UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
The University wins £75,000 BT Lifelong Learning Award

The Access Unit at the University of Bristol has won a BT Lifelong Learning Award worth £75,000. The University's winning project beat more than 140 other nation-wide entries to win the prize. BT gives away £500,000 each year to higher and further education institutions that use ICT (Information Communication Technology) to promote lifelong learning. The BT Lifelong Learning Awards are part of the BT Education programme (www.bt.com/education) which invests more than £8 million a year into education in the UK.

The University's project, entitled 'Open Out' will develop an interactive CD and multimedia training package in the area of disability equality and awareness, a package that is explicitly designed to meet the requirements of library staff. It will be a collaborative exercise with practical outcomes, involving co-operation between the British Library, seven public library services in the south of England, four academic libraries, two disability groups, and the Access Unit at the University of Bristol, who will be the lead partner. The partnership includes disabled people as equals.

Claire Wickham, co-ordinator of the project and Director of the Access Unit, said: "We are delighted to receive a BT Lifelong Learning Award and see this as an exciting opportunity to develop high quality training that will improve access for people with a disability to the whole range of library services. It will open up an accessible gateway to information in the 21st century".

Chris Wynne-Davies, BT's Head of Corporate Affairs in the South West, added "BT's Lifelong Learning Awards are designed to recognise, encourage, and finance a wide range of community projects that use ICT in innovative ways to open up learning opportunities."

The BT Lifelong Learning Awards run twice a year and are open to universities, colleges (further education and sixth form), libraries and any community partners they wish to involve. BT invests more than £500,000 in lifelong learning projects every year, and at each round there are £25,000 and £75,000 awards to be won. The deadline for the next round of awards is April 17, 2002 - organisations interested in entering should visit www.bt.com/lifelonglearning.

As part of its support for the BT Education Programme, The Guardian's www.educationunlimited.co.uk www.educationunlimited.co.uk site also provides "online inspiration" for schools wanting to enter the awards scheme.

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Email: public-relations@bristol.ac.uk
Copyright: 2001 The University of Bristol, UK
Updated: Tuesday, 26-Feb-2002 10:57:08 GMT