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Delhi Workshop Review
Defining the role of the UKINIT and exploring HCI research opportunities on a global scale
The UKINIT hosted a series of meetings and a Workshop at the IIT Delhi from 24 - 26 May 2009. Around 80 students, academics and industry members attended a one day workshop on Sustainable Design through Collaboration which included presentations from leading UK and Indian scientists. The talks covered a range of topics including current issues in Human-Computer Interaction, an overview of visual and speech interaction, and the workshop closed with a thought provoking talk on ICT for development from the esteemed keynote speaker Kiran Karnik (pictured below).
As well as the workshop, UKINIT members attended a series of meetings to explore the potential research agenda for the Network which fell under three main themes:
- Cultural Sustainability
- Energy Efficiency
- Economic Sustainability
It became clear from the workshop and further discussions that the scope for research collaborations is far-reaching, and that potential projects could bring together technology and HCI researchers to lead the way in sustainable interaction designs and technologies, in support of a future where all people and communities (in India, UK and around the world) have greater access to the benefits of technology, and are more connected with one another.
A huge thank you goes to Santanu Chaudhury, Sumantra Dutta Roy, Vinnie Jauhari and Rajesh Parishwad for their efforts in organising this successful event.
EISE 09
29-30 October 2009, London, UK
The First International Workshop on Expressive Interaction for Sustainability and Empowerment (EISE 09) is supported by interaction (a specialist group of the BCS) and will be hosted by the Vodafone Group Research and Development in October.
The overall aim of the workshop is to explore and understand the impact of new forms of expressive interaction that arise from new and emerging interactive technologies on economic, cultural and environmental sustainability.
In particular, the workshop aims to assess the impact expressive forms of interaction based on gesture, movement and touch will have on all people and economies, and understand sustainable design at a time of rapid technological, economic, environmental and demographic change.
Find out more at: www.ukinit.org/EISE09
TeNeT Online Tutorials
Empowering the Marginalised Members of the Community
Archana Ghode, Alankar Bandyopadhyay and Hema A Murthy
The development of the Internet along with the availability of low cost computers has promoted the convenience and ease with which information can be disseminated. A simple search on the web brings up infinite number results on concepts pertaining to the sciences, mathematics, humanities and social sciences. But, the Internet is conspicuously devoid of problem based learning curricula, that are tailor-made for school children. In particular, there is hardly any material that is available in the vernacular. This leads to the marginalisation of the rural students (the frame of reference here is India).
Problem based learning is "a curriculum-development and instructional system that facilitates learning by presenting to students subject-based questions and answers. In addition, this is coupled with a certain degree of interactivity using multimedia." Interactivity enables students to focus and understand concepts comprehensively. The online tutorial project (http://onlinett.tenet.res.in) at the TeNeT Group was conceptualised with the primary objective of enabling rural students in Tamilnadu, and subsequently in other states, to pass secondary school level examinations. The choice of subjects that were ultimately included in the project was determined by the results of a survey, which revealed that students struggled greatly in English, Mathematics and Science. The failure in English is easily attributed to the lack of exposure to the subject for students in the vernacular medium. This failure, contributes to high drop out rates.
By designing an interactive instructional environment, the tutorials have taken into account two main factors, namely, the ways in which information is processed and how learners perceive the process, store and recall information. Further, the interactivity is achieved by getting students to "actively get involved in the learning process." The tutorial is delivered in three modes, namely, Learn, Practice and Test. In the learn mode, the answers to questions are explained using multimedia. In the practice mode, the student can practice by answering questions. The system gives an immediate feedback to the student about the correctness of the answer. In the test mode, the student can take a mock examination (which follows the pattern of the
board exam) online. This is evaluated ONLY after the student has submitted the answers.
The tutorial was deployed across seven districts in Tamil Nadu from 2005-2008 through rural kiosks. Registration for the Tutorial varied from 110 in the first year to 1000 students in 2008. While the average for the state hovers around 75% succes, the Online Tutorial students' results have increased from 82% in 2005 to a whopping 89% in 2008. Currently, we have the tutorials available in four Indian languages, Kannada, Gujarthi, Tamil and Telugu.
With the availability of SMART interfaces (lecture by Sriram Subramanian, Senior Lecturer, University of Bristol, at IIT Madras on 30th June 2009), we do believe that the effectiveness of these tutorials can be increased significantly.
UKINIT Interacts
David Benyon represents the Network at the EPSRC INTERACT Workshop, 29-30 June 2009
Representatives from nine Interact 5 and 6 projects met at the lovely Coleraine Campus of the University of Ulster to share their experiences of their India-UK networks. They were joined by Hannah Foreman of the EPSRC, Alicia Greated, Naomi Beaumont and Sukanya Kumar Sinha from RCUK India and Rajesh Parishwad from the Science and Innovation Network, India.
