About Us

CanAssist's core objective is to help bring about the increased inclusion and accessibility in society of those with special needs. As a program at the University of Victoria, we work to achieve this goal by developing innovative technologies, programs and services that make life easier and more rewarding for those with disabilities. At the same time, we focus on increasing awareness of disability issues throughout the campus and in the wider community.

CanAssist is a unique program in North America with regard to its successful combination of several key elements; these include: a highly talented interdisciplinary team; a large diversity of projects; innovative and meaningful R&D; extensive community outreach and service; a focus on education and service; and a high level of integration into a university community. A key pillar of our program is student engagement and, to date, many hundreds of students from virtually every discipline on campus have been engaged (see Information for Students).

A significant portion of our work involves projects and research that fall into one of the following areas: communication and control; mobility and movement; human-computer interaction; and training and employment (see Services and Programs).

All our projects are undertaken in direct response to requests from the community. Wherever possible, we do not charge for the technologies we develop or the services we provide. While many of our activities support individuals and families in Greater Victoria and throughout southern Vancouver Island, we also routinely receive and respond to requests from across British Columbia, Canada and even internationally. While we will always focus on clients in our own community, our goal is to make many of our assistive technologies available nationally and worldwide.