CenterAustria Holds International Exchange Program For Students With Disabilities

May 03, 2011

Visiting students listen to a lecture at the UNO Training, Resource and Assistive Technology Center

CenterAustria at the University of New Orleans is coordinating a unique international exchange program for college students with disabilities. Working with the University of Innsbruck, CenterAustria is hosting eight college students for two weeks at the Training, Resource and Assistive Technology Center, a building noted for its accessibility features on the UNO campus.

The students, from the University of Innsbruck and the University of Graz, are taking classes for credit and participating in field trips to Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Reserve, the French Quarter, Laura Plantation in St. James Parish and the 9th Ward to study post-Katrina New Orleans.

One of the visiting students is Claudia Loesch, a political science major in Innsbruck and gold medal-winning skier at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver. Prior to their arrival in New Orleans on April 25, the students visited Washington, D.C. They will depart New Orleans on Friday, May 6.

The goal of the program is to promote participation by students with disabilities in international exchange programs so that all students have the opportunity to experience education abroad. The program is designed to create education and awareness about the abilities of all people.

Since 1982, UNO has organized an Austrian Student Program in which students spend a month studying at an American university. UNO is proud to expand this successful program to students with disabilities. According to Gunter Bischof, director of CenterAustria, the program represents a first in international mobility.

CenterAustria Holds International Exchange Program For Students With Disabilities

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