Centre for handicapped students

Since 2007 the Centre for handicapped students (CHS) is available at the University of Economics, Prague (UEP). The centre offers mainly technical support and consultancy to students with visual and hearing impairments, as well as to physically handicapped students.

Currently there are 17 handicapped students at the UEP. Five of them are physically handicapped, five of them hearing and seven of them visually impaired. Sometimes all of them need some kind of adjustment of the form of study – a more intensive approach and a possibility to use compensational device during exams.

Visually impaired students can use software and hardware that compensate their disabilities. They can use a study room of the CHS (located in the New Building, room 35b) where laptop with special compensational software is available, as well as four computers with some compensational programmes, table magnifier, Braille printer or Braille display. Thanks to the centre all handicapped students can acquire necessary personal assistance and about 200 study texts in electronic form which help students with problems with classical study materials.

The CHS is also helpful to handicapped university applicants. With the agreement of particular faculty, applicants can take entrance examination in CHS\’s study room with the help of compensational device and time adjustment. The centre also helps applicants with application forms and offers a possibility to take trial entrance examination.

In cooperation with the Centre of Physical Education and Sport the CHS arranges also sport activities for handicapped students. They can attend either special rehabilitative exercise or classic sport courses with other students. Three of them also took part in a sport week course with healthy students.

The CHS is in permanent contact with some employers who are interested in employing handicapped people. Thanks to this, the centre has already found few jobs that students can do during their studies.

Martin Ctibor
shs.vse.cz.