Navigating Transitions: Envisioning Conversational User Interfaces to Support International Students

TL;DR

This paper explores how conversational user interfaces can be designed to support international students' mental health and cultural adaptation, based on participatory workshops.

Contribution

It provides novel insights into international students' needs and proposes design features for CUIs to aid their transition and well-being.

Findings

Participants identified key needs like reducing loneliness and cultural misunderstandings.

Proposed CUI features address uncertainty and emotional support.

Design implications guide future development of supportive CUIs for students.

Abstract

International students face struggles when adapting to the host country. They are more susceptible to mental health problems than domestic students. While Conversational User Interfaces (CUIs) are increasingly researched and implemented, research on how they may help international university students is still scarce. Thus, we conducted participatory design workshops with international students who shared their perspectives and struggles of studying abroad, in which they also envisioned CUIs as aids to support their transitions. Participants proposed features of a CUI to address uncertainty, loneliness, and misunderstandings of cultural differences. Our paper reveals international students' needs and provides design implications for CUIs to support their well-being.