Professional training & Know-How Transfer

ICT & Assistive Technologies

ICT und Assistive Technologies form a very broad field. The possibilities and the benefit that come from the use of such technologies is still too little known among stakeholders. Especially occupational groups who work with people with disabilities on a daily basis know much too little about these technologies. In order to change this situation and to further distribute this important knowledge, KI-I's staff members do presentations and lectures at Universities of Applied Sciences, at the Johannes Kepler University or at dedicated education programs, e.g. by the BBRZ or Austria's academy for administrative staff, on a regular basis.

Technical Accessibility (Web, Documents, Software and Apps)

Accessible design is the ability to enable the widest possible group of people to access the internet, use software and apps, and view PDF documents without difficulty. This is particularly important, for example, for people with disabilities, for whom the internet is an important medium for information and communication and, beyond that, a means of inclusion. An Accessible website or document should be well structured, but this does not mean it has to sacrifice an attractive layout. Modern design and accessible design are not mutually exclusive. Accessible websites and documents not only make access easier for people with disabilities. Well-structured, clear, easy-to-navigate and technology-independent sites are beneficial for everyone.

The Competence Network KI-I is not only an important source of expertise in this area, but also passes on its know-how through training courses, seminars and consultations. This enables companies, public institutions and other website operators to meet legal requirements such as the Austrian Web Accessibility Act (WZG) or the Austrian Accessibility Act (BaFG) and offer their products and/or services in an accessible manner.

Easy-to-Read

Besides people with learning difficulties, who need Easy-to-Read, there are several other target groups, who also benefit from Easy-to-Read. The KI-I has vast know-how in this field and offers individually tailored courses for key personnel and management of facilities, migrant organisations and other organisations. In addition the KI-I offers seminars in Easy-to-Read about Easy-to-Read, an innovative education program that directly targets people with learning difficulties.

Proqualis

The adequate questioning of people with learning disabilities is a special challenge and has several sources for error. Proqualis counteracts these sources by using Easy-to-Read and by doing peer-to-peer interviews. The questioning by peers enhances the quality of the answers and lowers the error rate. This is due to the symmetry of the persons present at the interview and also because there is no positional or functional authority.

The quality-evaluators at Proqualis have broad and well-founded knowledge about the questioning of people with disabilities. To help other research facilities and organisations, as well as university institutes and facilities of the "OÖ Behindertenhilfe", the evaluators of Proqualis distribute their expert knowledge and their experience in seminars. In addition they take over the questioning for other organisations, in order to give them the advantages of the peer-to-peer questioning.

Apart from knowledge transfer and peer-to-peer questioning, Proqualis also offers supervised optimisation and development of surveying methods, which are dedicated to the questioning of people with disabilities.