Universal Design and

Assistive Technology

Partnership with DIT

Mainstreaming Assistive Technology within UD

• Promoting examples of best practice– iPhone– Windows 7

• Breeding success through experience• Promoting market share to industry• Reducing Cost• USP: Real world experience; user testing

AT in education

DIT

Level 6 Certificate in ATUndergraduate modules: engineering, computer scienceMasters in Computer Science (AT)Ph.D

Accredited AT Course

Product Design

• Standing Power Wheelchair

• Communication

Device

7

8

E learning

• Generating AT Research Proposals in partnership with AT users

– Product Design– Computer Science– Engineering– Social Science– Other possibilities….based

on local resources/capacity/ strengths: eg: Architecture

11

Industry

CorporateSocial

Responsibility

Service provider

User

Academic Support

Student(Innovator)

User Needs

Critical Elements in Process: from User Needs Identification to Product Realization

• Universal Design: Guiding Principle

• Four way partnership

• Equal role played by end users, designers, industry and service providers: key to the progression from original conceptualisation to delivering practical solutions.

Key components in AT research

Building long term sustainability

• 4 way partnership approach• Educators (& Students Learning with Communities)• Service Providers

– Voluntary sector– Health/Education

• Corporate Social Responsibility• AT Industry

Partnership (cont’d)• Brainstorming

• Identifying gaps/opportunities

• Seeking solutions in mainstream

• Forging alliances to create new solutions

Next steps: Education• Greater exploitation of

transferable credit system: Level 6, Masters, Ph.D….

• Promote portability of modules across courses/across institutes of learning

• Increase flexibility for learners:– Shorter modules– More flexible time frames

• Greater exploitation of e learning

Summary• User consultation central• Flexibility in course provision• Embedding UD across schools• Students Learning With

Communities• Keeping abreast of emerging

technologies• Understanding market forces• Forging partnerships