Following a brief introduction to the day from convener Gerard Parr, Hannah Foreman provided a summary of EPSRC International, their priorities and the opportunities they provide. Each project then summarised their content and experience to date. There are projects covering sustainable energy, future wireless systems, fluid dynamics, distributed software development, next generation networks, supply chain management, identity management and, of course, interactive technologies for the end user. Each presenter had a different story to tell of the successes and difficulties of networking with the constraints of the Interact programme. Every presenter had a story to tell about the positive feelings engendered by the networks; and at least one about traffic.
The research councils were very sympathetic to many of the difficulties expressed and the lack of funding for Indian network members to travel to the UK. We discussed the difficulty of getting good PhD students in India and good models for achieving real meaningful exchanges. We discussed the reliability of communications infrastructures and how these could be best dealt with through software such as Skype and Google groups. Overall there was wide ranging discussion of all manner of issues concerned with UK-Indian networks and how the networking could be translated into meaningful and sustainable long-term research projects. Gerard Parr gave a very interesting presentation on how he and his colleagues had taken their network and built upon support from UKIERI for PhD students and finance from the Department for Science and Technology in India and RCUK to create the first India-UK Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks.
After lunch RCUK presented some of their success stories and the programmes that they had supported in just one year, and their plans for the future. Rajesh presented the working of SIN and its close relationship with RCUK and Sukanya Kumar Sinha, head of communications at RCUK got delegates to reflect on the enablers and barriers to success of networks. The day finished with a photo in the sun and a presentation from two PhD students on their work on sustainable networks. Overall it was a very useful and enjoyable experience that should be repeated in the Autumn.
Sriram Subramanian visits IIT Madras
As part of the events held in Delhi recently, Dr Subramanian gave a talk at the IIT Madras on "Building and supporting basic user actions on Digital Tables". The talk gave an overview of the current state-of-the-art in digital tabletop surfaces and highlighted research challenges in designing the next-generation of interactive surfaces and identifying design guidelines for walk-up and use applications.
The Science and Innovation Network
Who are they and how have they helped us?
The Science and Innovation Network was established by the UK FCO in 2000 in response to the growing importance of science, technology and innovation. There are dedicated staff in 39 missions in 24 countries and territories.
The network is co-ordinated by the FCO and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, in collaboration with the Government Office for Science and the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor John Beddington. Based in UK embassies and consulates abroad, the overseas Network works closely with other colleagues, including the British Council and UK Trade and Investment.
The Science and Innovation Network have supported the UKINIT since its conception and played an important role in helping to secure Kiran Karnik for the recent workshop in Delhi. We hope that this partnership will continue to grow as the two Networks explore collaborative projects between the UK and India.
New Members
The UKINIT is growing, and we are very happy to welcome three new members to the Network:
Anupam Basu (IIT Kharagpur) Dr Basu graduated in 1982 from Jadavpur University in Kolkata with a Bachelors of Electronics and Tele Communication Engineering and an MEng in Computer Engineering. Anupam then went on to study a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems at the IIT Kharagpur where he is now teaching as a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
Dr Basu's research interests span two major Computer Science areas: Embedded Systems and Artificial Intelligence applications - more specifically in the study of 'development of enabling computer aided technologies for the handicapped'.
Shrisha Rao (IIIT Bangalore) Professor Rao obtained his PhD in computer science from the University of Iowa, and also has an M.S. in logic and computation from Carnegie Mellon University. His primary research interest is in the area of distributed computing, specifically algorithms and formal methods for concurrent and distributed systems. He also has interests in problems such as distributed fair division and demand-side management. He occasionally dabbles in mathematics. He is also a regular reviewer for the ACM Computing Reviews journal (reviews.com), which reviews a sample of the latest publications related to the computing sciences.
Pradeep Yammiyavar (IIT Guwahati) After graduating from IIT Bombay with a B.Tech in Civil Engineering and an MSc in Product Design, Dr Yammiyavar went on to complete his PhD in Product Design - Engineering at IISc, Bangalore. Since then Pradeep has authored 9 Design Patents, published over 20 research papers in national / international conferences and journals, and worked as a Professor at IIT Guwahati since 2002. He has also been awarded Swiss Fellowships in 1986 and 1996, and the Distinguished Alumni Award for IIT Bombay in 1999.
Dr Yammiyavar's current research interests cover a range of subjects including: Design Semantics, Design Management, Useability Engineering Experiential Design, and Transportation Design and Design Pedagogy.
