Vision Empower

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Vision Empower Vision Empower is working on research and design of programs to make STEM education inclusive and accessible for students with visual impairments.

21/09/2026

We are thrilled to share a milestone in accessible learning!

A collaborative initiative of Cognizant Foundation India and Vision Empower, the Digital Accessible Resource Centre (D-ARC) -a first-of-its-kind accessible learning space in India has been established at Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys’ Academy (RKM BBA), Narendrapur, Kolkata.

Designed with a particular focus on students with visual impairment and other disabilities, D-ARC brings accessible digital content, assistive technologies, STEM, coding, robotics, artificial intelligence, and hands-on learning together under one roof.

Its four interconnected zones - Sparsh Science Studio, Sristi Tech Lab, Shruti Digital Literacy and Reading Corner, and a shared convening space offer exciting opportunities for students to explore, create, collaborate, and learn with confidence.

🎥 Watch the video to see the remarkable transformation of a conventional space into a vibrant, accessible, and future-ready learning environment.

Video Description:
The video traces the transformation of a conventional space at RKM BBA, Narendrapur, into the Digital Accessible Resource Centre. It shows glimpses of the space during its development, the completed learning zones with accessible resources and technology, students and educators exploring the facilities, and moments from the inauguration ceremony.

This initiative was made possible with the invaluable support of our CSR partner, Cognizant Foundation India; the leadership and support of RKMBBA and the Department of Mass Education Extension and Library Sciences; and our knowledge, technology, and design partners - Imagine Studio, Vembi Technologies, uDot, CURIOUSCITY Science Center, and STEMpedia.

The inauguration ceremony was graced by the presence of Mr. Sudip Mukherjee, Additional Secretary, Mass Education Extension and Library Services, Government of West Bengal; Mr. Tapu Basu, DMEEO, South 24 Parganas, Government of West Bengal; Mr. Syed Tanvir Hussain from Cognizant; Mr. Edwin Moses from Cognizant Foundation India; Swami Vasavananda and Swami Mahananda from RKM BBA, along with other distinguished guests, educators, and students.

We invite students and educators from other institutions to come and explore its facilities and opportunities.

🌍 URGENT CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS! 🎬Our students with visual impairment are working on sustainability and environmental proje...
15/09/2026

🌍 URGENT CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS! 🎬

Our students with visual impairment are working on sustainability and environmental projects.

They need your help to transform their learning into engaging and accessible video reports.

You can support them by:

🎬 Compiling video clips and photographs

✂️ Editing and structuring video reports

📝 Adding captions, titles, and credits

You don’t need to be a professional filmmaker! Basic video-editing or storytelling skills and a willingness to help are enough.

⏳ We have limited time, so every bit of support matters. Whether you can contribute 1–2 hours on a weekday, help over a weekend, or give us more time, we would be deeply grateful.

🏅 Volunteers will receive a certificate of appreciation from Vision Empower.

📩 Interested? Email [email protected] and copy [email protected].

Please share and help us reach someone who can support these young changemakers! 💚

12/09/2026

🏆 Celebrating the Stars of Team VE! 🏆

Every achievement at Vision Empower is powered by the dedication, passion, and collective spirit of our team.

We are delighted to celebrate our colleagues who were recognised during the previous quarter for their outstanding contributions across the following categories:

🌟 Long Service Award: Honouring years of dedicated service and commitment - Rishi Vadhana Chandru and Jaya Rajesh

🌟 Star of the Field Award: Recognising exceptional efforts and impact in the field - Sonali Kharade, Rakesh L., Anindita Jana, Vaishnavi P. and Michi Payang

🌟 Tech Saathi Award: Celebrating valuable contributions through technology-Chandrakiran HJ

🌟 Shiksha Saathi Award: Appreciating dedication towards accessible learning -Priya Patel and Sai Nikitha

🌟 Special Mention: Recognising individuals who went the extra mile -Abhigyan Hota, Smitarani panda and Vivitha C.

Congratulations to all our awardees! Your commitment inspires us and strengthens our shared mission of making education more accessible, inclusive, and empowering.

Every time we open the door to a new accessible science lab in a school, we open many more doors of opportunity for chil...
09/09/2026

Every time we open the door to a new accessible science lab in a school, we open many more doors of opportunity for children with visual impairment - to discover, experiment, ask questions, and develop a lifelong love for science and technology.

