About

Detail Profile

Title: Assistive technology and Accessibility professional

Dhananjay Ramesh Bhole

Phone: (M) +919850123212 (Res) +918149998032

E-mail: drbhole@unipune.ac.in , dhananjay.bhole@gmail.com


Objectives:

With more than 12 years of experience facing real-world accessibility challenges using assistive technology for academic and government pursuits and career, I am seeking Consulting opportunities to work in government and corporate environment where I can utilize my skills and potential to design, develop, review and implement usability and accessibility standards, policies, guidelines in industries and academic for creation of an inclusive environment for people with disabilities.


Summary:

  • Demonstrated experience of computational accessibility guidelines and best practices: WCAG2.0, WAI-ARIA, section 508, GNOME accessibility, MSAA, MSUI automation, flash and flex accessibility best practices, mobile web accessibility best practices, Documents accessibility standards and implementation of these standards and guidelines in web, desktop and mobile applications.
  • Knowledge of usability testing and analysis, user experience design, interface and interaction design, human factor and wire framing etc.
  • Familiarity of programming languages(C, JAVA, PERL), web technologies (HTML, XML, CSS, JAVAScript, AJAX), development environments (NetBeans, eclipse, visual studio), DBMS packages (my SQL, MS SQL server,) operating systems (Windows, Linux Symbion, Android), etc.
  • Hands on experience for use of various assistive technologies such as screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, Supernova, ORCA, voiceover, talkback),screen magnifiers(Supernova, ORCA, Zoomtext), scanning and reading software(Kurzweil 1000, Open book, ZoomX)and Braille embossing technologies(Tiger pro, Zy chem).
  • Conducted more than 40 workshops on web accessibility (WCAG, GIGW, Section 508, ARIA, Android accessibility, MSAA and MSUI automation, DAISY) in Wipro, IBS software services, Mahaonline ltd, CMC LTD, MasterCard, Tech-Mahindra, Bajaj Allianz, Emphasis, government of Maharashtra, National informatics center, C-DAC, YASHADA etc and delivered more than 150 talks on web accessibility and accessible computing( covering WCAG, ARIA, Section 508, PDF accessibility, Android accessibility, Inclusive education, Course content accessibility) in various universities, colleges of engineering and technology, government and corporate organizations in Maharashtra.
  • Proven Experience of end to end project management of accessible computing from user interaction, requirement gathering, gap analysis, design of solution, environment set up, resource planning, guidance to development team, accessibility testing, pilot project execution, acceptance testing by end-users, talent acquisition and people management.


Area Of Interest:

  • Web and Mobile Accessibility.
  • Documents and Media Accessibility.
  • Desktop Accessibility.
  • Workplace Accessibility.
  • Diversity and Inclusion.
  • Disability Workforce Management.
  • Resource planning for persons with disabilities.
  • Software project management.
  • Management Information System and Accessibility.
  • Academic Accessibility and Inclusive Education.
  • Accessible Science and Technologies for persons with disabilities etc.


Qualifications:

  • Pursuing PhD in academic accessibility from Savitribai Phule Pune University.
  • M.B.A. (HR) from Department of Management Studies, North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon.(January 2006)
  • M.Sc. (Bioinformatics) from Bioinformatics Centre, Savitribai Phule Pune University. (June 2011)
  • B.Sc. (Botany) from North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon. (june 2003)


Professional Certification:

  • Certificate Program in Accessibility Core Competency (CPACC) from International Association for Accessibility Professional (IAAP) December 2018.
  • Trusted Tester Web Certification, from Office of Accessible Systems and Technologies, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Government of USA May 2020.
  • Web Accessibility 2.0 Certification from Deque University, USA, April 2020.
  • Document Accessibility 1.2 Certification from Deque University, USA December 2019.
  • Accessibility Program Management from Deque University, USA February 2020.
  • Serving customers with disabilities certification from Deque University, USA September 2019.
  • Certified Zone Trainer for business communication, Junior Chamber International, India: July 2017.


Work Experience:

Organization: Center for Disabilities and Inclusive Education, School of Education, Savitribai Phule Pune University.

