Department of Special Education Students Won Minister’s Award at the Digital Issue Paper Contest
- Date2024.10.30
- 19101
Kim Ju-sung, a doctoral student, and Kim Seung-yeon and Lee Jeong-ah, both master's students in the Department of Special Education, won the Minister's Award at the Digital Issue Paper Contest.
The Ministry of Science and ICT hosted the contest to raise awareness and interest among digital natives (youth and university students) regarding issues that occur in the digital world, and to discover outstanding research and ideas on policy measures.
The paper by the team from our university, titled "Exploring the Accessibility Support Needs for the Visually Impaired: Multidimensional Support Measures at Welfare Centers, Businesses, and Government Levels” won the top prize, the Minister's Award, and a cash prize of 3 million won after passing through the first and second rounds of written reviews and comprehensive evaluations, competing against 26 teams. The paper proposes policy directions related to improving digital accessibility and securing alternative measures, key tasks of digital issues. It suggests not only AI technology but also multi-level support measures involving welfare centers, businesses, and government, and addresses specific, practical directions for policy formulation and service development related to information accessibility, which was highly recognized. Seven of the ten participants in the research are visually impaired, and the discussions reflecting their perspectives on user experience were also rated at a high score.
Kim Ju-sung presented the impact of digital technological innovations, including AI, on the information accessibility of the visually impaired, emphasizing the need for policy efforts such as the implementation of assistive technology, improvements in the education system, and enhanced the importance of businesses and the government taking responsibility. Kim particularly stressed the need to redefine the concept of assistive devices to request further expansion of budget support.
All team members who received the award are graduate students participating in the fourth-stage BK program "FleXpert Special Education Expert Training Team for the Transition to a Sustainable Society" in the Department of Special Education. This research was supported by the Special Education and Social Science Research Support (SSK) project called ‘Transition to an Inclusive and Sustainable Disability-Friendly Digital Society (led by Professor Lee Young-seon)’.