The scientist making education more accessible

Daniel

Daniel's story

"When I came to Sussex I really didn’t know what to expect. But on my first night my flatmates dragged me out for a drink. The friendliness took me by surprise as I wasn’t used to it, but it really helped me settle in.

"Being a blind physics student meant that I had to rely on other people in order to interpret graphs and images. I realised that I needed to find a way to help others in a similar situation.


If you’re really passionate, you can take advantage of so much here. I advise you to embrace every opportunity that comes your way.” daniel hajas
Founder and CEO of Grapheel and developer of the Iris app

"Grapheel makes science subjects more accessible through Iris, an app that connects vision-impaired learners with sighted volunteers. It all stemmed from the help I received from my class mates. They would sit with me and explain the diagrams. So, I thought if this can be done in a classroom, why not use technology to do it remotely?

"Sussex has helped the creation of Grapheel in so many ways: from my first-year tutor, Professor Kathy Romer, who motivated me to explore my initial idea through the Junior Research Associate scheme; my fellow physics students; and the Sussex innovation Centre who supported the start-up. We also had financial help from a local businessman through our Alumni Office.

"If you’re really passionate you can take advantage of so much here. I advise you to embrace every opportunity that comes your way."

Find out more about Grapheel.


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