Duration: From 10 February 2008 to till date.

Designation: Assistant Professor and Academic Coordinator.


Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Teaching Digital Accessibility, Assistive technology Designing, development, configuration and troubleshooting, Academic Accessibility, resource planning for persons with Disabilities, Diversity and inclusion etc to Graduate Students of Science and technologies and Education management.
  • Conducting Research in the area of Digital Accessibility, Assistive technologies and Academic Accessibility.
  • Project co-guide for several academic projects (20-25) executed in the center, undertaken by postgraduate students (30+) of computer application, education and social sciences.
  • Co-Founded Center for Disabilities and Inclusive Education, , developed its strategic plan, and initiated assistive technology training program and accessibility research program for the facilitation of education of Persons with disabilities.
  • Set up a special computer lab with advanced assistive technologies and developed research facilities for educational accessibility.
  • Started accessibility research group at the center & currently coordinating the group.
  • Coordinating Placement activities for university students with disabilities.
  • Prepared draft of accessibility policies and guidelines for persons with disabilities for Savitribai Phule Pune University, Shivaji University, North Maharashtra University and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
  • Designed and introduced a special computer training course in Savitribai Phule Pune University (certificate in basic computing and assistive technology learning) for visually challenged college students.
  • Developed Disability Support System for Savitribai Phule Pune University and its over 700 affiliated institutes.


Important Projects:

  • Development of Semi-automated Accessibility evaluation tool for Government of India Guidelines for Persons With Disabilities (GIGW).
  • Implementation of web accessibility standards in university web services (Savitribai Phule Pune university)
  • Implementation of Web accessibility standards in public portal of department of employment and self-employment, government of Maharashtra for persons with disabilities.
  • Implementation of GIGW1.0 and WCAG 2.0 in 10 e-governance web portals of Government of Maharashtra.
  • Usability analysis of biological tools and databases for futuristic enhancement.
  • Study of accessibility of android system for persons with disabilities
  • Enhancement of UI automator viewer tool for Android accessibility evaluation.
  • Development of disability inclusion model for Indian higher education system.
  • Accessibility evaluation survey of Indian online banking services
  • Enhancement of accessibility of GNOME desktops for visually challenged
  • Development of ERP based course management system for Department of Education and Extension, Savitribai Phule, Pune University.


Consultancy:

  • Web accessibility Consultant, Wipro Technologies Bengaluru and Hyderabad from September 2015 to April 2017.
  • Web accessibility consultant, IBS Software Services from June 2015 to January 201
  • Diversity and Accessibility Consultant, Bajaj Allianz Pune from 01/08/2011 to 31/03/2012.
  • Web Accessibility Consultant, CMC LTD. Pune from 01/12/2012 to 31/06/2013.
  • Web Accessibility Consultant, Mahaonline ltd Mumbai from August 2013 to till date.
  • Accessibility and assistive technology consultant, Department of Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra from august 2013 to till date.
  • Web accessibility trainer, (WCAG and ARIA, GIGW) Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Administration and Development (YASHADA), Pune from July 2014 to till date.
  • Chief technical Adviser and Co-founder, Sugamya Digital Solutions PVT. LTD. (SDS) An access consulting company.


Achievements and awards:

  • “National role model award 2011 for empowerment of persons with disabilities” by the government of India given to persons with disabilities who have done exemplary work in their life.
  • NCPEDP Mphasis Universal Design Award 2018 given away every year by a Consortium of Industries and NGOs to persons with disabilities for their contribution in the area of Accessibility and Universal Design of products and Services.
  • “Yuva gaurav puraskar” 2019 given every year by “Vishwa Jagriti Mission, Delhi” to the persons who have exemplary contribution for community services.
  • “Vocational excellence award 2010” by rotary club of Poona downtown given every year to Individuals who have achieved excellence in academics and profession.
  • Rotary Chirag award 2016 given every year for Empowerment of marginalized persons with disabilities.
  • Helen Keller award 2016 given every year by Alkar foundation for empowerment of persons with disabilities.
  • “Leva Icon” 2019 a recognition given by Global Levapatidar foundation to the individuals who have exemplary achievement and community services.
  • “Yuva prerna puraskar” 2019 by Deepsthamba foundation, Jalgaon every year given to the individuals with disabilities for their work in the area of disability empowerment.
  • Five of our projects (maharojgar.gov.in), Maharashtra.gov.in and jpcbank.com has received national award for best accessible websites by the Government of India in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 respectively.


