Inventions by two University of Guelph students were among the top 10 Ontario university student entries in a design competition this month intended to remove barriers for people with disabilities.
Zoe Wimmer and Mark Goldberg were recognized by the Council for Ontario Universities’ (COU) annual Innovative Designs for Accessibility (IDeA) student competition. They will showcase their inventions, along with those of the other eight finalists, at the People in Motion exhibition at Toronto’s Exhibition Place on May 29. Winners will be announced that day.
Wimmer’s entry is a study on how communal city gardens can help people with disabilities develop life skills.
Goldberg invented an app that helps people with tremors use various applications on their smartphones more easily.
“An important goal for universities is to get students to think about challenges faced by people with disabilities so that they will carry that awareness into the world and help to break down barriers whenever they come across them,” says COU president and CEO Bonnie Patterson.
The winners and two runners-up will receive prizes of $1,500, $1,000 and $500, respectively.