The NordiCHI 2026 theme, Pulse, encourages us to explore the dynamics and energy in human-computer interaction and what it is to thrive in the modern digital era. We invite panel submissions that engage the panelists and audience in engaging and timely topics relevant to the research community and related to the conference theme.
Panel sessions are all about interaction and topical questions; they can cover controversial ideas, emerging topics and novel viewpoints and embody a creative and investigative mindset. In practice, panels are 60–90-minute sessions where a group of experts are invited to debate a topic or theme, enact some aspects of their expertise, or comparing diverse experiences. Ideally, the experts would represent complementary or even opposing viewpoints and diverse backgrounds. Panels differ from papers in that panels do not need to present the panellists’ original research but rather to invite them to discuss topical issues at a more general level.
NordiCHI panels offer both the conference attendees and panellists an opportunity to participate in a dialogical space. The panels are expected to include involvement from the audience, through questions and answers, voting or critique of the experts’ presentations, or in other creative interactive ways. How the audience will be involved in the panel should be clearly explained in the panel proposal.
Since the panel track is a forum for interactive discussions, it can be in the format of a traditional panel with discussants and moderator, it can be a round table, a fireside chat/interview, a collaborative problem-solving conversation, or another proposed format. However, we will not allow more than five panellists, to allow for necessary time for contradicting perspectives and audience participation. The presence of a strong moderator that facilitates the discussions, is key for a successful panel.
We call for panel proposals that reflect the diversity of the global community of human-computer interaction. We encourage representation across a broad spectrum of experiences, perspectives, and identities, including nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, ability, and socio-cultural background.
Submission Instructions and Schedule
The Panel proposal must be submitted as a single PDF file via email (address to be announced). The proposal must have the following two distinct sections.
Part 1. The Extended Abstract
The Extended Abstract part of the submission material consists of a 2–4 page extended abstract in the ACM single-column format (including references). The proposal should include the title; the name and affiliation of the organiser(s), as well as each proposed invited participant (panellist). Only include the invited participants who have confirmed their participation. All participants must be confirmed at the time of camera-ready submission, no exceptions. Within the page limit, you should summarise the lessons or experiences you hope to convey in the session. This should include the topic(s) to be covered, as well as contrasting or controversial perspectives on the topic(s). Your extended abstract must stand alone; readers must be able to get something out of the abstract even if they do not attend the interactive session.
Part 2. The Session Proposal
Along with your extended abstract, you must develop a session proposal of up to 6 pages. This proposal will not be distributed or published but will be used by the reviewers to judge the suitability of your concept as an interactive session. Regardless of the topic, all session proposals should include a plan for engaging audience members in the interaction and minimise actual presentations. You need to persuade the chairs that your panel will be exciting, enjoyable, well-attended, and relevant to the NordiCHI community.
Your session proposal should address:
- The main topic(s) to be presented, debated, discussed, enacted, etc. Ideally, frame the panel with a clear question to be addressed.
- Who will participate, why these people, what qualifications they bring, etc. You may also mention panellists who you hope to recruit but have not yet confirmed participation. Although they can be invited only at the time of the submission, we encourage organisers to get confirmation from as many participants as possible prior to submission.
- The session format – who will moderate it and how, the invited participants’ role, other roles, will the panel be 60 or 90 minutes?
- Strategies to involve the audience in discussions, time set aside for their interaction.
- Logistics we need to consider hosting the session (e.g., special seating or A/V, audience size limitations, use of student volunteers, expectations about attendee background or interests, etc.)
- Any other considerations that will help reviewers appreciate your concept.
In general, submissions should not contain sensitive, private, or proprietary information that cannot be disclosed at publication time. Submissions should not be anonymous. However, confidentiality of submissions will be maintained during the review process. All rejected submissions will be kept confidential.
Important dates (Anywhere on Earth)
- Submission deadline: April 23th, 2026
- Author notification: June 30th, 2026
- Camera-ready deadline: August 7th, 2026
Selection Process
Panel submissions will be juried by the panel chairs, together with the conference chairs. We plan to include 2-3 Panels in the NordiCHI’26 program. The review process will consider how well the session proposes:
- Topics likely to evoke a lively response from the NordiCHI attendees
- Invited panellists who will contribute unique perspectives, content, or other interactive content to the session
- A well-organised and feasible session plan
- A clear mechanism for audience engagement and interaction
- Useful and interesting contributions to HCI
The panellists must register for the NordiCHI 2026 conference.
Chairs
Thomas Olsson, University of Tampere
Filippo Sanfilippo, University of Adger