Hia Ghosh

No two students learn in exactly the same way. For Hia Ghosh, a PhD student at the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS), that reality raises an urgent question: How can undergraduate computer science courses be designed to support a wider range of learners from the start? 

Ghosh explored this question in a project presented at the SIGCSE Technical Symposium 2026 ACM Student Research Competition (SRC), where she won first place in the graduate student category. 

The project drew on Ghosh’s research paper “Applying Universal Design for Learning to Undergraduate Computer Science Education,” which detailed a survey of computer science faculty and students at a primarily undergraduate institution revealing learning barriers in undergraduate CS education. These barriers include rigid testing formats, hard-to-access course materials, and limited instructor awareness of disability and neurodiversity. 

At the conference, Ghosh presented survey findings and outlined a set of instructional strategies for introductory CS courses. These strategies use Universal Design for Learning (UDL)—an educational framework emphasizing proactive, flexible, and inclusive course design—as a lens for rethinking undergraduate CS education. 

“I felt really proud and accomplished when I walked up to the stage to receive my award,” Ghosh said. “It's been a really challenging PhD journey and it felt like I had finally landed on being proud of my research.” 

Each year, ACM Special Interest Groups (SIGs) hold undergraduate and graduate research competitions, with first-place winners advancing to the ACM SRC Grand Finals. For Ghosh, who presented at the SIG on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), the process began with a poster presentation.  

“I had groups of people really engage with the research questions and take multiple pictures of my poster for the UDL toolkit,” Ghosh said. “Folks talked about their experiences in CS, and it was so interesting how everyone had a story about how the CS curriculum often poses unnecessary constraints that impede learning.” 

After the poster round, Ghosh was selected for the second round: a 20-minute formal presentation to the competition judges. During her talk, Ghosh—who has mobility restrictions—pointed to the inaccessibility of some of the conference rooms as an example of the difference between reactive accommodations and the proactive approach encouraged by UDL. 

“The talk was well received,” Ghosh said. "At the reception at the end of the conference, the judges announced who won. Once I knew I wasn't third or second, it hit me, and I was definitely fighting back tears before my name was called and I went on that stage.” 

For Ghosh, presenting at SIGCSE TS 2026 also offered a chance to connect with other researchers asking similar questions about teaching, access, and belonging in computer science.  

“It felt really important that my work reached the researchers who were present at SIGCSE,” Ghosh said. “Since I have largely been doing my research independently, it was important to see how other institutions approached my research questions.” 

Ghosh advanced to the ACM SRC Grand Finals, where first-place winners from ACM-sponsored and co-sponsored conferences compete for additional recognition.