The UA is launching a new edition of the Digital Accessibility Entrepreneurship and Research Group.
For the first time, they have organised an ideas competition for students, in which two prizes of 500 euros each will be awarded to the best proposals for solutions to everyday problems of students with needs and illnesses.
The University of Alicante will host on Thursday 2nd December 2021, in the auditorium of the Germán Bernácer building, the third conference of Entrepreneurship and Research in Accessibility, which will take place in person and virtually.
The different sessions, which will start at 10am, will present the latest innovations from research teams and the most important business projects in the field of accessibility. The aim of the sessions is to create a meeting point for students and researchers to exchange knowledge in the field of social and digital entrepreneurship, with the aim of improving the conditions for personal and social development in order to achieve maximum independence.
For the third edition, with the support of the Digital Accessibility Group of the UP Vice-Rectorate for Digital Transformation, the idea was to focus on the everyday challenges faced by students with disabilities and illnesses. The idea was to focus on the everyday challenges faced by students with disabilities and illnesses. The initiative aimed to encourage projects that would improve campus accessibility for students with disabilities. To this end, interested applicants will have the opportunity to conduct a first needs analysis with students with disabilities at the III Accessible Entrepreneurship and Research Day, which will take place on 2 December 2021.
The competition is open to regular undergraduate and postgraduate students of the University of Alicante, in collaboration with the Students and Careers Office of the University of Alicante, and with the support of Banco Santander. Registration will take place from 3 to 17 December 2021. A total of 500 euros will be awarded to the two best proposals that offer innovative solutions to campus design in terms of universal accessibility.
Conference programme
In addition to the presentation of the competition for the best ideas in accessibility, the conference will discuss the needs of people with disabilities and the latest innovations in accessible films, audiovisual material and video games. Examples of several commercial projects will also be presented, such as «ARMIA: a sensory arm for upper limb rehabilitation» and «Bumerania. A companion for children and the elderly».
Accessibility approaches
At the III Conference on Entrepreneurship and Research in Digital Accessibility, the free app ‘Ability Connect’, developed by the University of Alicante with the support of the Vodafone Spain Foundation, will be used to offer automatic transcriptions and video broadcasts of events with sign language interpretation in Spanish.
Presentations
In recent years, the Digital Accessibility Department has worked to promote projects that benefit the quality of life of the university community and the community at large, and this has been particularly evident in the organisation and delivery of accessibility conferences and other events.
The third edition of this conference has a renewed focus on improving the conditions for personal and social development in order to achieve maximum independence without deviating from normalisation.
Following this idea, the 3rd Conference on Entrepreneurship and Research in Digital Accessibility will present the latest news from research groups and the most important entrepreneurship projects in the field of accessibility.
It aims to create a forum for students and research groups to exchange knowledge in the field of social and digital entrepreneurship.
In addition, this year, in collaboration with the Office of Student Affairs and Employment of the University of Alicante and with the support of Banco Santander, they are organising a competition for the best ideas in the field of digital accessibility. The competition will offer innovative, accessible and standardised solutions to the needs of students in the classroom.
Programme
Place: Assembly Hall of the Germán Bernácer building.
Date: 2 December 2021.
- 9:45: Accreditation and connection tests.
- 10:00: Institutional inauguration.
- Vice-Rectorate for Digital Transformation.
- 10:15: What are the needs of people with disabilities?
- Esther Gallego Baeza.
- Cristina Palomares.
- Lianne Leguizamón.
- 11:00: Presentation of the Accessibility Ideas Competition Award.
- Nuria Grané.
- 11:15: Coffee break in the Germán Bernácer gardens.
- 11:45: Accessible cinema, audiovisuals and video games.
- Carla Botella. Professor of Translation and Interpreting, Film and Audiovisuals.
- Belén Agulló. Consultant at Accessibility Warrior.
- Moderator: José María Fernández.
- 12:35: Examples of entrepreneurial projects.
- ARMIA: Sensorised sleeve for upper limb rehabilitation.
- Ángel Alepuz Jerez and Lluís Bernat Iborra.
- Bumerania. Robot companions for children and adults.
- Moderated by Sergi Soriano.
- ARMIA: Sensorised sleeve for upper limb rehabilitation.
- 13:25: Closing.
- Vice-Rector’s Office for Students and Employability.
Competition rules
The competition is open to anyone who is enrolled in a full undergraduate or postgraduate course at the University of Alicante in the academic year 2021-2022 and is registered on the Santander platform (information on how to register is available on the Santander platform).
Projects can be submitted by teams of two to five people, all of them registered on the Santander platform. Individuals or teams can submit a maximum of three different ideas.
The document must comply with the basic principles of universal design and be accessible to all. A Word template for the ideas competition, prepared by the Digital Accessibility section, can be downloaded (opens in a new window).
The closing date for applications is 3 December 2021 and the closing date is 17 December 2021.
A prize of 500 euros will be awarded to the two best projects that respond to the needs presented at the III Jornada de Emprendimiento e Investigación en Accesibilidad Digital.
The points to be assessed are as follows
Innovation and creativity in the description of the service, process or product.
The use of new technologies.
Universal accessibility features and the introduction of a «design for all» budget.
Consideration of a range of disability problems and solutions.
Market opportunities in terms of feasibility.
You can find the first call for the III Digital Accessibility Day Ideas Competition at the University of Alicante.
Participate in the competition
To register for the ideas competition, you must follow the instructions on the Santander X platform and attend a session.
More information can be found on the Jobcentre website.
Commitment to accessibility
The third Digital Accessibility Research and Entrepreneurship Day will take place on 2 December 2021 and will include the following activities
- Automatic transcription of texts with Ability Connect.
- Translation into Spanish sign language.
- Broadcast of the event, which will be available via video streaming.