‘Towards Knowledge for equity’ was the theme of the past Science Swing session that took place on May 14, 14:30 PM, at aTOPlab, at Campus 5 of the Polytechnic of Leiria.

This event brought together Jaime Ribeiro, aTOPlab coordinator and researcher in the area of rehabilitation engineering and assistive technologies, Elisabete Roldão, President of the Portuguese Association of Occupational Therapists with experience in training, consulting and intervention with adults in physical and cognitive rehabilitation, Alexander Kamadu, Executive Director of the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP), from Johannesburg, South Africa and Krithika Kandavel, Programme Manager at ISWP, which has been working closely in ISWP’s wheelchair training activities. 

Krithika Kandavel, invited speaker, led part of the session with her presentation entitled ‘ Development and Evolution of a Hybrid Course on Wheelchair Service Provision for clinicians in international contexts’.

On the other hand, Jaime Ribeiro and Elisabete Roldão shared their experience about ‘A hand assessment medical device’. It was also explained one of the projects that has been developed with the Altice Foundation, which involves the construction of an application that facilitates access to smartphone and tablet functions for users with low motor skills. 

This science swing session aimed to share the speakers’ experience in the development of technologies for inclusion and accessibility, in particular, but also to foster the sharing of knowledge among internal and external researchers, stimulating new scientific partnerships and expanding future collaborative networks.

During their stay, Alexander Kamadu and Krithika Kandavel were also invited to be present at the 5th anniversary of ciTechCare, on may 13-14, which took place at the School of Health Sciences of Polytechnic of Leiria.