The equipment will allow more than twenty students to have fundamental tools for the development of their studies.
La Universidad Nacional de Rosario delivered tablets to students with neurodiversity and/or disabilities, equipment that will ensure that 22 students from different faculties have better access to study materials and tools during their careers.
This activity was carried out from the "Understand" Project, co-financed by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union, which aims to improve access, permanence, graduation and employment prospects for people with neurodiverse conditions and/or disabilities in our country. . It is coordinated by the University of Coventry, United Kingdom and the UNR is part of the 9 international partners that make it up.
Present during the event were the rector Franco Bartolacci, the Secretary of the Human Rights Area, Paula Contino; the person in charge of the Internationalization Area, Patricia Rojo (who in turn is the Coordinator of the Understand Project for the UNR); and the Director of Inclusion and Accessibility of the Human Rights Area, Miriam Bidyeran.
Rector Bartolacci commented that it is very important to take charge of this issue and work collectively in order to continue building a more inclusive and committed University. “We are interested in paying off historical debts that are owed to the University. In general, these issues have received little attention and we are committed to being able to put them on the agenda to give them the value they deserve”, adding: “There are many actions we have been carrying out in terms of accessibility and this is where we have made the most progress in a short time. . But even so, we know that there is still a lot to do."
In turn, he confirmed that there are no transformations that can be made without a good diagnosis. “That is why we understand why it is necessary to carry out this process. Accessibility from another place is only now being thought of, but before it was only associated with problems arising from architecture. However, we know that there are barriers in all areas and we are committed to reviewing them and promoting the changes that are necessary to make the UNR much more inclusive. It is a priority of our management”.
For her part, Miriam Bidyeran, commented that "this is a project that we are closing today, on which we have been working for more than three years with a great team made up of two areas."
The Director of Inclusion and Accessibility valued all the work that has been carried out, highlighting the spaces for articulation with the different academic units. “We know that students' paths are not only configured based on a personal trajectory but also by the contexts, difficulties and obstacles that may exist. With this we seek to encourage the desire to study and continue working around the barriers that still exist in university life.
Virginia Ferreyra, a member of the Internationalization Area team, stressed that the idea of this project was always to expand opportunities within the University. “We seek to generate opportunities for students, and among them the purchase of equipment was promoted in order to improve study conditions. We also think about what happens next with the student, so an application was generated so they can look for jobs. We encourage inclusive companies to register. The app is created and in a short time we will put it into operation”.
Finally, Ana Balbo, psychologist from the Institutional Pedagogical Accompaniment Program for Students with Disabilities, explained that students are accompanied in a particular way, making continuous monitoring. “We work on each case looking for the difficulties and promoting solutions to them. Every year we communicate with the students pre-registered in our careers, and we begin a work of continuous accompaniment from the moment they enter the University”.
“I am going to take advantage of the tablet to use with the texts and thus study all the contents. I want to thank the University for taking us into account”, said Andrés Pini, a Social Work student
“It seems to me that it is very good to have access to a tablet, since it helps us to continue developing in our career. It will help me a lot to study since everything I do I do through the computer. I wanted to thank everyone for this opportunity and the chance to continue studying”, explained Ana Javier, a Psychology student.
Journalist: Gonzalo J. García / Photographer: Camila Casero