Monsoon Course on HCI — FAQS
The following are frequently answered questions about the Monsoon Courses on HCI. Hopefully, both the current participants and future participants will find them useful. If you had other questions, feel free to drop me a mail at anirudha [at] iitb.ac.in.
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FAQs about
The Course
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- What can one learn in the Monsoon Courses on HCI?
HCI stands for human-computer interaction. The Monsoon Course on HCI has two goals. Firstly, it gives participants an exposure to issues, theories, principles and concerns relating to human interaction with interactive products. Secondly, it provides participants hands-on practice with the process and the techniques related to user studies, interaction design and design evaluation. After attending the course, participants should be able to conceptualise, design and evaluate interactive products. Those who are already involved in these activities should be able to improve the quality of their work, and should understand the theory behind what they do. Those responsible for the process should be able to make the process in their organizations more user-centered. - Who can attend the Monsoon Courses on HCI?
The Monsoon Courses on HCI are designed for working professionals in the Indian Information Technology industry. Interaction designers, user interface designers and user experience designers are the primary target audience. People who work in overlapping domains such as software development, product management, user research etc. may also benefit. - Can students attend the Monsoon Course on HCI?
Yes, a limited number of college / university students are allowed to participate in the Monsoon Course on HCI every year. Full time students are eligible for a reduced fee. - Can teachers attend the Monsoon Course on HCI?
Yes, a limited number of college / university teachers are allowed to participate in the Monsoon Course on HCI every year. Full time teachers are eligible for a reduced fee. - Can international participants attend the Monsoon Course on HCI?
Yes, international participants can participate in the Monsoon Course on HCI. The IIT Bombay policy requires international participants to pay a different fee. - When is the next Monsoon Course on HCI?
The Monsoon Courses on HCI are usually conducted twice every year, once in an in-person-continuous mode, and the other time in a self-paced-remote-weekend mode. The in-person course has been typically starts in the last week of May. It runs from Tuesday of week 1 to Wednesday of week 3 (i.e. for 16 days). From 2023, the course is also offered in a self-paced-remote-weekend mode. In this mode, the course will be conducted on 12 weekends, usually between October and March. In this mode, the first 11 weeks are remote (online), while the last weekend is in-person in the IIT Bombay campus. Check out the currently announced schedule here. To get notified when a new course is announced, please fill out this pre-registration form. - How is the in-person-continuous course conducted?
In the in-person mode, the course is conducted on the beautiful campus of IIT Bombay from 9:15 am to 5:45 pm on all working days. The course is a combination of lectures, in-class activities, home assignments, and a course project (which is done in groups). The in-person course runs from Tuesday of week 1 to Wednesday of week 3 (i.e. 16 days). In this mode, the course is intense. On most mornings, the course has lectures or in-class activities. On most afternoons, you work on a course project with a group. The project work often spills over to the evenings and the weekends. Plus, you need to find time to do the home assignments. If you are planning to attend the course in this mode, make sure to clear out all the 16 days of your calendar. - How is the self-paced-remote-weekend course conducted?
In this mode too, the course is a combination of lectures, in-class activities, home assignments, and a course project (which is done in groups). The course is conducted on 12 weekends spread over 4 months. (On some weekends, a break is planned.) Lectures and in-class activities are usually planned in two sessions on each weekend. Other than that, the course is self-paced and flexible. You will need work on the home-assignments and the course project that you will need to plan with your group members. The last weekend of the course we have the final project presentations and evaluations, which will be in-person and on-campus in IIT Bombay. So you need to plan to travel to Mumbai for that. This is a self-paced, synchronous course delivered remotely. You will need to be proactive, organised and interactive to derive the most value from this course. - Can I switch from one course to another? Can I switch from one mode of the course to another?
Not routinely. Only under exceptional circumstances, and after getting an approval from the Dean, Educational Outreach of IIT Bombay can you switch from one course / mode to the other. - Who teaches the course?
Several lectures in the Monsoon Course on HCI are given by Prof. Anirudha Joshi from the IDC School of Design in IIT Bombay. Additionally, several other faculty members from IDC give lectures. Each project group has a mentor assigned, who will meet with the project group 4-5 times during the course. The mentors are selected from among industry practitioners and students of IDC who have previously attended a similar course. - What is the last date of registration for the course?
Each instance of the course will have a formally announced last date of registration (usually a week before the course starts). However, please be aware that each course has limited number of seats. The course may fill up before that date. On a few occassions in the past, the course got full (and hence had closed for registration) four weeks before the announced last date. Also, if you need accommodation on campus, that gets full sooner. So it is best to register for the course as soon as possible. - Do I need a laptop / tablet to participate in the course?
Yes, you will need a device to participate in either modes. The self-paced course runs on Zoom. Even in the in-person course, you will need a device because the course material is distributed digitally. You might also need a device for creating a prototype during the course proejct. If you don't have a laptop / tablet, you will at least need a smartphone. - How much time does the course take?
Officially, the course has 72 contact hours. This inclludes the lectures, class room activities and discussions. Additionally, it is expected that you spend another 72 hours working on self study, the course project and home assignments. Please be prepared to spend about 150 hours working on the course. - How much office work will I be able to do during the course?
It depends on the mode you take the course in. For the in-person course, the short answer is "not much" :). The in-person course is quite intense, with very little buffer time. You will get the most out of the in-person course only if you are able to dedicate your full time to the course. In the self-paced mode, you will be able to do some office work, obviously, but you will also spend some time each week on self-study, home assignments and the course project. - Do I need to read anything before coming to the course?
