The ACM CHI 2017 conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems provided me valuable exposure to trends in HCI technology and the diverse community of people involved in it. I believe that the experience has helped me a lot – in terms of learning, building network and broadening my vision.

I presented my work in Student Research competition on Monday, 8 May 2017 on ‘Symptomatic Diagnosis and Prognosis of Psychiatric Disorders through Personal Gadgets’. By listening to the work of some of the best researchers in the world, I was able to understand the ways to improve my current work methodology. With so many tracks, I could explore a variety of fields and their current trends. I believe this exploration is important for one to creatively contribute to interdisciplinary projects and also wisely choose a narrow area to specialize into for higher studies. I met interesting researchers from various Universities as well as professionals at Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and Bloomberg – all were happy to discuss ideas, and available opportunities.

I observed that those schools, which provided funding and advisory support, had a large representation. Only a few students from top Indian design institutions were presenting, and that too without any support from their respective institutions. Since there were no immediate senior or faculty as a precedent so far, I wish to encourage participation from the ACM and ACM-W Student Chapter in my campus. I shall discuss with them about the benefits of participation in ACM Student competitions and the scholarships or student volunteering opportunities available for attending such conferences.