Indra and the National University Of Cordoba, Argentina, Create the First Accessible Technologies Chair in Lain America
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Indra, one of the leading IT multinationals in Europe and Latin America, and the National University of Cordoba in Argentina (UNC) have signed an agreement to develop the first Accessible Technologies Chair in Latin America. This initiative is part of Indra's corporate responsibility strategy.
The chair, which will be established at the Mathematics, Astronomy and Physics school (FaMAF) of the UNC, seeks to boost the innovation and technology development in the sector of accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities in Argentina and Latin America.
The first project will be the start up of an Accessibility Observatory which will assess the current situation of Accessible Technologies in Latin America especially in Argentina. For this purpose, Indra will subsidise a grant for a PhD. course to carry out a study in three areas: web accessibility; accessible communications and audio visual digital systems as well as accessibility to mobile devices and terminals.
It is worth mentioning that the UNC, through the FaMAF, will be the first institution outside Spain to host a Chair of this type. This decision reinforces Indra's commitment to the region where the company set up a software lab in 2004 which employs 100 professionals. It is part of Indra's software lab network, consisting of over 20 centres-distributed across Europe, Asia and Latin America. The centres employ more than 4,000 specialists in high-level software development.
Accessible Technologies Chairs
The agreement with the UNC joins the other four Chairs established by Indra in Spain and in cooperation with Adecco Foundation, the universities of Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Lleida and the Technical University of Madrid. The Chairs seek to develop avant-garde technology solutions and services to enhance a degree of independence in areas such as access to education or employment, etc for people with disabilities.
Through this initiative Indra intends to become an international model regarding excellence in the development of accessible technologies, the cooperation model and university-company technology transfer.
More than 12 R&D&I projects have been delivered within the framework of these Chairs. Among them we should highlight HeadMouse-a free virtual mouse which enables people with disabilities to use a computer by means of a webcam and the movements of the head and face; or the VirtualKeyboard, a virtual keyboard, free as well, which allows typing. The HeadMouse has been downloaded 280,000 times and the Virtual Keyboard 7,500 all over the world since they were launched.
Both solutions were presented in Argentina last May and the month following, the solution was downloaded 1,800 times, making up a 43% of the global amount. Argentina was on top of the ranking in June with Brazil following with an 18%.
Indra in Argentina
Indra has been present in Argentina since 2003. It has set up three software labs which work as state-of-the-art R&D laboratories. The labs employ more than 1,100 highly qualified professionals specialised in technology and business.
Indra is the premier Information Technology company in Spain and a leading IT multinational in Europe and Latin America. It is ranked as the first European company in its sector according to investment in R&D and is the second Spanish company in absolute value investments in R&D. In 2009 revenues reached 2,513 M of which a 40% came from the international market. The company employs more than 30,000 professionals and has clients in more than 100 countries.
