Call For Participation: 

Join us for an exciting interdisciplinary 'Regulation by Design: Exploring the Role of Nordic HCI in EU Technology Regulation' workshop on 4th October 2026 in Vaasa, Finland. 

We are exploring the evolving relationship between Design, Nordic HCI, EU technology regulation, and beyond.

The workshop aims to critically reflect on what a 'regulation by design' approach means for design practice and HCI, particularly reflecting on the Nordic tradition of participatory, contestation led concepts and methods.

The EU is increasingly turning to design as a regulatory tool to build for specific human values in frameworks. For example, the new EU Artificial Intelligence Act aims to support creation of trustworthy high-risk AI systems. The EU Cyber Resilience Act pushes for more secure consumer products. EcoDesign rules and the new Right to Repair Directive seek greener, more sustainable technologies. The EU General Data Protection Regulation mandates more privacy preserving systems. 

Through a combination of short participant presentations, discussions, and hands-on explorations of tools and methods, we will collectively examine how regulation and design shape one another – and how they might do so differently in the future. 

The workshop goals are to:

• Map the intersection of EU technology regulation and human-computer interaction through concrete examples that surface challenges and opportunities e.g. regulation and design around sustainability, privacy, security, artificial intelligence.

• Share practices, methods, and toolkits for bridging  – and reimagining – the relationship between human-computer interaction and regulation.

• Envision new regulatory futures grounded in human – and more-than-human – centred perspectives, reflecting on what alternative Nordic approaches could bring to the interface of human-computer interaction and technology regulation.

• Build a vibrant interdisciplinary community of researchers and practitioners critically engaging with the role of regulation in design.

We welcome participants from a wide range of backgrounds, including design research, computing, arts and humanities, social sciences, law, and industry. Whether you are already working at this intersection or are curious to explore it, we encourage you to take part. 

Submissions can take many forms, including traditional abstracts, design artefacts, methods, tools, portfolios, sketches, pictorials, or demos. Accepted contributions will be shared on the workshop website in advance to support discussion and connection. The initial structure and questions for the day are available here, but we are keen to tailor this to participants interests. 

Participants who want to present are invited to submit a brief abstract outlining their bio, interest in the topic, and detail on their contribution e.g. tool, idea, artefact (max. 300 words). 

Those who wish to attend without presenting are also very welcome and should submit a brief 50-word statement outlining their interest in the workshop and what perspective or experience they would bring. 

Submissions should be provided as a PDF or DOCX file and emailed to lachlan.urquhart@ed.ac.uk (or kimberley.paradis@ed.ac.uk ) by 10 August 2026. 

For our planning, it would be helpful if you could send a quick email stating your intent to submit ahead of this final submission date. 

For wider information about the NORDICHI Conference see here.