Staff from Robert Gordon University’s (RGU) School of Computing Science and Digital Media have been appointed to the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) Silver Task Force (STF).
They have been appointed to advise on standards and guidelines which are used to develop web pages all over the world.
Dr Michael Crabb and Michael Herron will collaborate with academics and students to help create the next generation of web accessibility guidelines.
RGU is the only University in Scotland to be working on the project, and Dr Crabb and Mr Herron’s research will focus on how individual user groups use the web and how they can create more accessible experiences for them.
Dr Crabb commented: “Our role will be to get students engaged in answering research questions which have been set by the STF as well as carrying out our own research in this area.
“The research covers a mix of different techniques, from involving end users and web developers, all the way through to looking at pre-existing technologies and how they can be adapted and made more accessible for the future.
“The research that we are doing supports the work happening at W3C and will be used in the future to influence development of Web Accessibility Guidelines that are used across the globe.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web.
Led by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and CEO Jeffrey Jaffe, W3C's mission is to lead the Web to its full potential.
“Some countries even go as far as making W3C Accessibility Guidelines legislative equirements, so the work is going to have a big impact across the world,” Dr Crabb continues.
“In short, the work that we are going to be taking part in is going to have a beneficial effect on users that rely on accessibility services all across the world.”