Course: Doctor of Philosophy
Title: 'Human Computer Interaction in Public Spaces'

Alejandra Mery Keitel is a Chilean Industrial Designer and lecturer of the School of Design of the Metropolitan Technological University (UTEM) in Chile. She holds a 3-year Mecesup Scholarship extended by the Chilean Ministry of Education and is conducting her doctoral research under the main supervision of Dr Bert Bongers, Associate Professor of the School of Design at UTS. Her research explores the interaction resulting from the relationship between exhibition environments as public spaces, their visitors and supporting technologies.

Mery Keitel researches the new trends and phenomena that take place in the increasingly complex and rich scenario of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in public spaces. Understanding the new dynamics of an environment that every day more integrates digital technologies to its structure is not necessarily easy for everybody; different factors such as age, culture, disabilities and stimulus, to name a few, conjugate in a same context, resulting in many different individual experiences. In developing countries such as Chile, new technologies have become part of the everyday sphere as Chile strengthens its connection with the rest of the world, finding itself in need of quickly adapting to the new technological scenarios.

In the course of her academic and professional practice, Mery Keitel has observed how, little by little, people access new technologies and become familiar with new products, interacting with them mostly in the comfort of a private space. When these interactions move out to public spaces, both the dynamics and behaviours within them are affected.

Cultural heritage institutions such as museums are Mery Keitel's particular area of interest in the subfield of HCI in public spaces. In the last three years she has been analysing how, progressively, museums are integrating new technologies in their exhibitions, as a way of enhancing visitors' experience. Within this context, she has observed several gaps between the intended purpose of the exhibits and spaces, and the expectations and actual experiences of their visitors. Alejandra's research premise is that a perspective centred on an integrated entity of feeling, sensing and understanding is needed, in order to address the new computer-aided exhibition scenarios, where the also-new visitor can benefit from an inclusive, meaningful and engaging experience.

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