BFWD and Assistec: Two University Degrees Relevant to Design for All: Accessible Web Design and Assistive Technologies

At the university of Linz two distance education based courses have been established which offer an official university degree to the participants. They contribute to raise the competence and the awareness in the fields of • Accessible Web Design • Assistive Technology Application Both areas, in particular in related research and development activities, have established a considerable body of knowledge over the last years. The level of complexity of the technological knowledge and the complex situations of application ask for according teaching and training possibilities as it can not be expected that practice is able to adapt to this changing situation by itself. In accordance to that it is often stated that the application of newest Assistive Technologies (AT), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and also the practice of implementing accessible web systems is lacking. By putting these two course in place an appropriate answer to the challenging technical developments and chances should be given that the increasing potential of ICT and AT can be used in practice for the benefit of people with disabilities.