Disability Interactions & Innovations course at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras

Join GDI Hub Founder and Academic Director Prof Cathy Holloway at this Disability Interactions & Innovations course at Indian Institute of Tech, Madras. Sharing the insights from our AT2030 programme & beyond.

Overview
Creative solutions which allow disabled people to use computers, and technology more broadly, are usually captured under the term ‘accessibility’. They can be categorized into: (i) assistive technology (AT) targeted at a specific person or a subset of people, and (ii) inclusive (universal) design approaches which incorporate accessible design features into the mainstream product or service. With an ageing population, there is a need for an increased focus on designs which can accommodate the needs for disabled people to fully contribute to society.

Disability has often spurred designers to create novel technology which has later become universal; for example, both the typewriter and the commercial email client originated from a need to communicate by blind and deaf people. The design constraints imposed by disability have pushed ingenuity to thrive within the design process. Recent technological advances in AI, Internet of Things and pervasive computing provide great scope for designers and researchers to explore this symbiosis when considering future innovations for disability as well as for society at large. This course explores the new approach of Disability Interaction (DIX) which combines challenge-based design with user-centered design principles to push the boundaries of the possible.

The primary objectives of the course are

• Exposing participants to the fundamentals of user-centered design and challenge-based design
• Building in confidence in capturing user needs, turning these into insights and problem statements to spur innovation. Exposure to practical problems and their solutions, case studies and live projects in disability interaction and innovation.
• Demonstrating novel routes to market and ability to scale solutions through case study examples.
• Enhancing the capability of the participants to identify and solve challenges for society which enables more inclusive societies.

Find out more and apply