HCI Design Project | Partner Expression of Interest Form

Welcome!

Are you an individual, group, company or organisation interested in the potential of technology for good — to elevate the work that you do, enhance your everyday, or overcome a complex problem you face?

Our talented MSc design teams may be here to help! Our call for expressions of interest from potential partners for Summer 2026’s Human Computer Interaction Design Project at University College Dublin is now open!

~ what this entails ~

Sample images from the HCI Design Project portfolio of Ashwita Jagannath, Chengteng Lam (Sam), Rutuja Pote and Uzoma Ibekwe (2024)

If selected as a project partner for Summer 2026 (May to August), one of our teams of dedicated professionals will devote their combined skills and experience to resolving a challenge - or implementing an idea - you may have. Our interdisciplinary teams, comprised of students of the Human Computer Interaction Masters Programme at UCD, bring to each project complementary skills and significant professional experience spanning the fields of design, computer science, engineering, psychology, management and the medical sciences.

~ what kinds of project we take on ~

Image of past students' work highlighting their design challenge

We tackle problems of just about every kind amenable to open-ended design/research process — and the more creative the better! This we achieve, by working closely with each of our external partners to design novel technological solutions grounded in new knowledge of complex human challenges defined by questions such as;

How might we enhance care following a heart attack? / check out this example with Beaumont Hospital

How might we effectively coordinate cat fostering activities? / check out this example with Laois SPCA

How might we facilitate storytelling for empathetic parenting? / check out this example with Teresa diManno

How might we improve access to mental health records? / check out this example with Lia Foley-Kelleher

How might we increase engagement in rehabilitation therapy? / check out this example with Peamount Healthcare

How might we design optimal user experiences for hospital workflow coordination? / check out this example with Apharo Health Futures

What question might you put to our teams?

~ who can take part ~

We invite expressions of interest from collaborators and clients including, although by no means limited to;

Individuals with lived experience of chronic conditions, self-employed professionals, caregivers, or living with a disability

Groups from families to teams, community and patient advocacy groups or other non-governmental organisations

Professional partners from clinical teams to academic research groups, charities, museums, libraries and other public institutions

Commercial partners from startup companies to technology developers and major tech companies, consultancy services, service providers, online and brick-and-mortar stores

When selecting partners, we prioritise diversity and inclusion as essential components of students’ learning experiences, and the potential for real social impact through the development of technology for good.

Our esteemed partners have to date included 35 leading organisations, companies, institutions, teams and individuals spanning Ireland and Europe, including;

Clinical Teams: The HSE National Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme, HSE National Clinical Programme for Sepsis, The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Beaumont Hospital, Peamount Healthcare, Tipperary University Hospital, and Saint Luke's General Hospital Kilkenny

Government Partners and National Institutions: Russborough House, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, the Irish Centre for High-End Computing, and Irish Manufacturing Research

Charities, and Non-Governmental Organisations: Football Cooperative, Chronic Pain Ireland, Rare Diseases Ireland, Thrombosis Ireland, The Association of Nigerian Nurses in Ireland, Laois SPCA, Léargas, and MOVE Ireland

Startups and Established Companies: RKD Architects, Lifelab Therapeutics, Cogniphant, Endurae Voice Technology, Myndgard, Apharo Health Futures, and ICEP Europe

Individual Designers and Advocates: Teresa DiManno, Lia Foley-Kelleher, and Roisín Clarke

Academic Teams: The ADAPT ARK Team at St. James’s Hospital, The PPI Ignite Network at UCD, and gHealth Research

~ what we ask of you as a partner ~

At this point in time, we request little of you other than for you to share your interest in learning more about this opportunity, and to provide us an initial sense for where your own interests may lie, by completing this short survey. Should your proposal be selected, our teaching team will be in touch to work through the details of the proposed project together, as to answer any other questions you may have!

We ask selected project partners to commit a minimum of 6 hours of your time over a 3-month period between the months of May to August 2026. This will enable your participation in activities including to present an initial outline of your idea, provide further insight into the context of the challenge (by, for example, participating in a research interview), take part in the design process itself (by, for example, attending a design workshop), provide feedback on the solutions developed, and attend a final presentation of the team’s work. Online participation in each of these activities can be facilitated if and as necessary.

We are grateful, and careful to respect, the time you are able to commit to this process, and expect that by the end of Summer 2026, you will come away not only with a novel technological solution to a challenge you had previously faced, but with joyful memories of your time spent working with our teams.

~ where to learn more ~

Completing this survey should take no more than 5 to 10 minutes of your time, and if you are interested in taking part, must be completed by February 27th 2026. After submission, our teaching team will be in touch to discuss the next steps with selected partners.

Should you have any questions about your eligibility to apply, or any other aspect of this process in the meantime, you are most welcome to contact the Module Coordinator and Director of UCD’s MSc in HCI Programme, Dr. Kevin Doherty at kevin.doherty@ucd.ie.