May 2, 2022

2022 CREATE Symposium Winners Announced

After a two-year hiatus, CREATE is back with new projects and new winners. “NYSID’s annual assistive technology competition is one of our favorite events of the year,” said Maureen O’Brien, president and CEO.

Nine groups of students from across New York State assembled in the Empire State Plaza convention center in Albany on Monday, April 25 for the 2022 CREATE Symposium. After months of preparation, each group of students debuted their innovations created to improve the vocational lives of workers with disabilities to the public.

From carefully designed accessibility and communication apps to problem solving equipment, each team of student engineers showcased their thoughtfully developed projects. Student teams are paired with a NYSID Member Agency from their local area, and tasked with creating solutions to work-based struggles employees with disabilities face every day. Several 2022 inventions are already in use or on their way to in use.

The team of judges from across technology, business and rehabilitation sectors observed each project before facing the difficult task of deciding who would be leaving with prizes.

We were honored to have Senator John Mannion, Assemblymember Chris Burdick and Assemblymember John McDonald address the students, Member Agencies and other guests. We were equally honored that OPWDD Commissioner Kerri Neifeld presented the winning selections with their awards.

Congratulations to the 2022 winning teams for these assistive technologies:

First Place: $15,000: SUNY Albany with their Paper Shredder Disposal System, created for the Center for Disability Services.

Second Place: $10,000: SUNY Polytechnic Institute with their Slate Cleaning and Packaging project created for The Arc Oneida-Lewis Chapter.

Third Place: $5000: The City College of New York with ASLNOW and Schedule and Structure, created for Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey.

To learn more about the different projects, check out the full list here.

Thank you to each participant for working hard to create a more inclusive and accessible workplace for people with disabilities.

Watch the full awards ceremony and opening remarks below:

See below for a complete list of media coverage from this year’s event.

News 10:

https://www.news10.com/news/engineering-students-to-help-individuals-with-disabilities/

CBS Albany:

https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/college-student-inventions-help-people-with-disabilities-in-the-workplace