News and Events

JAWS Scholarship program

Quantum Technology & Freedom Scientific present the JAWS Scholarship Program 2010

Freedom Scientific and Quantum Technology has pledged to make life a little easier for Australians!!!

If you are a vision impaired Australian who would find benefit in having Jaws software in your working or educational environment you are eligible to apply.  The prize is a copy of JAWS for Windows Professional.

JAWS for Windows, screen reading software grabs information from the computer screen and sends it out in synthesised speech feedback. Documents, email and the internet can all be spoken back to vision impaired users.

• Applications close Friday 29 January 2010
• In 500 words or less, tell us why you need a Freedom Scholarship and how it will assist you in your life
• Applications must be attached to an application form
• Application forms can be obtained by contacting Quantum Technology or downloaded from our website at www.quantumtechnology.com.au

Full details on the Jaws Scholarship Program and for copies of the application forms please see our website; www.quantumtechnology.com.au , or contact any of the Quantum Technology offices listed below. Quantum Technology also provides other scholarships for students who are blind or who have a Learning Disability. Call us for further information.

Quantum Technology Pty. Ltd

PO Box 390 , Rydalmere NSW 2116 Australia

Tel: +61 2 8844 9888 Fax: +61 2 9684 4717

info@quantumtechnology.com.au

WYNN Scholarship program

Quantum Technology & Freedom Scientific present the WYNN Scholarship Program 2010

This scholarship is open to any person within Australia or New Zealand who has been assessed as having a learning disability.   The prize is a full copy of WYNN (What You Need Now) software - a program which provides enhanced access to all manner of texts , printed or electronic.

• Applications close Friday 29 January 2010
• In 500 words or less, tell us why you need a WYNN Scholarship and how it will assist you in your life
• Applications must be attached to an application form
• Application forms can be obtained by contacting Quantum Technology or from reception at the Disability Liaison Unit

For further ifnormation contact

Quantum Technology Pty. Ltd

PO Box 390 , Rydalmere NSW 2116 Australia

Tel: +61 2 8844 9888 Fax: +61 2 9684 4717

info@quantumtechnology.com.au

Changes to TTY phone access in DLU Office

Due to substantial changes in the patterns of TTY usage both within the DLU and broader community over the past years, the DLU will no longer have a dedicated incoming TTY phone line in the office.

Communication with and from students who are Deaf, experience a hearing loss or have other communication difficulty has occured primarily by email and SMS and the DLU will continue to ensure multiple modes of communication are available to all students.

The DLU will still be able to accept and make calls via the TTY relay service (ph: 133677) and will still offer a TTY for students to make outgoing calls. Additionally the University will still have muliple TTYs on campus for student use. TTYs for outgoing calls are located in Union House and the Baillieu library.

Vision Australia Further Education Bursaries

The Vision Australia Further Education Bursary 2010 for tertiary students with a vision impairment is now open for applications.  

Visit www.visionaustralia .org /bursary for the application form and more information .

Vision Australia's Further Education Bursaries

Each year Vision Australia awards financial bursaries to tertiary students who are blind or have low vision for the purchase of adaptive technology such as CCTVs, laptops, screen reading and magnification software.

Vision Australia 's Further Education Bursaries aims to assist clients who would not otherwise be able to afford adaptive technology, thus increasing their ability to participate in further education.

Since 1996, 169 bursaries have been awarded by Vision Australia to students studying a broad range of disciplines – from Arts and Music to IT and Business.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible, applicants need to:

• Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Victoria , New South Wales , the Australian Capital Territory , Queensland , the Northern Territory or Tasmania .
• Be (or become) a client of Vision Australia
• Demonstrate the need for financial assistance to purchase adaptive technology
• Be applying for, or enrolled in, a tertiary course graded Certificate IV or above.
• Be available to attend a presentation ceremony in May.

How to apply?

To apply for a bursary, applicants need to:

• Complete an application form – download available from August at www.visionaustralia.org/bursary
• Have an adaptive technology assessment with a Vision Australia consultant
• Provide some documentary evidence (outlined on the application form).

(Applications are treated in the strictest confidence.)

Important dates

Applications open in August and close at the end of October.  Recipients are selected in December, equipment is purchased and delivered after proof of enrolment has been provided (around March) and the Bursaries are presented at ceremonies in May.

For more information contact:

Max Bini E:Max.Bini@visionaustralia.org

Tertiary Education Consultant

University Disability Action Plan 2008 - 2011

The University recently lodged an updated Disability Action Plan with the Australian Human Rights Commission. A copy of this University wide commitment to the participation of people with disability can be downloaded here (66kb | PDF).

The University of Melbourne was the first organisation in Australia to lodge a Disability Action Plan with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. The University recognises the value of the Disability Action Plan as a mechanism for eliminating discrimination on the basis of disability. The updated of the Disability Action Plan reaffirms the University's commitment to the inclusion of people with disability. The Disability Action Plan also maintains a proud and long standing tradition of enabling the participation of people with disability within the University community.

The Action Plan section of the DLU website will be updated in the near future to reflect the updates.

Austalian Disability and Indigenous Peoples' Education Fund

During a rowdy good time for all in Melbourne, the Australian Disability & Indigenous Peoples' Education Fund (ADIPEF) was launched at the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations National Conference dinner on Thursday 28 May 2009.

Following thirty years involvement in disability advocacy, Frank Hall-Bentick has asked his sisters Lesley and Annette and a group of friends Rae, Lyndall, Cath, Ros and Jody to help him setup and run an education fund for people with disability. Titled the Australian Disability and Indigenous Peoples' Education Fund (ADIPEF), the fund will assist indigenous and non-indigenous people with disability to participate in both formal and informal education programs through small grants.

Frank has a life long disability and along with other members of his family has experienced many years of hospitalisation, special schools and disability services. For the last thirty years Frank has been involved in disability advocacy and the empowerment of people with disability locally, nationally and internationally. Realising that the work to empower people with disability is ongoing he has long considered the best way to support this is through further education and learning.

In April 2008 he with his sisters and these friends set up the Australian Disability and Indigenous Peoples' Education Fund (ADIPEF) under the auspice of the Melbourne Community Foundation. This Fund will assist people with disability gain empowerment through access to formal and informal education programs.

They believe the importance of education should not be measured in graduate degrees and diplomas or in salaries people achieve or careers people have undertaken and achieved. The importance of education should be measured by peoples' continual learning of cultures, relationships, history, tolerance and honing the skills to apply this learning.

The Educational Fund will begin in a modest way but we need your help to distribute information about it so we can outreach to as many people with disabilities. Also you can get involved by making a donation to help people access this learning.

Our fund is looking to distribute small quarterly grants of up to $2,500 to assist people with disabilities to continue their learning.

For further information go to our ADIPEF Website at www.adipef.org.au

We look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Frank Hall-Bentick

www.hallbentick.net

www.adipef.org.au

Australasian Network of Students with Disabilities (ANSWD)

ANSWD is a student organisation which advocates, promotes and campaigns on disability issues in the teriarty education field. It is composed of tertiary students with disabilities. ANSWD has an e-mail discussion list which is used as a forum to share information and discuss issues relevant to students with disabilities.

To find out more about ANSWD visit their website.