 13, 2018.

It is essential for you to ensure that your submission is complete and in accordance with the format and content guidelines described above. 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.

Review Process

The proposals will be evaluated by a review committee comprising the DC chairs and additional senior CHI Play researchers.

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. A summary of the reasons for acceptance or rejection will be provided to the students.

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

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, and about preparing your poster. Authors will retain copyright to their submission. Obtaining permissions to use video, audio, or pictures of identifiable people or proprietary content rests with the author, not the ACM or the CHI PLAY conference.

At the Conference

All participants are expected to attend the Consortium, including a group dinner wrap-up reception in the evening. 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. Each student should be prepared to bring and present their conference poster at the Doctoral consortium day.

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 (size A0 / 36” x 48” size poster in portrait orientation) 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 PLAY Extended Abstracts, available in the ACM Digital Library, where they will remain accessible to thousands of researchers and practitioners worldwide.