BUET Live: For creating awareness of digital inclusion and accessibility among faculty members and students, a day-long hybrid seminar on "Digital Accessibility Key to Promoting Inclusive University Initiatives in Bangladesh" was held on October 10, 2022, at BUET alongside the Zoom platform.

It was jointly conducted by the Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT) of BUET with the collaboration of Aspire to Innovate (a2i), ICT division, Government of Bangladesh.

The seminar started with a welcome speech by Prof Rubaiyat Hossain Mondal, director of the Institute of Information and Communication Technology, BUET.

Digital accessibilities are getting the greatest attention in higher education institutions in the past few years. While ICT has brought many benefits to students and faculty, it also creates barriers and challenges for students with disabilities due to the inaccessibility of digital tools and learning materials.

Faculty members play an important role in inclusive higher education also they could emphasize the need to train faculty and students about digital accessibility to achieve inclusion in higher education.

Vashkar Bhattacharjee, who has lifetime experiences of visual disability, working as the National Consultant for Accessibility in the (a2i) Program of ICT Division, Bangladesh Government, was the keynote speaker. He discussed the significant obstacles and opportunities faced by disabled students in higher education, as well as the active role of policymakers in Bangladesh.

He also gave a brief overview of multimedia talking books, accessible reading materials, an accessible dictionary, web accessibility, DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System), etc., as well as research directions for digital accessibility on a national scale.

Later Prof Saiful Islam concluded the seminar by thanking all the guests, organizers, facilitators, and participants.

This seminar was graced by Mufti Mahmud, Associate Professor of Nottingham Trent University (UK); Prof Md Liakot Ali, Hossen Asiful Mustafa, Associate Professor, and Md Jarez Miah, Assistant Professor of IICT, BUET and Manik Mahmud, Head of Social Innovation Cluster, a2i. In the near future, BUET and the ICT division intend to host additional workshops and seminars regarding digital accessibility in Bangladesh.

Shafak Shahriar Sozol, a Research Assistant of DIVERSASIA project at BUET, and MM Tariqul Huq, a young professional in the a2i program. ICT Division, Bangladesh, organized the event.

Dhaka, 17 October (campuslive24.com)//BIT