Intercultural Collaboration

Collaborators: 
Cigay Tshering, Patrick Mbullo, Michaela Hynie, Susan McGrath, Melanie Baljko

Relevant Publications:
Hamidi, F., Mbullo, P., Hynie, M., Baljko, M., McGrath, S. Potentials of Digital Assistive Technology and Special Education In Kenya. Handbook of Research on Sustainable ICT Adoption and integration for Socio-Economic Development, under review.

Hamidi, F., Baljko, M. Facebook use in Bhutan: A Comparative Study. Graphics Interface Poster Proceedings (GI’14). 2014, 1-2. Available Online.

Hamidi, F., Baljko, M. Using Social Networks for Multicultural Creative Collaboration. Proceedings of the International Conference on Intercultural Collaboration (ICIC12), 2012, 39-46. New York: ACM. Available Online.

I am greatly inspired by the magic that happens when people with different perspectives collaborate and communicate with each other. I am interested in how multidisciplinary and multicultural teams can work together and how can projects and processes benefit from diversity. 

I have explored this theme in several research projects. In Our Digital Tapestry, I explored the potential of social networks to support creative collaboration. Specifically, I used the Facebook social network as a platform to support the creation of a collaborative poetry project in which 19 poets from around the world wrote a multimedia poem together.

In other projects, I have explored how different cultural perspectives impact and enrich technology design and use. In collaboration with  Bhutan Innovation and Technology Center (BITC), I worked with local entrepreneurs, ICT4D experts and two governmental ministries, to identify how e-work and micro-work can be implemented in Bhutan in a manner compatible with the concept of Gross National Happiness.  In another project, I was invited, as part of an interdisciplinary multinational team, to investigate the potential of participatory design and community-engagement for the development and deployment of assistive technology in East Africa.