Ubicomp without Borders: International Experiences in Pervasive Computing

U bicomp systems present exciting opportunities to do good and to make life better for diverse groups, from consumers and office workers1,2 to populations with more specialized needs, such as first responders.3 At the same time, ubicomp itself is exciting because of the interdisciplinary nature of the research and development required to exploit these opportunities. Consequently, as ubicomp educators, we can inspire our students with technically challenging and socially impactful projects and can expose them to enriching experiences where they need (or are forced) to interact with professionals from different backgrounds. Here, we make the argument for including international experiences in this already rich education and training space, reporting on our engagements on this front through two projects funded by the US National Science Foundation under the International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program.