We recently inaugurated an Accessible Science Lab at JSB School for the Blind, Ramanagara, Karnataka, supported by One Advanced. With this inauguration, Advanced has now supported the establishment of six accessible science labs in total, helping bring hands-on STEM learning to more children with visual impairment.

The new lab is providing more than 90 students with opportunities to experience hands-on science through accessible learning resources, computational thinking games, and assistive technologies. It builds on the longstanding commitment of JSB School for the Blind, a 40-year-old institution, to the education and development of children with visual impairment.

During the inauguration, Mrs. Leelavathi, Headmistress, beautifully described Vision Empower’s role through an analogy: just as health supplements support good health, Vision Empower complements science teaching by providing accessible resources, tools, and support that help students become stronger and more confident in science.

Mr. Girish, Managing Director, One Advanced, shared an equally powerful thought:

“Rather than just housing tactile tools and apparatus, this lab should serve as an environment driven entirely by inquiry, exploration, and curiosity.”

Our sincere thanks to One Advanced for its partnership and commitment to accessible STEM education, and to the One Advanced delegates - Mr. Girish, Managing Director; Mr. Kotresh, Director; Mrs. Bala, Cyber Security Head; Mr. Vijay, HR Head; and Mrs. Sarmishta, Marketing Manager, for joining us and celebrating this milestone.

05/09/2026

At Vision Empower, we believe teachers are key to creating the change we work toward - making STEM education more interesting, accessible, and meaningful for students with visual impairment.

We are proud to work alongside so many dedicated teachers. Some come to us eager to explore new ideas, while others discover new possibilities through the trainings, resources, and experiences we share. They learn, experiment, adapt, ask questions, and often step beyond what is familiar to find better ways to reach their students.

What inspires us most is their willingness to embrace change, try new pedagogies and technologies, acquire new skills, and wear multiple hats in the classroom—teacher, friend, technologist, playmate, and more. Every effort they make ultimately has one purpose: to help their students learn with confidence, discover their abilities, and move closer to their dreams.

To all the teachers who keep learning so their students can learn, who believe in every child’s potential, and who walk alongside them as they dream bigger - our heartfelt thanks.

Happy Teachers’ Day! 💐
With gratitude, from all of us at Vision Empower.


🐝 The HIVE is buzzing again!After a pause, The HIVE — Highlights and Insights from Vision Empower, our newsletter is bac...
03/09/2026

🐝 The HIVE is buzzing again!

After a pause, The HIVE — Highlights and Insights from Vision Empower, our newsletter is back with stories, updates and developments from across Vision Empower.

From accessible classrooms and hands-on science learning to teacher development, summer programmes, innovations and the incredible people making inclusion possible, The HIVE brings together stories of people, possibilities and learning without barriers.

This edition captures highlights from Quarter 1 (April–June 2026). Come see what’s been happening inside The HIVE:

🔬 Science becoming more hands-on and accessible
👩‍🏫 Teachers taking inclusive learning to new regions
☀️ Learning continuing through the summer
💡 New ideas supporting confidence and independence
🤝 Volunteers turning ideas into accessible learning resources

🐝 There’s much more buzzing inside The HIVE!

Would you like to receive future editions directly in your inbox? Drop us a message on LinkedIn, and we’ll be happy to add you to our mailing list.

Check the full newsletter✔️
https://visionempowertrust.org/ve-newsletter-q1-2026/

Nature has come LIVE and ACCESSIBLE in 4 schools across Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Do you know how?Env...
29/08/2026

Nature has come LIVE and ACCESSIBLE in 4 schools across Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Do you know how?

Environmental learning often depends heavily on visual observation, which can limit how students with visual impairment explore and understand the natural world around them.

Through the Nature Corners, set up by Vision Empower in collaboration with Wipro Foundation, we are trying to change that.

These Nature Corners are accessible spaces where students can touch, explore, listen, experience, and learn about nature.

So, what is special about these Nature Corners?

🌿Learners engage through a multi-sensory and accessible approach, where concepts such as plants, soil, biodiversity, and the environment become more real and easier to understand.

🖐️They take part in hands-on gardening and ecological learning.

🌍 They explore concepts using tactile and audio-based Earthian learning resources, including IRIS devices, rain sticks, water-testing kits, gardening tools, and Earthian activity sheets in Braille. These Earthian learning kits have been distributed across 10 schools.

