Interactions - March/April 2013

RON WAKKARY ERIK STOLTERMAN

The Next 20 Years…
in HCI Education

Twenty-one years ago, in 1992,
SIGCHI published the ACM SIGCHI
Curricula for Human-Computer
Interaction ( http://old.sigchi.org/
cdg/ index.html). Consider how
much the field of HCI has changed
in the past two decades, during
which time nearly a full genera-
tion of students, practitioners, and
researchers have joined the field.
Since then, HCI has come to be bet-
ter defined, broadened its diversity,
and widened its cultural and global
reach. We have witnessed remark-
able changes in technologies and
seen constantly evolving social
and political shifts worldwide. No
doubt, there have been consistent
efforts and innovations in HCI edu-
cation, yet the SIGCHI curriculum
guide is a stalwart document by
any measure, playing a key role in
the transformation of the field. We
are very fortunate to have as our
cover story a preliminary report of
the current research our SIGCHI
Executive Committee has sponsored
on HCI education. Authors Elizabeth
Churchill, Anne Bowser, and
Jennifer Preece have, through inter-
views and surveys, asked research-
ers, practitioners, educators, and
students in our community: “What
is HCI now? What will it be in the
future? What should the remit of
HCI be and what does and should
HCI education entail?” The article
presents the themes and tensions
that shape our understanding of
and response to HCI education,
themes that will stand with us for
at least another 20 years.