We are pleased to announce participation in the ACM CHI 2026 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, organized by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The paper titled “Customizing Design Thinking for Social Aware Virtual Reality: Exploring Immersive Empathizing in Co-Design”, authored by Dr. Kalliopi-Evangelia Stavroulia, Dr. Yiannis Georgiou, and Prof. Andreas Lanitis, has been accepted for presentation at the workshop “Shaping Future Human Connection: Social Augmentation through XR Technologies”.
The research presents a new approach to Design Thinking methodology, introducing a novel co-design framework for VR learning scenarios grounded in immersive empathizing, enabling participants to experience perspectives and contexts through embodied virtual environments. The framework was piloted through a co-design workshop with undergraduate students from the Department of Communication and Internet Studies at the Cyprus University of Technology, conducted within the VR4EEC project (Designing Virtual Reality Experiences for Transformative Learning through Education for Environmental Citizenship). The project, funded through the Starting Fund scheme of the Cyprus University of Technology, explores how the design of immersive VR learning experiences can foster university students’ pro-environmental engagement and civic participation.
During the workshop, a VR application, developed by Dr. Maria Christofi under the Erasmus+ project InclusiVR@work (www.inclusivr-project.eu/, 2024-1-DE02-KA220-VET-0002557) at the CYENS Centre of Excellence, was also used to introduce students to immersive VR as an “empathy machine”, inspiring ideas for novel VR learning experiences supporting environmental citizenship.
Dr. Kalliopi-Evangelia Stavroulia will attend ACM CHI 2026 and present the paper during the workshop, contributing to international discussions on emerging design methodologies and future directions in extended reality.
