Dr. Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas is a Lecturer/ Assistant Professor at The University of Glasgow. Her research investigates ways in which animals can interact with and control computer systems, while designing and building new methods to facilitate and evaluate such interactions.
Over the past decade, Hirskyj-Douglas has led research to design and develop of novel computer systems, enabling animals to control their environment and access the internet in an ethically focused manner that prioritises their well-being and agency. Her work has opened new possibilities for animals to connect and communicate with humans and other animals in new, unprecedented ways. Examples of her research include DogPhone a device for dogs-to-human video calls and Parrot-to-Parrot internet video call systems.
Ilyena got my Masters and a PhD degree in Computer Science from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) (UK) investigating dog-controlled screen devices afterwards undertaking a postdoc at Aalto University (FI).
Ilyena publishes primarily in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Animal Science venues. She is on the editorial board of IJHCS, on the Animal-Computer Interaction Conference Steering Committee, Program Chair of the International ACI conference since in 2021 and associate chair at CHI, ISS, and DIS. She is also part of the Scottish Primate Research Group (SPRG).
Her research has been funded by Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT) and SISCA.
Her work is regularly featured in international news and radio such as The New York Times, Washington Post, The BBC, The Guardian, New Scientist, Wired Magazine, WallStreet Journal, and Huffington Post. There has also been a Netflix documentary (The Future of) featured on her research on the dog-to-dog internet.
Ilyena also has consulted and published with industry, such as SnapChat, Microsoft Research and Samsung.
Contact Information
Email: ilyena.hirskyj-douglas [at] glasgow.ac.uk
Twitter: @ilyena
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ilyena/
Google Scholar: scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=9z8DutMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas 