Prof. Dr. Alireza Darvishy
Zurich University of Applied Sciences/
Institute of Applied Information Technology
Zurich, Switzerland
With a career spanning more than 25 years, Dr. Darvishy has dedicated his life to empowering people with disabilities through cutting-edge accessible technology. As a professor at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, he serves as the head of the ICT Accessibility Lab, where he oversees research and development of ICT-based solutions for people with disabilities and the elderly.
Despite the onset of a severe visual impairment at the age of 15, he succeeded in earning his Ph.D. in computer science. In addition to his academic career, he carried out several groundbreaking accessibility projects in Switzerland, including talking ATMs for people with low vision.
Dr. Darvishy currently serves as the president of a Special Interest Group on accessibility with the Swiss Computer Association, and acts as a reviewer for various European research projects. In 2016, the importance of his work was acknowledged with UNESCO’s prestigious Prize for Digital Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.