By Yifei Gao
CHIWORK 2025 was the very first academic conference I’ve attended since starting my PhD studies in February 2025. It was truly an eye-opening experience. I now have a much clearer understanding of what an academic conference involves, and I’ve learned a lot from participating.
First, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Anna for taking us on this trip. Second to Yoana for organising the accommodation and train tickets. I had such an enjoyable time with everyone from our team.
Over the three-day conference, I took part in two workshops on Day 1:
- The Future of Human-Robot Synergy
- Paving the Way for AI that Supports Flourishing at Work
These workshops included group activities (such as designing a robot to help people work more efficiently in restaurants) and lively discussions with participants around the table. It was inspiring to share ideas and explore practical applications of AI in collaborative settings.
In these workshops, I discovered many links between my own research and the work of others. Notably, many studies emphasised the importance of trust in promoting effective human–robot collaboration—both in the workplace and in educational contexts.
Two presentations on Days 2 and 3 stood out to me:
- tAIfa: Enhancing Team Effectiveness and Cohesion with AI-Generated Automated Feedback – This study resonated strongly with my collaborative paper on evaluating students’ trust in three types of feedback, although their work specifically focused on AI-generated feedback in team-based settings on Slack.
- Cleared for Takeoff – Artificial Intelligence Acceptance in Air Traffic Control – I found this work particularly inspiring because they also used structural equation modelling (SEM) as part of their data analysis. It gave me some inspiration about combining models like TAM, AIAM, and TAWE to explore explanatory variables behind AI acceptance in air traffic control and beyond.
Beyond the academic sessions, CHIWORK was also a valuable opportunity to network and explore potential collaborations. Although almost everyone was new to me (except for our team), I had many friendly conversations and connected with attendees on LinkedIn.
Looking ahead, I’m planning to present at CHIWORK next year. I believe it would be a great opportunity to receive feedback and questions on my work, while also allowing others in the field to get to know me and my research. After delivering presentations at the UCLIC and IOE summer conferences this June, I feel more confident in presenting my research clearly and engagingly—especially at larger international events like CHIWORK.
