Ambika Shahu 

Short bio:

Ambika Shahu is a postdoctoral researcher who is currently working on the topic of building interfaces that foster sustainable behavior. She pursued her doctorate in Human-Computer Interaction at TU Wien in the Artifact-based Computing and User Research Lab. Her research explores how virtual assistants can evolve from mere functional tools into engaging and supportive digital companions by addressing users’ psychological needs based on Self-Determination Theory. Through a mixed-methods approach, she investigates how autonomy, competence, and relatedness can be fostered using companion technologies, offering design guidelines for creating meaningful and adaptive interactions.