Tsukuba College of Technology(TCT) is a unique institution for the hearing and visually impaired. It has made sister institution agreements with several universities and higher educational institutions in the world. We made agreements with the State University of New York at Buffalo in USA in 1998. In 2001 i3s3 of Johannes Kepler University of Linz in Austira has agreed with our college to exchange staff and students for developing research. The i3s3 organizes International Computer Camp(ICC) for visulally impaired students in Europe every year. Now our students have a chance to participate in this camp. Furthermore, we made another sisiter college agreement with Korea National College of Rehabilitation and Welfare in 2003. We are palnning to exchange information of eduacation and reaseach as well as staff and students.
A group from the Tsukuba College of Technology visited the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNYAB) and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). At UB, we toured the Center for Assistive Technology (CAT), and the Office of Disability Services. Our group attended classes in the English Language Institute (ELI), which prepares international students for university study. We were invited to join in activities sponsored by the ELI. These included an outdoor evening concert. To learn about support services and social resources for disabilities in the US, we visited the Olmsted Center for the Visually Impaired and the Independent Living Center of Western New York. Extracurricular activities included visits to Niagara Falls, the Buffalo Zoo, and two home barbecues. In Rochester, they had a tour of the facilities of NTID.
In the past three students of our college studied in ELI at University at Buffalo. They stayed in the dormitory with students from many other countries. They said that they have learned not only English language but a lot of things including cultural differences and communication skills, etc.