Aspiring to help people with disabilities through their research, a group of researchers at Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) successfully earned two awards at the same time. These awards were achieved at the 2024 Learning Innovation and Technology for Students with Disabilities Program, on Friday, December 20, 2024. 

The research team, consisting of academicians from the Humanities Faculty and the Computer Science Faculty at Udinus, earned the awards in the ‘Learning Innovation’ category. These two awards are second place in the Best Execution category and second place in the Best Poster Category. The team was awarded for their research entitled 'The Development of IPA Chart Assistive Learning Media (I-CAN) as an Assistive Media of International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Learning for Blind Students.’

The research was conducted by three lecturers from the Humanities Faculty, including Dr. Raden Arief Nugroho, S.S., M.Hum., Anisa Larassati, S.S., M.Ling., and Nina Setyaningsih, S.S., M.Hum. Furthermore, it also involved Prof. Dr. Muljono, S.Si., M.Kom., a professor from the Informatics Department at Udinus, to develop the app.

Raden Arief Nugroho, the Leader of the Team and the Dean of the Humanities Faculty, explained that the research was about a braille card equipped with NFC technology. It serves as a way to help blind students learn Phonetics and Phonology. 

“Phonetics and Phonology explore the sounds of language in the form of IPA table and diagram. Unlike conventional alphabets, this type of alphabet comes in a different form. Thus, this device will help blind students who struggle to understand the alphabet,” he highlighted. 

At the program, which was held by the Directorate of Learning and Student Affairs, there were 56 proposals that were funded. The research team from Udinus submitted the proposal in April 2024, with the proposal being selected online. In December 2024, the team finally disseminated their research in Jakarta. 

As stated by Anisa Larassati, one of the team members, this Braille NFC Card research was an achievement as it successfully fulfilled the output targets. These outputs are teaching tools, a website, a lesson plan, a bool, intellectual rights, and a reputable journal article. 

The team’s poster, which won second place in the Best Poster category, contained a brief explanation concerning the Braille NFC Card innovation. 

“Our research team is awarded for our administrative excellence and expected outputs. Hopefully, this innovation will not only help blind students from Udinus but also other blind students in various regions,” Anisa uttered. (Humas Udinus/Haris. Foto: Humas Udinus)