Northumbria Social Computing (NorSC)

NorSC conducts research in the human-centred aspects of computer science, including Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Digital Interaction Design, Digital Civics and Social Computing. We are inherently multi-disciplinary in our backgrounds, but at our core we are interested in critically understanding the role, and implications, of interactive systems and services in supporting the digital lives of citizens.

Technology is inherently social. To design it well requires critically understanding the people that use it, the ways in which they live and interact with one another, and the impacts that it can have on our behaviours and interactions with the world.

NorSC supports, represents and disseminates emerging work in the human-centred aspects of computer science, including Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Digital Living and Social Informatics. Within this broad area, we are primarily a research group focusing on Social Computing but have grown to incorporate substantial research expertise in Smart Cities, Situated Computing and Sustainable Computing.

We are inherently multi-disciplinary in our backgrounds, but at our core we are interested in critically understanding the role, and implications, that computer science has in delivering future socio-digital systems and supporting future digital lives.

Across the group we have broad skills in qualitative and quantitative user research; interface design and development across platforms - e.g. web, mobile, wearables and IoT devices; social media analytics; embedded sensor networks and Building Information Modelling (BIM).

Our group members have been investigators on projects worth more than £6m and our work has been funded by AHRC, ESRC, EPSRC, DSTL and Innovate UK, alongside a number of UK companies.