Empowering Blind & Low-Vision Students to Lead in STEM

Vision 30 is a holistic and inclusive educational initiative designed by Vision Empower (VE) in partnership with I-Stem. It aims to identify, inspire, and support 30 promising blind and low vision (BLV) students from across India, focusing on their overall skill building and specialized development in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects.

The program addresses the severe under-representation of visually impaired students in STEM careers. Key challenges include highly visual STEM pedagogy, limited access to specialized resources (Braille, assistive tech), inadequate teacher training, over 96% of digital content being inaccessible, economic barriers, and a lack of role models and ecosystem support.

T1: V30-GEN: Students in Classes 8, 9, and 10 for general skill building. T2: V30-STEM: Students from Class 8 to 10 for focused STEM development. T3: V30-HED: Students in Classes 11 and 12 (Science stream) for higher secondary and competitive exam support.

The program ensures accessibility through a multi-faceted approach: I-Stem's technology converts all learning materials into screen-reader friendly formats. It employs specialized, non-visual teaching methodologies and provides accessible science labs with adaptive tools for practical experiments. Furthermore, tutors are trained in inclusive education, and many mentors are visually impaired professionals themselves, offering proven, first-hand learning strategies tailored to the students' needs.

The support is comprehensive and includes specialized academic tutoring and mentorship from successful professionals with visual impairments, life skills training for independence and self-reliance, access to a state-of-the-art resource center with accessible science labs and the latest assistive technologies (screen readers, Braille displays), career discovery, counselling, and preparation for national-level competitive exams (e.g., Indian National Olympiad, NTSE), and residential learning camps and online coaching.

Vision 30 is more than a program; it's a movement towards a more inclusive society. Its long-term impact aims to create societal change where disability is not a barrier to academic and professional success, enhance opportunities and life outcomes for BLV students and the broader disability community, contribute significantly to the movement for inclusive education and equality in India and globally, and establish visible role models who can inspire and advocate for others.

Students are nominated from ~10-15 select special schools across India. Selection is based on: Being in Grade 8 (for the STEM track). Above-average academic performance in Science and Maths. Teacher and principal feedback. A baseline assessment score (Aptitude, English, Maths, Science, Computer Science). Demonstrated self-drive and willingness to commit extra time to preparation.

The program seeks funding and partnership support to cover the costs of tutoring, accessible resources, assistive technologies, travel for camps, and operational expenses. Organizations or individuals interested in creating impact can support by providing financial contributions or expertise to help scale the program and empower deserving visually impaired students across India.

Vision Empower (VE): Founded in 2017, VE addresses gaps in the education system for visually impaired students. It designs programs for Science, Maths, and Digital Literacy and supports 145 special schools across 15 states in India. It was inspired by its co-founder, Vidhya Y, a gold medalist blind post-graduate in Digital Society. I-Stem: An organization founded by and for people with disabilities. It addresses the inaccessibility of over 96% of online content through its tech platform, NClude, which converts content into accessible formats. It also runs programs for tech onboarding, pedagogical support, and employment readiness.