Doctoral Consortium

The CHI PLAY 2019 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 distinguished researchers. We invite PhD students, who feel they would benefit from dissertation feedback, to apply for this unique opportunity to share their work with other doctoral students and senior researchers in the field. The consortium consists of an all day workshop (Wednesday, October 22 2019) and poster presentation during the designated conference session (October 23-25 2019). We have several scholarships to support DC attendance and travel. These will be awarded after acceptance.

The Consortium aims to (1) provide a setting where students can present their work and meet other students, (2) provide feedback on students’ current research and guidance on future research directions, (3) offer each student comments and fresh perspectives on their work from researchers and students outside their own institution, (4) promote the development of a supportive community of scholars and a spirit of collaborative research, and (5) contribute to the conference goals through interaction with other researchers and conference events.

Submission

The strongest candidates will be those who are at least in their second year, 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 benefit 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 appropriately. Please submit a single file, the Extended Abstract should be formatted using the SIGCHI Extended Abstract format, and then Appendices 1, 2, and 3 should be attached.

• 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)

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 acceptance decisions will balance several factors. It will depend on the quality of the proposal, and where you are within your doctoral education program. Other factors are important as well. As a group, the accepted candidates will exhibit a diversity of backgrounds and topics. Therefore, 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. To help the greatest number of students, attendees from previous CHI Play doctoral consortium are discouraged from applying. To attend a second CHI Play doctoral consortium, participants should make it clear how the second doctoral consortium would benefit them in a different way.

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 Wednesday evening, and present their poster at the designated time during the regular conference. Each student will present his or her poster to the group with substantial time allowed for discussion and questions by participating researchers and other students.

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. 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. Each student should bring a small version of their poster (e.g., using letter or A4 paper) for sharing with faculty mentors and other students during the Consortium sessions.

After the Conference

Doctoral Consortium papers will be available in the CHI PLAY 2019 Conference Extended Abstracts proceedings available in the ACM Digital Library.

Please direct any questions to Doctoral Consortium Chairs