Hybrid Hackathon Expands BENEFIT Registry to Support Students with Disabilities in Higher Education

On October 18th, Professor Mijalche Santa, PhD, Coordinator of the Project BENEFIT in collaboration with the American Corner Skopje, and the American Spaces Network, hosted a hybrid hackathon aimed at expanding the global BENEFIT registry. This vital resource offers a wide range of tools to assist students with disabilities and their professors in higher education. Covering various disabilities and languages, the tools in the registry are designed to ensure accessibility and inclusion for all.

During the event, participants successfully added 20 new tools to the registry, bringing the total number of entries to 170. The hackathon brought together teams from American Corner Skopje, Bitola, Tetovo, Struga, and Sri Lanka, alongside Hannah Fitter, Regional Public Engagement Specialist from Washington D.C. Additionally, students from the Faculty of Economics and Faculty of Informatics contributed their expertise to this initiative.

Despite the limited number of American Spaces participating in this hackathon, the progress made has been a significant step forward. We are committed to continuing our efforts to expand the repository through future hackathons, providing even more tools and resources to ensure that students with disabilities receive the support they need to succeed in higher education.

Stay tuned for updates on our next hackathon and how you can get involved!