Jatin Dhanji (19) wasn’t sure he could return to university after struggling to complete his first year of study.
The Penrith local is legally a blind as a result of cone dystrophy, a condition he was born with.
After completing his HSC, Jatin went on to UTS to study a combined Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Laws. The heavy amount of required reading in his first year made him wonder if returning for another four years of study would be possible.
“Essentially everything was a struggle for me last year. There’s high demand placed on doing a lot of reading and the equipment I had just didn’t suit that,” Jatin said.
“There was definitely times where I was really thinking whether I’d be able to come back after the first year,” he said.
Jatin was relying on a computer he’d had since his early years at high school during his first year of tertiary study, but a Vision Australia Further Education Bursary has provided him with an upgraded suite of technology that’s made studying much less stressful.
Through the bursary program, Jatin received technology including a Dell computer, a document scanner and high quality headphones, all of which have helped him complete readings and course work.
“This year has been so much different, I’m much more efficient in everything I have to do for uni and I don’t find myself falling behind.
“I use a magnification program called ZoomText that wasn’t compatible with my old computer, I’d just get error message after error message. A lot of what I do with readings is through audio, so having headphones that have such clarity is a big deal.”
Having lived with blindness his entire life, Jatin is keen to forge a career in the disability advocacy space after university and believe the bursary application process will help him prepare for that.
“I obviously wanted something that would help me at uni, but I also thought it would be a good thing to go through this process to find out what sort of supports are available to people, how they can access them and how I can help let people know what’s out there.
“As I’ve grown up the idea of being involved in the advocacy space or with a disability organisation has always been something that’s appealed to me and I think a business degree and a law degree will help me do that.”
Vision Australia has been providing bursaries to people who are blind or have low vision and are undertaking further education for nearly 25 years. To date, more than 350 students have been supported by Vision Australia through a bursary.
The bursary allows students to access assistive technology such as specialist computer software and braille displays, helping students like Jahit study alongside their sighted peers.
Find out more about the Vision Australia Further Education Bursary program here.