STEM disciplines are now more inclusive

The Department of Mathematics of the University of Padua has collaborated in the development of a new software for the identification and translation of mathematical symbols in order to ensure a more inclusive study of STEM disciplines – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and in particular for people with visual impairment or severe dyslexia.

Specifically, this is the new Italian version of NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access), a screen reader already widely used in the sector, i.e. a computer designed to identify and translate text using voice synthesis or a braille display, but which until now did not allow the interpretation of symbols and mathematical functions used in scientific language.

Thanks to the technical contribution of Alessandra Buratto and Ombretta Gaggi, respectively professors of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Padua, now the software is finally equipped with this function, making STEM disciplines completely accessible to anyone with visual disabilities (blind or severely visually impaired) or a form of severe dyslexia.

The decision to develop, moreover, a device distributed under GPL license, that is a copyleft license for free software that remains so even with the succession of changes and versions, is further evidence of the university’s orientation to consolidate and encourage the inclusion of science in the community that uses these systems.