C. Baranauskas et al. (Eds.): INTERACT 2007, LNCS 4663, Part II, pp. 85 – 99, 2007. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2007 Institutionalizing HCI in Asia Andy Smith 1 , Anirudha Joshi 2 , Zhengjie Liu 3 , Liam Bannon 4 , Jan Gulliksen 5 , and Christina Li 1 1 Thames Valley University United Kingdom andy.smith@tvu.ac.uk 2 Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India anirudha@iitb.ac.in 3 Sino-European Usability Center, Dalian Maritime University liuzhj@dlmu.edu.cn 4 Interaction Design Centre, University of Limerick, Ireland liam.bannon@ul.ie 5 Uppsala University, Sweden jan.gulliksen@it.uu.se Abstract. In this paper we investigate the problems and potential solutions to the effective establishment of HCI and usability in India and China. Our discussion is motivated by five years of collaboration with relevant bodies in both countries through EU-funded projects encouraging the development of a usability culture in academic and industrial sectors. In order to contribute to socially-responsible interaction in these countries the ‘institutionalization’ of HCI is necessary. For us, this involves three elements: firstly an appropriation of HCI concepts and methods to suit the local country / culture, secondly the forming of a national organization around the reshaped discipline that can actively promote HCI in industry and academia and establish links with local national organizations, and thirdly the roll-out of effective usability practice in industry. Some efforts made in this regard are briefly outlined. Keywords: cross-cultural usability, India, China, institutionalization. 1 Introduction With a combined population accounting for nearly two-fifths of humanity, the neighbouring Asian countries of India and China, are two of the world's fastest- growing economies. These countries have embarked on radical, liberalising economic reforms that are resulting in improved living standards for many, though not all, its peoples. At the same time, there are huge problems in terms of providing for adequate housing, sanitation, education and welfare for all the population. In India more than half of women and 30 per cent of men remain illiterate. In China the economic inequalities between Western (mainly agricultural and Eastern (highly industrialised) China is resulting in migration from poverty-stricken rural areas to the fastly developing cities. Nowhere is the so-called “digital divide” – in terms of those who have, or have not, access to computing and communication services and infrastructure - more