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Participation in the CHI 2026 Student Mentoring Program: Dissertation Research Roundtable

· 2 min read
Luca Scibetta
Luca Scibetta
Ph.D. Student

During CHI 2026, held in Barcelona, Spain, I had the opportunity to take part in the conference's Student Mentoring Program: Dissertation Research Roundtable. This initiative was designed to support PhD students in their research journey by connecting them with experienced researchers in the field of human-computer interaction and fellow PhD students, fostering meaningful exchanges in a structured and collegial setting.

CHI 2026 logo

As part of the program, I participated in the Research Roundtable held on Wednesday, where PhD students had the chance to present their ongoing work and engage in focused discussions with both their mentor and fellow participants. During the first half of the afternoon, I had the chance to present a poster about my research as a PhD student about innovative ways of promoting digital wellbeing among young people leveraging also gamification and in-group activities to better engage and encourage people towards healthier digital habits. This also provided the possibility of a one-on-one meeting with my mentor, Kate Sangwon Lee, who provided insightful questions and observation that can guide my future research and improve the quality of my doctoral thesis.

Luca presenting the poster about his work

In the second half of the afternoon there were proper dissertation research roundtables! I had the chance to talk about PhD objectives, research in general and specific research topics with a group made of me, other PhD students (Sabila Nawshin, Ram Thangaraj, and Lena Rechberger) and our common mentor. The discussion was rich in insights and suggestions that I will apply in my research.

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