NISH National Scholar Award for Workplace Innovation and Design

Applications for the 2007-2008 NISH National Scholar Award for Workplace Innovation and Design application are due April 11, 2008. NISH established the National Scholar Award to encourage university-level students to reach out to people with severe disabilities in their communities and to design creative technological solutions to barriers that prevent them from entering or advancing in the workplace. A student or group of students works with their local NISH-affiliated community rehabilitation programs to identify a workplace barrier and develop an accommodation.

Three awards of up to $10,000 are given for an assistive technology device that reflects exemplary application of engineering and design to a workplace challenge, as well as consideration of additional factors encountered by people with disabilities in today’s society - economics, ease of use, safety, universality and availability of technology. NISH also awards matching grants to the university and (if involved) affiliated CRPs that have partnered with the student teams.

For more information about the Scholar Award program, contact Therese Stein, associate manager, NISH Government Affairs & Workforce Development, at 571/226-4628 or tstein@nish.org. For more information about NISH and its affiliate programs, visit: http://www.nish.org