Reading before any course always helps you get the most out of that course. Here is a list on my favourite books and my Googel Scholar page. Read what you can. Also, during the course you will be doing a project — try to read up background material on your choices of projects. You will get more information about the course project a week before the course. - Can I show my course project as my work in future?
Yes, you can include your course project work in your portfolio, as long as you fully acknowledge the contribution of other participants in the group that you worked with. - I have paid for the course. When do I get the receipt? I will be asking for a reimbursement for fees from my organization. Would it be possible to get a receipt sooner?
The Educational Outreach office (formerly known as the CEP office) of IIT Bombay handles all the financial and certification matters of the course. They usually hand over the receipts on the last day of the in-person course. The certificates are sent digitally 45 days after the course to your registered email address. If you have special needs (such as need for an early receipt), mail them (cep [at] iitb.ac.in) or call them on 022-2576 7060.
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Certification
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- Do I get a certificate for attending this course?
Yes, and many things have changed recently. Till 2021, the Educational Outreach office of IIT Bombay (formerly known as the CEP office) gave a "Certificate of Participation" to all those who attended the course. From 2022, they introduced "Certificate of Completion". The Educational Outreach office mails the appropriate certificates about 45 days after the course to your registered email address. - How is the assessment done in the Monsoon Course on HCI?
During the course, participants will do in-class activities, individual home assignments and a group project. The individual home assignments will be assessed by the mentors under the guidance of Prof. Anirudha Joshi. The course project will receive both feedback and assessment. Each project group will be asked to make two intermediate presentations and one final presentation. The feedback and assessment of the intermediate course project presentations is provided by Prof. Anirudha Joshi with assistance from the mentors. The feedback and assessment of the final project presentation is provided by a panel of two faculty members from IDC and two mentors. The in-class activities will be discussed in the class, but will not be assessed. - How does the assessment translate to Certificate of Participation and Certificate of Completion?
The Educational Outreach office gives a Certificate of Completion to participants who get above 50% marks in the course assessment. The Educational Outreach office gives a Certificate of Participation to those who get less than 50% marks, but do have sufficient attendance and active participation in the course. The Educational Outreach office mails the appropriate certificates about 45 days after the course to your registered email address. - I have paid for the course. When do I get the certificate?
The Educational Outreach office of IIT Bombay handles all the financial and certification matters of the course. They mail the appropriate certificates about 45 days after the course to your registered email address. If you have any queries or special needs (such as need to change the email address), mail them (cep [at] iitb.ac.in) or call them on 022-2576 7060.
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Guest House
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- I would like to stay in an IIT Bombay guest house. How / when do I get a confirmed booking?
If you require guest house accommodation for an in-person course, you should indicate so when you register for the course. Please note that even if you so indicate, your accommodation in the IIT Bombay guesthouse is not booked automatically. It will be confirmed by the course instructor (subject to availability) after you pay the registration fees. This is a manual process and there could be small delays. If you indicated that you wanted guest house accomodation, but 3 days after you paid your fees if you did not get a confirmation either ways, please send / resend an email to anirudha [at] iitb.ac.in with "URGENT" in the subject matter. - Is the accommodation cost included in the course fees?
No it isn't. You will have to pay on checkout like in any hotel. Look up the current guest house charges for CEP participants here. - Is it necessary to stay on the IITB campus during the course?
It is not necessary to stay on the campus, but there are several advantages of doing so. For the in-person course, if you are going to stay in a hotel in any case (or if you are from Mumbai, but you don't like to commute), the IITB guest house offers an alternative (which is often cheaper than many comparable hotels). The in-person course is intense, so staying on-campus is an advantage. For the self-paced-weekend course, you need to come to the campus only on the last weekend. Here too, you might enjoy staying on the campus for a couple of days. - Is the accommodation shared? What is the chance of getting single accommodation?
Yes, usually the accommodation is shared (doubles), as rooms in the guest house are limited. If you want a single room, you could try by requesting at the reception and they may accommodate you if rooms are available, but don't count on it. Alternately, there are several serviced apartments and hotels near the campus that you could book. They are usually more expensive than the guest house. - I am coming in on the earlier evening / I am leaving in the evening of the last day of the course. Is that OK?
By default, the guesthouse is booked from the night before the first day to the morning after the last day of the course. If your arrival / departure dates are different, send an email to anirudha [at] iitb.ac.in and we will try to help. - I don't need the guesthouse on the weekend. Can I save some money?
That is a bit complicated, but possible. Firstly, while there are no classes on the weekend, remember you will have homework (often group work) on both weekends. You could do some work when you are away, or you could participate remotely, but you will need to coordinate with your group members. Also, you will need to change your room so that you are sharing the room with someone else in the course who wants to do exactly the same thing. Also, please let the guesthouse reception know well in advance that this is going to be the case. When you check out for the weekend (together, in time), remind the guest house staff that you intend to be back and to hold your booking. - I did not get guest house accommodation / I do not want to stay in the guest house. What are the alternatives near IIT Bombay campus?
There are several hotels in the Powai area (The Beatle, Rodas, Keys, Meluha, Marriot Apartments, The Westin). Also, Powai is filled with several serviced apartments. Apart from the busiest days, finding an accommodation in Powai should always be possible. However, like everywhere else, cheaper deals go early. - I will be coming to Mumbai / to IIT Bombay on the morning of the course. Could you give me precise directions?
IIT Bombay is in Powai and is well known to auto / taxi / Uber / Ola / Meru drivers. Once in IIT Bombay reach the 1st floor, Rahul Bajaj Technology Innovation Centre, where the course will be conducted (subject to change — look out for my emails). You can always ask for directions at the main gate. In the guest house, come to the conference hall on the ground floor. For the in-person course, the registration will start at 8:45 am on the first day.
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