Funded Master's or Ph.D. Opportunity: Supporting Responsible AI Implementation in Blindness and Low Vision Rehabilitation

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how people who are blind, DeafBlind or have low vision access information, navigate their environments and carry out everyday activities. AI-enabled tools—including smartphone applications, smart glasses and other emerging technologies—offer significant possibilities, but they also raise important questions about accessibility, reliability, safety, privacy and ethics. People who are blind or low vision are already adopting these technologies and asking fellow users, rehabilitation and assistive technology instructors for guidance. Previous studies suggest that practice-based knowledge, professional training and institutional guidance needed to support the safe and effective use of AI-enabled tools have not developed at the same pace. We need practical, evidence-informed approaches to help users and professionals determine which technologies would be best for a specific person, goal and context; what skills and supports are needed for successful use; how benefits, limitations and risks should be communicated; and how to evaluate whether a technology improves user experience and functional performance. This master’s or Ph.D. opportunity places you at the centre of these timely questions.

Applications are invited from students interested in pursuing a research-based master’s or Ph.D. degree in Vision Science (blindness and low vision rehabilitation option) under the supervision of Dr. Natalina Martiniello at the School of Optometry, Université de Montréal.

The successful candidate will undertake co-design research in close collaboration with people who are blind or have low vision, rehabilitation and assistive technology specialists and other stakeholders. The project will contribute to the development of practical, rehabilitation-specific guidance for the responsible selection, teaching, use and evaluation of AI-enabled technologies.

The Project

The successful candidate will examine how people who are blind or have low vision use AI-enabled technologies across activities of daily living. This may include smartphones, smart glasses and other emerging tools used for accessing information, identifying objects, reading text and completing everyday tasks.

The project may explore:

• how users and rehabilitation professionals select a suitable AI-enabled technology for a particular person, functional goal and context;

• the personal, environmental, social and technological factors that influence effective AI-enabled technology selection and use;

• how professionals incorporate AI in their own clinical work, teach the use of AI-enabled tools and communicate their benefits, limitations and potential risks, including questions around reliability, safety, privacy, ethics and informed decision-making; and

• factors to consider when evaluating user experiences and functional benefits and limitations of AI-enabled technologies in everyday life.

The project will draw on mixed-methods and participatory approaches. Through a co-design process, this research will work towards a framework for informed AI implementation within blindness and low vision rehabilitation practice.

The Supervisor and the Lab

Dr. Martiniello is an Assistant Professor in blindness and low vision rehabilitation, a lifelong braille and access technology user, and a Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist. Her research focuses on advancing braille learning and literacy throughout adulthood, non-visual accessibility, and inclusive participation for people who are blind or have low vision.

The Martiniello Braille Research Lab conducts applied, stakeholder-engaged research that positions braille literacy and non-visual accessibility as fundamental to equitable access to information and participation for people who are blind. The lab is unique in Canada, and among the few worldwide, in its focus on advancing braille learning and literacy and non-visual accessibility beyond childhood.

Students join a research environment where both lived and learned experience are recognized as forms of expertise. Learn more about the lab at https://mbrl.ca.

The Environment

The School of Optometry at Université de Montréal offers a distinctive interdisciplinary research environment in vision science. It includes faculty members who explore vision across the spectrum, from fundamental visual science and optometry to blindness and low vision rehabilitation, accessibility and social inclusion. The School is home to Canada’s only graduate program in Visual Impairment and Rehabilitation, available in both English and French.

The university is located in Montréal, a world-renowned bilingual city celebrated for its vibrant culture, festivals, food and quality of life, and consistently ranked among the world’s best student cities.

Who Should Apply

This opportunity would suit a student interested in:

• access technology for blindness and low vision accessibility;

• blindness and low vision rehabilitation;

• responsible and ethical uses of artificial intelligence;

• assistive technology assessment, selection and instruction;

• human–computer interaction through a disability lens;

• participatory and co-design research; or

• related fields.

Because this is a research-based master’s or Ph.D. degree, the opportunity is well suited to students interested in pursuing a research career in the field of education or rehabilitation of people who are blind or low vision, accessibility or access technology.

Eligible applicants should hold an undergraduate degree in a related field or have completed their undergraduate studies before the master’s program begins in September 2027. (Those interested in pursuing this topic at the Ph.D. level should hold a relevant master’s degree by the start of the Ph.D. degree in September 2027.) Related fields include vision rehabilitation, teaching students with visual impairments, orientation and mobility, accessibility and assistive technology.

Preference will be given to applicants who:

• have lived or learned expertise in the domain of access technologies for blindness and low vision (for example, as an assistive technology or rehabilitation specialist or as an experienced user);

• understand the principles of accessibility and universal design;

• have working familiarity with smartphone and smart-glasses accessibility, screen readers such as VoiceOver, and AI-enabled applications used by people who are blind or have low vision, such as Be My AI and Seeing AI;

• have prior experience conducting qualitative or quantitative research appropriate to the undergraduate or Masters level.

The successful candidate will be located in Montréal, Quebec, for the duration of the program. Initial funding is available, with additional support provided to pursue fellowships and research grants following successful selection.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit the following to natalina.martiniello@umontreal.ca by November 15, 2026:

• a curriculum vitae;

• the names, positions and email addresses of two academic references; and

• a brief statement of research interests explaining how this opportunity aligns with their research goals (maximum one page).

All applicants will receive an email confirming that their application has been received. Applicants selected for the next stage will be invited to a Zoom interview. Interviews will take place during October and November 2026 and will continue until a candidate has been selected.

Questions are welcome. Please write to natalina.martiniello@umontreal.ca to learn more.

Thank you for your interest, and please feel free to share this opportunity widely!