Dr Annalu Waller, lecturer in Applied Computing, has recently returned from an eight week trip as visiting scholar at the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Sydney.
Annalu contributed to the teaching, research, clinical education and post graduate student research activities in the school and spent time in Sydney, Perth and Adelaide. Her contribution has been rewarded with an appointment to the post of adjunct lecturer at the University of Sydney. She said, "My appointment is really good for Dundee. It shows we are internationally renowned in research and teaching. The trip boosted my realisation that the work being carried out in Dundee is world class".
Another outcome of the trip was a three-year research proposal in collaboration with Dr Susan Balandin and Dr William Thorpe at the University of Sydney. The proposal is to examine problems between children with complex physical and communication disability (CPCD) and nurses - and use these problems to build a prototype interactive multimedia database that will facilitate better communication.
Annalu explained, "Although technology has enabled us to develop better communication methods, the devices we use are still restrictive in many ways. They don’t allow people to express their individuality, who they are. Without being able to express our personalities we don’t develop as people - we are our stories."
A highlight of the trip was being able to make use of the more accessible transport: "Being able to get down to the bus stop, get on a bus into Sydney and then onto a boat that toured around Sydney harbour, all without having to get off my scooter was fantastic. You see more disabled people in Australia because it is a more accessible society. It was a delight to spend nine weeks working with colleagues at the University of Sydney. The success of the collaboration has cemented the relationship between Dundee and Sydney Universities."