NTID receives $500,000 to work with Hungarian schools

Thanks to a $500,000 grant from George Soros' Open Society Institute, a first-of-its- kind partnership called Project Access has been formed between the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and the eight schools serving deaf students in Hungary.

Robert Davila (right), vice president, NTID, and Egon Toth, director, Budapest School for the Deaf, view the Project Access page in NTID's learning center, which includes multi-based technologies.

The funds will help NTID faculty train Hungarian teachers in the latest information technologies and provide updated curriculum and state-of-the-art computers. Fourteen Hungarian educators recently spent a week at RIT working closely with NTID faculty during the first phase of Project Access. NTID faculty will travel to Hungary in April.

"This new partnership with Hungary demonstrates NTID's commitment to programs that are relevant to the changing occupational needs of society," said Robert Davila, vice president for NTID. "We're looking forward to a long, mutually beneficial relationship."

Hungary was chosen for this project due to OSI's particular interest in Central and Eastern Europe. RIT/NTID was chosen for its international experience and expertise in deafness and advanced technology. Since 1990, RIT has developed technology transfer projects and educational programs in 10 countries of Central and Eastern Europe. NTID has reciprocal relationships with universities in China, Japan, Russia and Thailand.

Project Access includes four phases: introducing Hungarian faculty to computer and Internet use in educating deaf youth in the United States; installing hardware and software; intensive training for faculty and administrators at each of the schools in Hungary; and developing a Hungarian deaf education home page to be operated by Hungarian teachers and students.

James DeCaro, former dean of NTID, and Kenneth Nash, director of international partnerships, developed the project with Hungarian colleagues Egon Toth, director of the Budapest School for the Deaf, and Istvan Muzsnai, faculty member of the Budapest School for the Deaf.

"Teaching computer technology to our deaf students will greatly enhance their chances of succeeding in the job market," Toth said. "Right now, less than 15 percent of deaf students ever get their high school diploma, and most are employed in vocational trades."

"We're confident NTID's faculty can help Hungarian teachers and their deaf students realize their full technological potential," said George Soros, chair of OSI, a private operating and grant-making foundation that promotes the development of open societies around the world.