IWIPS 2011 - The International Workshop on Internalisation of Products and Systems

IWIPS 2011 is being held for the first time in Asia; in Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia. In addition to the conference, the location will provide participants a first-hand glimpse of the cultural diversity, the home of 2.4 million people comprising more than 30 ethnic groups and 63 languages.

Three millennia ago, the Silk Road (Seidenstraße) was the gateway for the trading of goods from Eastern civilisations to the West which gradually decreased at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Today, we are witnessing not a Silk Road, but a technology trade route, given the increase in demand of state-of-the-art technologies of Asian products and systems.

Specifically, the 1970s and 80s saw technological advancements in the West which resulted in the flow of products and services to the Asian nations. Today, the tables are turned; the East Asian economies, such as Japan, South Korea, India and China, are now developing, and producing goods and services which are in demand worldwide.

Notably, Asian countries with rich cultures like India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea, have their products designed to reflect the culture within the domestic community. Likewise, earlier computer products and software that were designed by Western countries contained predominantly English-speaking cultural elements interfaces.

Some interesting questions have emerged given these new developments. What are the challenges that the Eastern designers and developers facing? Are these challenges the same as those faced by their Western counterparts? What are the frequently asked questions by the Asian designers? Are Asian designers confronting similar problems faced in the West? Can Eastern designers and developers leverage on the knowledge available from the West, and vice-versa, on the processes of internationalising and localising designs of products and services?

IWIPS 2011 would provide an appropriate platform in addressing these issues as well as covering aspects that accommodate the different cultural differences to transcend cultural boundaries in internationalising and localising products and systems. It provides an ideal setting to understand and explore experiences of the differences of the local cultures, retaining and disseminating knowledge in dealing with product design. The issues of internationalisation of products cover product design, usability, policies, ethnographic methods, cultural data collection methods.

At IWIPS 2011, the participants will consist of designers, practitioners, researchers, from both academia and industry. Given the location, we expect more participation from Asian countries. The workshop will offer tutorials, industrial case studies, demonstrations, keynotes and presentations. In addition, participants will also be able to network and share knowledge and experiences with participants from another co-located conference, Seventh Conference on Information Technology in Asia 2011 (CITA '11) held simultaneously with IWIPS 2011.

Held from 11-14 July, 2011, attendees to IWIPS will also have the opportunity to attend internationally renowned Rainforest World Music Festival. For more information about IWIPS’11, please email Conference Chair, Alvin W. Yeo (alvin(at)fit.unimas.my).

Please follow the link below for registration and more information.

From 11 Jul 2011
Until 14 Jul 2011
Kuching, Malaysia
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