Teach Access: Preparing Computing Students for Industry (Abstract Only)

This lightning talk will introduce Teach Access (www.teachaccess.org) an initiative comprised of technology industry professionals and educators working together to make accessibility foundational to higher education degrees. Technology companies dedicated to accessibility have faced the common challenge of hiring designers, engineers and researchers with accessibility knowledge/experience that are prepared to build inclusive products and services. Similarly, academic programs in design, engineering and HCI are seeking ways to better prepare students for jobs in industry that require them to address accessibility and the needs of society's diverse populations. Given this shared challenge, industry, academia and advocacy have come together through the Teach Access initiative to create new models for teaching and training students of technology to create accessible experiences. Teach Access membership includes companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and several other tech leaders, as well as leading academic institutions like the University of Washington, Stanford, MIT, CMU, the Cal State System and more. Teach Access has successfully launched an accessibility tutorial for public consumption as well as submitting comments to ABET addressing the inclusion of accessibility in accreditation. Our participation in SIGCES is important to evangelize our efforts and build a cohesive community between industry and education.