The Public Procurement Service of South Korea has provided the Dot Pads and its support equipment, a device to support visually impaired students, to five Special Education High Schools and Institutes of Special Education in Phnom Penh, and Battambang, Siem Reap, and Kampong Cham provinces. KOICA

The Public Procurement Service of South Korea on Monday donated a suite of assistive technologies to the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MoEYS).

The donation, valued at approximately $250,000, includes 40 Dot Pads, five laptops, and ten tablet PCs. These tools are specifically designed to support visually impaired students in accessing a broader range of educational content.The centrepiece of this donation is the Dot Pad, an innovative device that enables visually impaired individuals to access visual information in a tactile format. Unlike traditional Braille displays, the Dot Pad can interpret not only text but also complex visual data such as graphs, charts, and diagrams.

This advancement marks a significant step forward in providing comprehensive educational tools for the visually impaired. This initiative was facilitated by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), which has long been committed to bridging the gap between innovative technology and the needs of inclusive education. Dot, the tech venture behind the Dot Pad, is an alumnus of KOICA’s Creative Technology Solution (CTS) programme.

The company has gained international recognition, including the prestigious “Best of Innovation” award at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. KOICA Cambodia Office identified the potential of the Dot Pad to enhance educational access for visually impaired students and secured the grant from the Public Procurement Service of South Korea to bring this technology to Cambodia. The devices will be distributed to special schools across Phnom Penh, and the provinces of Battambang, Siem Reap, and Kampong Cham. “These devices can be keys for students with visual impairments to unlock information and educational opportunities,” said Moon Jung Choi, Country Director of KOICA Cambodia Office.

She emphasised the importance of these tools in providing equal access to education for all students, regardless of their physical challenges. Reforming schools to ensure inclusive and equitable access to quality education is a key priority for the Cambodian government in its 7th mandate. “Thanks to the Republic of Korea, we expect that we can reach out to 213 students and 20 teachers who are visually impaired and support them in accessing more information, including graphs and charts,” said Put Samith, Under Secretary of State at MoEYS. “This kind of technology will expand our options for enhancing inclusive education. We are looking forward to the results this innovative technology will bring.”