Picture this: You’re in a workshop room at CHI 2026, but it feels like a cozy café in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter. The energy is buzzing as you sip your coffee, sketching out groundbreaking ideas and having the kind of deep, nerdy conversations with fellow HCI researchers that make your heart sing. Sounds like a dream? CHI 2026 workshops can make this dream your reality!
Why Workshops Are the Tapas of Academic Conferences
Just like Barcelona’s famous tapas culture, workshops are all about sharing small, delicious bites of knowledge that somehow add up to an incredibly satisfying experience. Instead of sitting through endless presentations where you’re just a passive audience member (we’ve all been there, fighting the post-lunch drowsiness), workshops are where the magic happens. You’re not just consuming content—you’re creating it, debating it, and probably getting your hands dirty with some actual work.
Think of workshops as the difference between watching cooking shows and actually being in the kitchen. Sure, you might burn the paella, but at least you’ll have stories to tell!
Important format change for CHI 2026 workshops
For those planning to host or attend a workshop at the upcoming CHI conference, we are providing some key updates to the format. This guide also clarifies the distinctions between Workshops, Panels, and Meet-ups to help you choose the best format for your goals. Please note the following updates regarding the structure and logistics of workshops:
- In-Person and On-Site: All workshops are in-person events that will be held at the conference venue.
- Afternoon Scheduling: Workshops will take place on weekday afternoons to complement the main program held in the mornings.
- Workshop Lengths: Organizers can propose either a Short workshop (a single session of 90 min.) or a Long workshop (two sessions of 90 min. each with an included break).
- Focus on Talks and Discussion: The format for workshops has been refined to prioritize structured content. The primary activities should be academic talks, paper presentations, and focused group discussions. Purely social or networking-focused activities are now considered out of scope for workshops and are better suited for the Meet-ups track.
- No Additional Cost for Participation: Participation in workshops is included with conference registration and does not require an additional fee for attendees.
Choosing the Right Format: Panel, Workshop, or Meet-up?
To help you decide which format is most appropriate for your submission or your schedule, here is a brief overview of each.
- Panels are interactive, discussion-oriented forums with a large audience (open to anyone at CHI). The goal is to facilitate a conversation where audience members are active participants in the discussion.
- Workshops are structured academic meetings for subject matter experts to present and discuss new work with a more selected audience (participants registered for the workshop). The focus is on sharing new knowledge through talks and focused discussions in a formal, collaborative setting.
- Meet-ups are more social in nature and enable attendees with a common interest to gather for informal but facilitated discussions. They are the ideal format for networking and community building during the main conference program.
How We Pick? Criteria for Workshop Selection
Alright, you brilliant researcher, you’ve got an idea for a workshop. It’s groundbreaking, it’s timely, it’s the best thing since sliced bread (or maybe since the invention of the mouse?). But how do you get it from your brain to the official CHI program?
Let’s pull back the curtain on the selection process. Think of it like a friendly-but-fierce reality competition: The Great CHI Workshop Bake-Off.
It’s More Than Just a Good Recipe
First off, know that this is a juried track, and it can be competitive. Our Workshop Chairs and a special jury look at every single proposal. Once it passes a format check , we have to figure out which sets of proposals will create the most diverse and inspiring experience for everyone at CHI.
So, what are we, the judges, looking for in a workshop?
- Is it Fresh and Exciting? We’re looking for topics that push the field forward. Does your workshop offer an interesting and maybe brand-new way of thinking about something? Does it point to a wild new future for research? We love both a classic, and also the avocado toast of HCI topics: something fresh, exciting, and guaranteed to get people talking.
- Will It Spark Joy (and Debate)? The goal is to get a room buzzing with energy. We’re looking for proposals that will naturally lead to stimulating discussions, heated debates (the friendly kind!), and a flurry of new ideas. Convince us your topic will be the life of the party.
