For inquiries, please contact the Research Competition Chairs.

Important Dates

  • Submission Deadline: 14 September 2026 Anywhere on Earth.
  • Notification: ~end September 2026.
  • Conference: 1-3 November 2026, London.

Call for Student Research Competition

The BritCHI’26 Student Research Competition (SRC) invites submissions from undergraduate and Master’s students showcasing original research and/or design in Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) and related areas. The SRC provides an opportunity to present work, receive expert feedback, and engage with the UK HCI community.

Why Participate?

  • Conference registration fee waived for finalists
  • Certificate of Award, valuable for future job and PhD applications
  • Visibility within the UK and international HCI community
  • Gain early research exposure
  • Receive expert feedback
  • Build academic and professional networks
  • Take a step towards publishing at international venues

Scope

We welcome submissions across all areas of HCI, including:

  • Human-centred design and evaluation
  • Interactive systems and user experience
  • AI and human–AI interaction
  • Interaction design
  • Collaborative computing
  • Social media
  • Accessibility, inclusion, and ethics
  • Emerging technologies and novel interfaces

Projects may be ongoing or recently completed.

Eligibility

  • Undergraduate and Master’s students (you will need to provide proof of your student status)
  • The submitted work must be predominantly conceived, conducted, and authored by students. This may include, for example, a range of research projects, final year undergraduate projects, Master’s dissertations or theses, coursework-based research projects etc. The essential requirement is that the work includes a substantive original contribution developed by the students themselves.
  • Individual submission (not group-based)
  • Submissions must not have been previously published. However, this requirement is not intended to restrict future dissemination: authors are encouraged to further develop their work and may subsequently submit it as a journal or conference article if they wish.

Submission Format

Submissions consist of the following:

  • A maximum 10-minute video presentation describing the work. The video should be long enough to clearly explain the project and allow reviewers to gain a good understanding of it, without needing to be overly detailed. It may include:

The problem, context, or motivation behind the work

The approach, creative process, or methodology used

Key outcomes, outcomes in progress, or intended contributions

A demonstration, walkthrough, or showcase of the work (where applicable)

  • Supporting material (optional), which may include research outputs, design artefacts, visual work, prototypes, software demos, or other relevant materials that help illustrate the submission.

Submission Details

All entries must be submitted via the online submission form: https://bit.ly/BritChi2026

Selection Process

The submissions will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary jury using criteria appropriate to the submission’s research approach, medium, and contribution. Reviewers will consider:

  • Clarity, significance, and relevance to HCI or related fields
  • Originality, innovation, or critical contribution
  • Rigour, coherence, and quality of execution appropriate to the work
  • Quality of insights, outcomes, experiences, or contributions
  • Creative, aesthetic, technical, methodological, or conceptual strength
  • Effectiveness of communication and presentation
  • Consideration of cultural relevance, inclusivity, accessibility, sustainability, or ethics where appropriate

While reviews may draw on all of the above criteria, shortlist and award decisions will be based primarily on the criteria most appropriate to the nature, aims, and form of each submission.

The jury will recognise the diversity of research practices represented, including empirical, theoretical, design-led, artistic, and practice-based approaches.

The shortlisted students will:

  • Participate in a finalist presentation session