Contribution in Seminar/conferences/symposium:

  • Convener, National Seminar on Workplace Accessibility organized by Centre for Disabilities and Inclusive Education, Savitribai Phule Pune University on 20th and 21th March 2017.
  • Convener of State level workshop on “Touch Screen Mobile Devices and accessibility services for Persons with visual Impairment”, Organized by the Centre for Disabilities and Inclusive Education, Savitribai Phule Pune University on 04th February 2017.
  • Convener of 2-day state level Linux training workshop for visually challenged organized by Center for Disabilities and Inclusive Education, Savitribai Phule Pune University on 23th and 24th March 2010.
  • Organizing committee member, Third International conference on Inclusive Education organized by International consortium of academic institutions on inclusive education from 23th to 25th January 2016.
  • Keynote speaker, “symposium on inclusive education for people with disabilities” organized by academy of education, Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune on February 2011.
  • Presented 2 research papers in Accessibility Reaching Everywhere – AEGIS Workshop and International Conference – Brussels, Belgium organized by European platform for rehabilitation during 28-30 November 2011.
  • Presented a research paper in the 28th international conference on technology and persons with disabilities organized by California state university (CSUN), on 25 Feb-02 March 2013 at San Diego, California, USA.
  • Represented Savitribai Phule Pune university in the international conference on “enabling access to education through information and communication technology” organized by UNESCO and CIS at Delhi in October 2010.
  • Invited speaker in the 4th TechShare international conference, Delhi Organized by Consortium of IT and assistive technologies industries in February 2014 presented “Academic inclusion model for persons with disabilities”.
  • Invited speaker in 5th TechShare international conference, Delhi in March 2016 Organized by Consortium of IT and assistive technologies industries Presented “achieving digital accessibility in India, An implementation model”.
  • Speaker, Plenary session of the 7th National conference on interdisciplinary research in science and engineering, organized by MIT college of Engineering and Technology, Pune, delivered a talk on “Accessible Computing”.
  • Invited Speaker in the “international conference on Disability rights, accessibility and inclusion in India” 15-17 april 2016 organized by the Center for Disability studies and action, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Delivered talk on Academic Accessibility.


Publications:

Books:

  • Ketan Kamble, Dhananjay Bhole, Vaibhav Jadhav, accessible biology laboratory for visually challenged, Lambert academic publishing (ISBN 978-3-659-29806-6) September 2012
  • Priya Pillai, Nila Deshpande, Dhananjay Bhole, Library services for blind and visually impaired people (contribution of a chapter on web accessibility in the book), APH Publishing Corporation (ISBN978-93-313-1720-9) July 2012.


Research Articles:

