Bangalore: Mphasis, an IT services and solutions provider, set up a Research Chair for Digital Accessibility & Inclusion in partnership with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB). The Mphasis Chair for Digital Accessibility & Inclusion will focus on: building technology to help Persons with Disabilities (PwD) overcome accessibility barriers; promoting research around disability and advocating digital accessibility solutions; publishing global best practices in the area of accessibility for PwD with a large focus on digital accessibility; structuring and crafting strategic roadmap for organizational policy makers, researchers, practitioners and students to address critical gaps in research and development in digital accessibility.
Dr. Mukta Kulkarni, whose research interest is in the area of organizational diversity management and forms of social inclusion and has a published body of work in the area in international journals, is the Digital Accessibility & Inclusion Research Chair at IIMB.“We all have different degrees of abilities and different types of abilities. So, when we refer to this group called persons with disabilities, we are not looking at some ‘other’; we are looking at us,” observed Dr. Mukta Kulkarni, adding that the partnership with Mphasis would certainly provide a fillip to sustained studies in the area of social inclusion.
“We are glad to partner with Indian Institute of Management Bangalore in an effort to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people with disability. We believe the partnership with IIMB is well timed and offers perfect collaboration of IIMB’s expertise in the area of research and talent,” said Ganesh Ayyar, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director, Mphasis. “We are really excited about the partnership with Mphasis.
As an institute, IIMB wants to be inclusive in all aspects especially with regard to students with disabilities, whose needs we proactively address. In a sense, IIMB meets the requirements of students with disabilities in a holistic manner. The Research Chair is yet another step forward in making a difference in the area of inclusion,” said Professor R Srinivasan, Director Incharge, IIM Bangalore.
