Students will tomorrow (15 September) take up the challenge of finding solutions to day-to-day problems faced by the blind and partially sighted.
Six from Edinburgh Napier will be among those taking part in the two-day TechShare Europe conference at the Glasgow Science Centre.
Organised by the charity RNIB, the event brings together global players like Microsoft, Google and Apple to explore how new technology can transform the aids and adaptations that people with sight loss use for everyday living.
The students will form teams that sit in on conference sessions and talk to blind and partially sighted people about obstacles they face at home and outside.
They will then brainstorm ideas among themselves and pitch solutions to some of the problems identified at the end of the conference next day. Each team will be expected to produce a rough prototype that will have a life beyond the event.
The participating students from Edinburgh Napier are;
• Darren Wilkie, BA (Hons) Popular Music (4th Year)
• Diego Castiblanco, Design & Digital Arts (4th Year)
• Favour Ajah, Adult Nursing (3rd Year)
• Ravind Gowda, MSc Computing
• Lucia Moreno, Product Design Engineering (3rd year)
• Allison Dickson, BSc Digital Media (3rd year)
The student challenge is being organised by the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, which helps students develop enterprise skills, discover their entrepreneurial talent and start up their own ventures.
Ann Davidson, SIE enterprise programme director, said; "The emphasis will be on technical solutions, not just apps. We expect to see innovations in areas like wearable technology, for example. We are giving the students space to be creative, to understand their customers, and come up with something that is really desirable."
Around two million people across the UK are blind or have significant sight loss.