  • G. Bhutkar, A. Mehetre, U. Sagale, A. Kendre, D. Bhole, Heuristic Evaluation of an Eye-Free Android Application, Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Mobile Communication Technology for Development (M4D 2018), 15-16 November 2018, Kampala, Uganda.
  • Neha Patil, Dhananjay Bhole, Prasanna Shete, Enhanced UI automator viewer with improved Android accessibility evaluation features, Proceedings of International conference on “Automation control and dynamic optimization techniques” organized by I square IT, Pune, on 09th and 10th September 2016, Published in IEEE digital library.
  • Dhananjay Bhole, Ketan Kamble, Tushar Garud, bioinformatics accessibility for blinds, journal of Technology and persons with disabilities, april 2013
  • Dhananjay Bhole, Shrirang Sahasrabudhe, Vivek Gaikwad, Sanjeev Sonavane, Attaining accessible web presence, our experiences. Proceedings of Accessibility Reaching Everywhere – AEGIS Workshop and International Conference – Brussels, Belgium 28-30 November 2011.
  • Shrirang Sahasrabudhe, Jayant Mahajan, Dhananjay Bhole, explore ORCA as possible alternative for commercial screen readers, Proceedings of Accessibility Reaching Everywhere – AEGIS Workshop and International Conference – Brussels, Belgium 28-30 November 2011.
  • Sanjeev Sonavane, Dhananjay Bhole, Gita Kamble, development of ICT based Support services and facilities for people with visual disabilities at the University of Pune, Proceedings of symbiosis international conference (SICODL2011).
  • Ketan Kamble, Dhananjay Bhole, Vaibhav Jadhav, future accessible biology laboratory for visually challenged – Proceedings of educon 2012 – Jalandar, Panjab organised by global education research association 06-08 april 2012.
  • Dhananjay Bhole, Nisha Valvi, Digitization is the way for inclusive academics, proceedings of National conference on “Digitization transforming India into a knowledge hub”, organized by the College of Education, Nashik, 22-23 december 2018.
  • Dhananjay Bhole, Nisha Valvi, ICT skills enhanced the performance of students with visual impairment, proceedings of international conference on “Skill development in Higher Education” organized by Government College of Education, Kolhapur on 02 february 2019.


Memberships and Affiliation:

  • Professional member, association of computing machinery (ACM).
  • Student member, IEEE computer society
  • Student member, “International Society for Computational Biology”, (ISCB).
  • Professional member, International Association for Accessibility Professionals (IAAP).
  • Associate member: Computer Society of India (CSI) Pune Chapter.
  • Member, National association of software and service companies (NASSCOM) emerged community, India.
  • Associate fellow, free software foundation of India, (FSFI).
  • Member, W3C community and business group.
  • Member, Expert committee for differently abled, North Maharashtra University from 2009 to 2013.
  • Member, Expert committee for persons with disabilities, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.


Contribution in Social Services:

  • Community Ambassador, BookShare International from October 2019 to till date.
  • Regional Committee Member, DAISY forum of India from February 2020 to till date.
  • Adviser, Mamata Andha Kalyan Kendra, Pune from November 2013.
  • Body member, Takshashila English School, Nevasa, Ahmadnagar.
  • Member Advisery committee, Visions college for persons with disabilities of “malganga andha apanga seva sanstha”, Takli haji, Ranjangaon, Pune.
  • Research Adviser, Manobal project for students with disabilities, Dipsthamba foundation, Jalgaon.
  • Mentor for computer training program, Technical Training Institute, Pune Blind Men’s Association, Pune.
  • President, junior chamber international (JCI) Pune knowledge city chapter during the year 2015 and 2016.
  • Assisted North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, M, J, College, Jalgaon, Vidyavardhini College, Dhule, Ahmednagar College, Fergusson College, Wadia College, Pune and Third eye association, Nasik for establishment of Support service unit with special computer lab for visually challenged.
  • Trained over 500 visually challenged people for the use of computer aided assistive devices and Rehabilitated 60 of them by helping in employment in banking, private and government sectors through various platforms.


Media interviews:

  • Extensive interview regarding Computer education of persons with disabilities in “Dilkhulas mulakhat program” by Asmita radio, Maharashtra in January 2012.
  • Detail interview on self-achievement in “Yeh Hai Roshni Ka Karva” program by All India radio in July 2013.
  • Interview on Tactile graphics in Sahyadri TV in “Atulya shodh Program” in March 2011.
  • Interview on Inclusive education practices in IBN lokmat in November 2011.
  • Interview on Global accessibility awareness day 2017 by Radio Mirchi, Pune in May 2017 with RJ Ira.
  • Interview on accessible India campaign with RJ Sangram, Radio City in May, 2016.
  • Several invited interviews in Print media like Pune Times, The Hindu, Indian Express, Maharashtra Times and several local newspapers.


Personal Information:

Date of birth: 8th April 1981

Marital status: Single.

Languages known: Marathi, Hindi, English etc.

Residence: 502, B2, Treasure housing society, Kashid park, Pimple Gurav, Pune, Pin - 411061

Pan: ASMPB6310A

Passport No: G0149735

Date: 27/10/2019

Place: Pune