Ready to shape a human-centered future?
The 2026 Inter-University Workshop brings together students and researchers from across departments of the the University of Waterloo, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and the University of Toronto to share ideas, build connections, and explore emerging work in human factors, design, and related disciplines.
This year’s workshop will focus on three key areas: healthcare, artificial intelligence, and transportation and mobility. Through oral presentations, pitch sessions, and poster presentations, participants will have the opportunity to showcase completed research, works in progress, early-stage ideas, and emerging concepts that contribute to more human-centered systems, technologies, and communities.
Call for Abstracts!
We invite students and researchers to submit abstracts for presentation at the workshop. Submissions may include completed research projects, ongoing work, exploratory concepts, or early-stage ideas.
Abstracts should be 200–500 words, with a maximum of 5,000 characters including spaces.
Presentation Formats
- Oral presentations are 7-minute sessions, including 5 minutes for presentation and 2 minutes for questions. This format is best suited for well-developed or completed research projects.
- Pitch sessions are 2-minute, high-impact presentations designed for early-stage ideas, ongoing work, or exploratory concepts. This format is ideal for sharing a research question, motivation, and potential impact.
- Poster presentations should visually communicate the research context, approach, and key insights or preliminary findings.
Virtual presentations will be considered on a case-by-case basis, particularly for submissions from universities outside Canada.
Important Dates
- Abstract submission deadline: July 31, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EDT
- Acceptance notifications: August 20, 2026
- Final materials deadline for accepted presenters: September 10, 2026
Get Involved
- Submit your abstract: https://sites.google.com/view/iuw2026/submit
- Register for in-person or virtual attendance: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-2026-inter-university-workshop-iuw-shaping-a-human-centered-future-tickets
- Learn more about the workshop: https://sites.google.com/view/iuw2026/home
Questions? Contact : hfes.at.uwaterloo@gmail.com