CSUF Denmark Study Abroad Program - Summer 2023
Short term internship organized with Cal State University of Fullerton (CSUF), Aalborg Municipality, & the Danish Minister of Digital Government, Marie Bjerre.
Mrs. Bjerre welcomed Cal State University of Fullerton students to Denmark in a collaborative project with the University College of Northern Denmark (UCN) staff & students, and Denmark's 3rd largest city of Aalborg Municipality to create accessible components (User Interface (UI) Atoms and Molecules) for communication platforms within a digital environment.
Group photo with classmates and staff from both CSUF College of the Arts & the University College of Northern Denmark. You can see me standing in the very front row to the right.
The European Union has passed an initiative that mandates all digital environments be accessible by 2025; this includes both government and private sector platforms. To that end, Denmark is leading the way within the European Union.
The students from both universities were divided into international teams and asked to do a deep dive into one UI atom or molecule of their choice and incorporate best practices of Accessible Design. To understand the complexity of this assignment, the teams needed to research different types of disabilities and how best to design for them.
Our group for example tackled the, “I Am Not a Robot” page (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA)) is often inaccessible and is designed for people with no disabilities or just one. Unfortunately, these current designs create barriers to information and inclusiveness in daily life.
Working together as a Team with classmate, Angelica Elpidama from CSUF and two lovely young ladies named, Line Kjær Christiensen & Paulína Urdova from UCN. We devised and live demoed a solution of our own creation based on independent research we conducted that could work for people with single or multiple disabilities that may prevent them from being able to easily use current traditional CAPTCHA systems for Marie Bjerre the Minister for Digital Government, and to the Director of Digitalization for the Aalborg Municipality & her staff.
Also, I was very fortunate to also be a recipient of the highly competitive U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, which enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad. Providing them with skills critical to our national security and economic prosperity.
This scholarship was of great assistance by helping me to afford the funds and opportunity to study abroad and serve in a way as a U.S. foreign diplomat to represent American values and culture to build relationships and mutual understanding as an LGBTQ+ and Hispanic/multi-racial person.
I'm so proud and thankful to have been able to participate in this fun, unique, exciting, and amazing opportunity with the UCN in Aalborg, Denmark, and the Prime Minister of Digital Government, Marie Bjerre!
