Presentation of lecturers
Thomas Ragnarsson is a counsellor at the Swedish Agency for Special Needs Education. He also works at the National Centre for Deafblind Issues (Nkcdb) with assistive technology and new technology. Thomas is a trained teacher and vision educator and has experience from the school authority and the vision centre, as well as SPRIDA. SPRIDA is part of Örebro County's assistive technology organisation, which adapts computer equipment and develops software for people with disabilities. Together with Henrik Hildemar, he will talk about "Congenital deafblindness and technology in an interdisciplinary perspective".
Henrik Hildemar works as an ICT educator and has a coordinating role in this area at Mo Gård. He is a trained teacher in physics, chemistry and biology and has worked extensively with development issues around digitalisation in schools. Henrik works in an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary team called the support team. The team serves all housing units and day-to-day operations with education, activities and counselling. Henrik has participated extensively in networks and given lectures in the area of ICT and deafblindness in the Nordic region.
Together with Thomas Ragnarsson, he will talk about "Congenital deafblindness and technology in an interdisciplinary perspective."
Molly Watt is from Maidenhead, Berkshire in England, and has Usher syndrome. She is the founder of the Molly Watt Trust, an organisation that raises awareness of Usher syndrome and how people with the condition can benefit from ICT solutions. Molly works as a consultant in UX, accessibility and usability. She is a sought-after speaker specialising in technology and design and has been nominated for a number of awards for her work. Her theme for the conference is Assistive tech, accessibility and usability
Rolf Lund, is a vision educator and has a master's degree in low vision optics. He is also a specialist in educational psychological counselling. He has been an amanuensis at the University of Oslo, head of the vision and audio education service in Aust-Agder county, entrepreneur and general manager of his own technology company. He has been involved in many international organisations and development projects, and is still active in relation to vision rehabilitation in China. Rolf is now employed as a researcher at Eikholt. At the ICT conference he will give a presentation on AR glasses, augmented reality. Download Rolf Lund's presentation here (PDF)
John Ulriksen is a senior advisor within ICT at Eikholt. He is educated in programming, maths and languages. John has worked in an assistive technology company for the visually impaired and run his own business. He is visually impaired (blind), works with peer counselling and is a rehabilitation contact for the Norwegian Association of the Blind. He has extensive experience and a great commitment to teaching and counselling. This is also what we will hear about in his and Kari Shcjøll Brede's presentation "Per's way into the world of ICT". Click here to see the presentation "Per's way into the world of ICT" (prezi).
Linda Eriksson has a bachelor's degree in philosophy with sign language as her main subject. She is an educator focusing on communication and deafblind interpreting at the National Knowledge Centre for Deafblind Issues (Nkcdb) in Sweden. Previously, Linda worked as a teacher at the sign language interpreter and deafblind interpreter programme at Fellingbro Folk High School and she is one of the authors of the book "Dövblindtolkning - ett studiematerial" (Deafblind interpreting - a study material) and is active in the Swedish Deafblind Association, FSDB. Her theme at the conference is ICT - opportunities and obstacles. Download the presentation "Deafblindness and technology" here (pptx).
Anita Schjøll Brede will talk about the human aspect of technology and new ways of being in social interaction. Anita is a founder and has been named one of the world's most innovative people on the Forbes list of the world's Tech women. She travels the world sharing her knowledge. Anita will give a presentation on "The human aspect of technology": technology and artificial intelligence should be tools, not something that replaces e.g. human contact. New ways of being in social interaction. Download Anita's presentation here (PDF)
Nasrine Olson has a PhD in Library and Information Science and works as an associate professor at SSLIS at the University of Borås. She also leads the Social Media Studies research group at the University of Borås. Nasrine has participated in and led numerous research projects, and is now the coordinator of a three-year EU-funded project called SUITCEYES. This project consists of seven partners from seven different EU countries and aims to develop intelligent haptic communication technology for people with deafblindness. Together with Nils Krister Persson, she presents Haptic Communication for Participation and Inclusion. Download Nasrine's presentation here (PDF)
Nils-Krister Persson is Associate Professor and Head of Research in Smart Textiles at the University of Borås. He is educated in physics and mathematics and has a PhD in materials science, organic electronics and molecular science. Together with Nasrine Olson, he will present Haptic Communication for Participation and Inclusion.
Rolf Mjønes works as an Audiographer at Eikholt. He has helped to build up the AV clinic at Eikholt as a unique place where vision and hearing are assessed and customised in combination. Rolf is genuinely interested in technology and what it can do for the everyday lives of deafblind people. His presentation is a case from "reality", mobility technology. Click here to see the presentation "Mobility technology" (prezi).
Silvija Seres is a mathematician and technology investor. She has a background in algorithm research at Oxford, development of the search engine Alta Vista in Silicon Valley, strategic management at Fast Search and Transfer, and service development at Microsoft. She now works as a board member in several large companies, including Oslo Børs and NRK, and as an active investor in several technology companies. Silvija will take us into the digital future and accessibility. Download the presentation "Digital Future" here (pptx).
Kari Schjøll Brede works as a senior advisor at Eikholt. Sign language, tactile communication and congenital deafblindness are among her main areas of work. Kari is also the mother of a young woman with congenital deafblindness. It was her daughter who got her interested in sign language and later trained as an interpreter, as well as studying communication and congenital deafblindness. She holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Groningen. Together with John Ulriksen, she will present how we at Eikholt guide users into the world of ICT. Click here to see the presentation "Per's way into the world of ICT" (prezi).