- Do You Have a Game Plan? ( A workshop can be a knowledge disseminating or knowledge creating arena, or maybe both! . For the love of all that is engagement, show us you have a solid plan to get people engaged! What are the activities? How will you facilitate knowledge sharing, discussion, and co-creation? A workshop needs actions and corresponding plans. We need to see that you’ve thought about the structure and flow.
- Does It Vibe with the Rest of the Conference? Think of us as DJs creating the ultimate conference playlist. We need a variety of beats and genres! We look at the entire collection of proposals to make sure we have a balanced program. We also consider how well your topic captures and/or showcases a part of the wide landscape of HCI, especially its intellectual merit and broader impact.
- Can You Handle the Crowd? Dreaming of a massive 100-person workshop? Awesome! Also… how? If you’re proposing a large or long workshop, you need a rock-solid, believable plan to keep everyone participating and engaged . Show us you have the facilitation chops to make it a lively and inclusive space for everyone.
- The “You Should Team Up!” Clause. Finally, a quick heads-up. Sometimes we get two or three amazing proposals on the exact same topic (great minds think alike!). When this happens, instead of a cage match, we’ll probably ask the organizers to join forces. Think of it less as a competition and more as forming the Avengers of HCI to create one super-workshop.
It might sound like a lot, but it’s all about making the workshops at CHI as awesome and memorable as possible. Good luck, and we can’t wait to see your brilliant ideas!
Be a Juror: The Ultimate Academic Volunteering Gig
Here’s your chance to be part of the selection committee that shapes the future of CHI! Being a workshop juror is like being a talent scout for academic ideas. You get to:
- Shape the Conference: Help decide which workshops make it to Barcelona
- See Behind the Scenes: Get an insider’s view of how academic selection works
- Network Like a Boss: Connect with other established researchers in the review process
- Give Back: Contribute about 8 hours between late October and early December (that’s less time than binge-watching a Netflix series!)
Qualifications needed:
- You’ve been around the CHI block a few times
- You’ve reviewed papers or helped select talks/workshops before
- You’re basically a CHI veteran who knows quality when you see it
The application deadline is September 29, 2025
Organizing a Workshop: Empowering the Community
Ready to take the leap from participant to organizer? Here’s why you should totally do it:
🎯 You’re in the Driver’s Seat. Unlike regular conference sessions, workshops provide opportunities for community members to decide what’s worth discussing. But your influence (and responsibility!) doesn’t stop there. You don’t just set the agenda; you also build the audience. Organizers take the position to define the selection criteria and review process to bring the right group of people into the room. Have a burning question about AI ethics? You can help the community to locate the experts to discuss it with. This is a shared stage that you help build, and the auditions you help run.
🤝 Build Your Academic Squad Workshops can be great opportunities for mentoring, networking and grounding. You’re helping the participants build actual working relationships with one another around the problems they care about.
🎪 Creant el demà junts. Want to run a hands-on design session? Go for it. Prefer deep theoretical discussions? Perfect. Feeling ambitious about tutorials? The world is your workshop oyster.
The Practical Bits (Because Someone Has to Talk About Logistics)
What You Need to Submit:
- Up to 8 pages (excluding references) explaining your brilliant idea
- A compelling 250-word call for participation (think of it as your workshop’s elevator pitch)
- Your dream team of organizers (choose wisely, you’ll be working together)
- Plans for what happens after (because the best workshops have sequels)
Important Dates to Circle in Red:
- October 2, 2025: Proposal submission deadline
- November 20, 2025: You find out if you’re Barcelona-bound
- February 12, 2026: Participants submit their position papers
The Fine Print:
- You can only be on 2 proposals maximum (quality over quantity, people)
- Need at least 10 participants or the workshop gets the boot
- One organizer MUST attend (no virtual organizing from your couch)
Ready to submit? Head over to the PCS Submission System and make it happen. Your future self (and the CHI community) will thank you.
Questions? Reach out to workshops@chi2026.acm.org. They’re friendlier than your average academic email address, we promise.
¡Vamos a Barcelona! 🚀