Hi! I am Natalia and I am originally from Argentina. I am a first-year student in Human-Technology Interaction master’s degree. My background is as a teacher, in my bachelors I studied to be a teacher for students with hearing impairments but while I was studying, in 2012, I did an internship in a school for students with multiple disabilities and I found it fascinating. Being able to communicate with others through non-verbal aspects such as gestures, facial expressions, looks, body movements and pointing was something totally new for me that caught my attention. Since then, I have tried to learn as much as I can about augmentative and alternative communication and teaching strategies for students with multiple disabilities and deafblindness. Now, I am studying at Tampere University because I consider that technology is a tool that can be used by everyone in order to improve independence, communication and daily living skills and I want to help to create accessible designs of different apps, websites, objects, etc.
In my short time as a student at Tampere University, I have seen there are several accessible aspects as elevators, automatic doors, ramps, Braille signs and audio induction loops in some lecture halls that are present. I also like the fact that a student can ask for modifications in the teaching or exam method if they need it. As a member of TACCU I would like to help to arouse awareness of the characteristics of the different disabilities and accessible tools that can be used; in order to build a more inclusive student environment.
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Greetings!
My name is Sini, and I am in my second year of the master’s programme in Multilingual communication and translation studies. Formerly I have a bachelor’s degree in literature, and I have spent the last decade working various jobs, including visual merchandiser, visual artist, and personal assistant for a visually impaired person. I resumed my studies at Tampere university last fall and have found the translation studies highly intriguing. Because of my background, I became interested in the study of accessibility right from the start. I am especially drawn to the subject of audio description and am currently writing my master’s thesis on the audio description of fine art. The process of verbalising visual information fascinates me greatly and I believe there is still much to research and to learn.
I wanted to join TACCU to gain more knowledge and understanding on the various fields of accessibility, and to become a part of a community, which seeks to further equality and inclusiveness at Tampere university and beyond. As a student member of TACCU, I hope to assist in raising awareness about accessibility and to continue to learn more about it.
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Hi everyone! Markus here, a first-year master’s degree Game studies student (wow, that sounds complicated).
Not to make things too easy for myself, I’m also currently finishing my bachelor’s in Media studies. So, plenty of books, eh? In game studies, I’m most interested in game accessibility, game design, narratives, player experiences, and representations. I’m also a father of a two-year-old and disabled due to a car crash in 2010.
Ambivert defines me best, so I’m jovial and social, but enjoy peace and solitude. Outside of University, my interests are in playing and thinking about games, game accessibility, and game culture (big surprise), discussing all the matters of life and death, watching series, movies, and football (força barça!), and also – UFC is my endless guilty pleasure.
Physical and digital accessibilities are concrete concerns for me because of my wheelchair and disability. Thereby, I’ve encountered multiple accessibility barriers at the university. For example, some doors and doorways are tight, have rather big doorsteps, and plenty of doors don’t have motors or automatics. Especially, during the most challenging times of pandemic, all doors were closed meaning that they only opened with a key card – which is impossible for me. Fortunately, the situation is better now and I can always ping the university office to potentially fix the accessibility barriers.
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Hello there! I am Elsa, sixth year social work student. In social work field, I’m interested specially in equality and social justice, which is why I did my second internship as part of my studies in Advisory Board for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and in National Advisory Board on Romani Affairs. Working as an intern in both advisory boards was very interesting and taught me a lot about accessibility. Promoting equality in every aspect of life is my big goal in life.
I wanted to join Taccu to gain more knowledge about accessibility – I have a lot to learn about this field. As a full-time wheelchair user accessibility – or lack of it – has become very familiar to me I also want to be part of making accessibility better known and taking into notice in the university and in student organizations. Many student organizations say they are equal and free from discrimination, but still host events in places that are not accessible for all. Accessibility is so much more than elevators and ramps. Accessibility is not a privilege, it’s a right, and everyone may need it at some point in their lives.
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