🔊 They access information through tactile resources, audio descriptions and assistive technology

Each Nature Corner is an opportunity to build curiosity, environmental awareness, and a deeper connection with nature, encouraging students to understand and care for the world around them and grow into conscious custodians of our planet.

26/08/2026

At Vision Empower, we strongly believe in the Government of India’s NIPUN Bharat (National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy) mission, which aims to ensure that every child in India achieves foundational literacy and numeracy.
We are committed to supporting this vision by ensuring not only foundational learning, but accessible foundational learning - where every child has the opportunity to learn, understand, and progress.

For Vision Empower, one question remains central:
How can the NIPUN Bharat framework translate into meaningful and accessible learning for children with visual and hearing impairments?

In this spirit, Vision Empower, in collaboration with the Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD), Government of Odisha, brought together 80 teachers from schools for children with visual and hearing impairments for a two-day NIPUN Bharat capacity-building programme in Odisha.

We recreated the training modules through an accessibility lens—identifying barriers and exploring how foundational literacy, numeracy, language learning, classroom practices, and Teaching-Learning Materials can be adapted through tactile, auditory, experiential, and inclusive approaches.

Our sincere thanks to Sri Sanyashi Behera, Deputy Secretary, SSEPD Department, Government of Odisha, and Shri Dilip Hial, District Social Security Officer, Khordha, for their presence during the event.

NIPUN Bharat represents a commitment to foundational learning for every child, and our role is to help ensure that this commitment is accessible to every learner.

Video Description: This video captures highlights from Odisha’s NIPUN Bharat teacher training, featuring interactive sessions and hands-on learning. Over 90% of participants praised the training's interactivity, clarity, and materials, while requesting future focus on disability-inclusive teaching tools.

From Learning to Use a Computer to Learning to CodeRahul Kumar is a Class 10 student at St. Michael’s Blind School in Ra...
22/08/2026

From Learning to Use a Computer to Learning to Code

Rahul Kumar is a Class 10 student at St. Michael’s Blind School in Ranchi, Jharkhand. At 14, he is curious about technology, enjoys learning new things, and already dreams of building technology that can make a difference in people’s lives.

For many children his age, using computers, exploring apps, or becoming curious about coding may seem natural. But for children with visual impairment, limited access to accessible technology, fewer opportunities for exposure, and assumptions about what they can or cannot do can often get in the way.

Rahul’s interest in technology grew through the Digital Literacy sessions conducted by Vision Empower at his school. What began with learning how to use a computer gradually became something much more.

As he became comfortable with digital tools, Rahul started exploring how websites and software work. He began learning independently, experimenting with new tools and exploring AI, web development, and modern software.

And then, one day, he surprised us. Rahul shared an HTML webpage that he had created himself. Rahul hopes to pursue Computer Science and, one day, develop technology that can make everyday experiences more accessible for people with visual impairment and others in his community.

Rahul’s story reminds us that sometimes a child does not need us to decide what is possible for them. They need access, opportunity, and the freedom to explore what is possible for themselves.

Jyoti Sroat Higher Secondary School in East Khasi Hills, Shillong, has secured the top rank in the Meghalaya School Perf...
19/08/2026

Jyoti Sroat Higher Secondary School in East Khasi Hills, Shillong, has secured the top rank in the Meghalaya School Performance Grading Index 2025–26, with a score of 930 out of 1000, among 11,443 schools across the state.

The Index assesses schools across 43 indicators covering accessibility, digital education, infrastructure, NEP activities, and quality parameters, making this recognition a wonderful reflection of the school’s commitment to creating a strong and inclusive learning environment.

This achievement is very special to us, as, in collaboration with our CSR partner, Great Eastern Foundation, the CSR arm of The Great Eastern Shipping Co. Ltd., we have had the opportunity to work with this inclusive school since 2023, where students with and without visual impairment learn alongside one another. We have been glad to support the school in making STEM learning accessible through tactile learning resources, teacher training, and setting up an Accessible STEM Lab.

As shared by the Principal of the school, “Vision Empower’s support has strengthened experiential learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving, helping shift classroom learning from theory to discovery.”

Congratulations to the students, teachers, school management, parents, and the entire Jyoti Sroat community. Here’s to many more milestones ahead!

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IIIT Bangalore Innovation Centre, 26/C Hosur Road, Electronic City Phase 1
Bangalore
560100

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