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Council of Ontario Universities Innovative Designs for Accessibility (IDeA) competition

Ontario university students are being challenged to put their creative minds to work to develop solutions that will make the world more accessible for people with disabilities, including new IDeAs for devices, software, architectural design, awareness campaigns, or policies.

The Innovative Designs for Accessibility (IDeA) competition is being organized by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU), in partnership with the Government of Ontario. The province-wide initiative is being overseen by the IDeA Working Group, comprised of representatives from engineering and design Faculties at several Ontario universities.

"Ontario universities are strongly committed to the important goal of leading the country towards greater accessibility," says Alastair Summerlee, Chair of COU and the President of the University of Guelph. "Tapping into the innovative capabilities of our students is an excellent way to build awareness and to advance ideas that lead to a more accessible world."

Students will vie for $3,000 in prizes with entries that must address barriers to accessibility in five categories: attitudinal, physical/structural, information and communications, technological, and systemic.

Student contestants can find rules and registration information at www.cou.on.ca/IDeA.
All submissions are due to your institution specific contact by March 31, 2012.
Finalists from each institution, in each category, will be reviewed by a panel of experts and may be eligible for reimbursement of up to $100 for their production costs.*

The following prizes will be awarded to the overall top three submissions:

    1st place - $1,500
    2nd place - $1,000
    3rd place - $500

A selection of overall finalists will be invited to showcase their designs at an event in May 2012, which will bring together key players from industry, academia, government, the investment community, entrepreneurs and students to pursue collaborative opportunities for innovation.

Council of Ontario Universities
180 Dundas Street West
Suite 1100
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z8
Tel: 416-979-2165
Fax: 416-979-8635