People and Computing Lab
Welcome to ZPAC!
The Human-Computer Interaction group at the University of Zurich.
Mission
We strive to design great experiences with computing and create technologies that benefit people in everyday life. To do so, we take an approach to research that goes beyond interface design and usability. We focus on gaining a deep, contextualized understanding of the relationship between people and computing technologies from which to draw insight.
Research
In our research, we apply approaches drawn from a variety of fields, with a focus on qualitative methods such as interviews for data collection or affinity diagramming for data analysis. Building upon a thorough understanding of a problem space, we iteratively develop designs and systems that offer people new interactive experiences.
Currently, we are working in areas such asstorytelling for ML and AI education, digital health personalization, Social and Design Justice in the context of Gender-Based Violence sensing technologies in prenatal care and designing at the intersection of culture and mental health.
Teaching
We take a hands-on approach to learning that is reflected in our teaching. Our courses are highly interactive in nature and incorporate projects, discussion, and in-class activities to give students the opportunity to put knowledge and skills to use.
Weiterführende Informationen
ZPAC News
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Maryam Rabie Yeganeh Invited Talk at University of Basel
Maryam Rabie Yeganeh was hosted by the Lovelace Turing Club at the University of Basel for an invited talk on “A Digital Service to Facilitate Recruitment and Retention of Older Cancer Patients in Clinical Trials.”
Maryam shared her research on how digital patient companions can support older adults with breast cancer in clinical trials, helping improve both recruitment and retention. -
Lu, Nimra and Tim presented at NordiCHI2024!
The NordiCHI 2024 conference saw a (very) active participation from the ZPAC lab, with presentations, panel discussions, and poster sessions highlighting our research at the intersection of Feminist HCI, cultural sensitivity, and intelligent technology.
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Nimra presented in the Data Protection Week 2025
Nimra presented in the Data Protection Week, where she discussed key challenges in designing technology for vulnerable populations. Her talk focused on ethical considerations, data privacy, and the complexities of ensuring digital safety for individuals facing gender-based violence and forced marriage.
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Am I too personal? Personalizing Digital Health Technologies using AI for Chronic Disease Management.
Clara-Maria Barth gave a talk at the Campus Oerlikon Lecture Series: “Friend or Foe: Artificial Intelligence as a Challenge for Society”, about challenges and opportunities of AI-based personalization of technologies for people with chronic conditions. Using the example of Type 1 Diabetes management, she discussed how AI could alleviate the cognitive burden of managing chronic conditions by providing tailored insights, such as personalized blood glucose predictions and similarity search in VA to help users learn from their experiences. She further reflected on challenges like ensuring user agency, balancing automation with users feeling like they are still in control, and the downsides of personalization in sensitive contexts. Her ongoing work aims to use AI-based personalization approaches, investigating when and how personalization using AI might be useful and how to avoid unintended harm.
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DSI Health Innovathon
Clara-Maria Barth, Alexander Lill, and Federica Zavattaro organized the DSI Health Innovathon, a two-day interdisciplinary event funded by a grant from the DSI Health Community. The Innovathon brought together students, researchers, industry professionals, and innovators from a wide range of disciplines to collaboratively generate and test innovative solutions for the digitalization of healthcare. Participants worked on real-world health challenges, guided by experts in the field. The organizers invited three keynote speakers Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bernard, Prof. Dr. Viktor von Wyl, and Andreia Fernandes that explored topics such as data visualization, digital health, and entrepreneurship.