Smart Solutions for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Smart Solutions for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Inclusion – equity; Access for disadvantaged

Project Summary

Research data reflect the fact that there is a discrepancy between different European countries in understandings of what constitutes impairment and what are necessary supports for including students with disability in higher education. According to research data students with disabilities face academic, psychological and social challenges within the higher education environment.

The priorities of the project are building inclusive higher education systems, social inclusion and innovative practices in a digital era. The project primary target group is disadvantaged students with disabilities, the secondary target group is an academic staff of the higher education institutions, the tertiary target group is university students of education and affiliate programs, the quaternary target group is teachers and pedagogic staff in general education. The project will develop service systems of digital assistive technologies and incorporate them into higher education processes. It will promote the inclusion of students with disabilities in higher education and address the diversity in education by promoting social inclusion.

Surveys in higher education institutions regarding assistive technology deployment practices revealed that digital assistive tools such as screen readers, screen magnification software, optical character recognition /reading solutions, speech recognition, word prediction software, mouse alternatives, hands-free speech input, writing tools (software-based), disabled-friendly navigator, are indicative examples of tools that disabled students rely upon or are keen on. Therefore, there is an emerging and compelling need for assistive technology evaluation and provision in order to determine what digital tool would satisfy the educational needs of a disabled student. It can be provided to students as a service through a corresponding application and software.

Assistive Technology (AT) use can enable academic engagement and social participation and be transformative from a psychological perspective. The project aims to develop services for students with disabilities and promote their access to higher education. The project objective is to enable academic engagement and social participation of disabled students in higher education by developing an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) service of available Assistive Technology Programs use in higher education and the development of creative Information and Communication Technology Assistive Technology Programs for disabled students in higher education. The project results will be embedded in university E-course about the use of digital assistive technologies in education.

The project is planned in three phases: (1) elaboration of the standards for the assessment and understanding the requirements of disabled students in higher education (2) elaboration of creative technical solution offers of ICT ATP for disabled students in higher education (3) development of the university E-course about use of creative ICT ATP for disabled students in education.

The planned innovative intellectual output results for the whole project are (1) digital assessment tool for the requirements of disabled students in higher education, (2) data analyses and publication about the needs of disabled students in higher education, (3) Interactive Information Toolkit about Available Assistive Technologies for Disabled Students in Higher Education, (4) university E-course: Creative Information Communication Technologies and Assistive Technology Programs for Disabled Students in Education.

The project will be able to provide the following transferability points:
• Freely available training of teaching staff and dissemination at higher education institutions
• Establishing a central location for the evaluation, advice and assistance of higher education and businesses for the use of ICT in education
• Presentations and demonstrations of the possibilities of using ICT for e-learning

The research results and Intellectual Outputs of the project will be multiplied. Information about the Multiplier Event will be announced six months before the event on EPALE platform and will be open for participants from any European university or higher educational institution.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 287890 Eur

Project Coordinator

LIEPAJAS UNIVERSITATE & Country: LV

Project Partners

• CSI CENTER FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION LTD
• PANEPISTIMIO PATRON
• UNIVERZA V MARIBORU