About IDE
Meet the team
Get to know our international team of dedicated partners
PH Freiburg
The University of Education Freiburg is situated in the south of Germany, close to the black forest. We provide study programs in education with a strong focus on teacher training. We engage in research with international cooperations and offer a full range of degrees: Bachelor programs, Master programs, Doctorate & Habilitation possibilities.
Friederike Lau
Research assistant for the IDE project. She studied Special Education for the Deaf in Berlin, earning both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. During her studies, she visited several schools for the Deaf in Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. Currently, she works as a special education teacher for Deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils, specializing in bimodal-bilingual teaching methods in special education schools and inclusive settings. She is also a communication assistant for signed and spoken German.
Petra Gretsch
Prof. Dr. Petra Gretsch is based at the Institute for German and Literature, specializing in linguistics, language development, and language didactics. She studied Linguistics, Psychology, and Information Technology at the Universities of Tübingen (Germany) and Edinburgh (Scotland). Her research focuses on the acquisition of finiteness (Dissertation), multilingualism, the development of visual literacy and Continuous Language Education in schools and nursery schools. She is a member of the scientific advisory board for the Goethe Institut and the Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen (Central Agency for Schools Abroad) which allows for the comparison of various schooling systems and ideas on education.
Vera Kolbe
Manager of the Institute of Special Education at the University of Education Freiburg – In her dissertation at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin she developed the first German Sign Language production test for children age 4-11: NaKom DGS, an adaptation of the BSL PT. Her main research interests are sign language development of children, sign language didactics and interpreter mediated Deaf education with signed and spoken languages. In her teaching she is focusing on sign language didactics for L1/L2 children, inclusive education in schools, counseling and language development in multilingual contexts. As a special education teacher she has established a bimodal-bilingual program at the BBZ Stegen, Germany, and worked in in- and exclusive school settings. She is also an interpreter for signed and spoken German.
BBZ Stegen
The BBZ Stegen is an interregional state special education and counseling center with a boarding school, specializing in the focus area of hearing impairment. For over 50 years, BBZ Stegen has been offering hearing-impaired children and adolescents a general education, while simultaneously providing a hearing-specific education with central educational qualifications, as well as various counseling services in the context of hearing. In addition to the main location in the municipality of Stegen (district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald), there are additional satellite locations that provide locally accessible educational and counseling services. We offer all the possible school qualifications available in Germany at our institution. Our offerings start with the school kindergarten, continue through elementary school, and then progress to the secondary school level, up to the high school diploma (Abitur).
Martin Stuecker
My job at the BBZ Stegen: headmaster of the primary school, my subjects: articulation, computer science… and everything that has to do with the organisation of the primary school. My other area of responsibility is managing the MBZ (Media Counselling Centre), which is a small team that provides films and media for the deaf and hard-of-hearing at our institution and produces sign language overlays for short information films. We also offer advice on how students with hearing aids can be connected to the media devices in their classrooms and on digital classroom management in general. We also offer training in film editing in an educational context.
European Union of the Deaf
Based in Brussels and operating at the European level, EUD represents deaf sign language users in all 27 EU Member States, plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. EUD has the sole mandate of the National Associations of the Deaf to work towards a more socially cohesive, sustainable, and accessible Europe for deaf citizens realising their inherent human rights. EUD aims to achieve equality in public and private life for deaf people all over Europe to ensure they can become full citizens. Its main objectives are the recognition of the right to use an indigenous sign language, empowerment through communication and information, and equality in education and employment.
David Hay
EUD Communication and Media Manager since 2013. David oversees all press releases, articles, social media content, and website updates related to EUD. His work includes producing a wide variety of media outputs, such as video statements, animated content, and live social media updates. David has been instrumental in growing EUD’s social media presence, which now enjoys a large and engaged following. Before joining EUD, David worked as a Researcher/Director for the BBC and Channel Four, where he developed stories within the Deaf community, liaised with contributors, and organised production shoots.
Davy Van Landuyt
Project Manager at EUD. As a deaf Belgian, his roots lie in the social-cultural movement and association work in the deaf community, going through all possible layers from the local level to the European level. In 2020 he obtained his certification as Specialist in Spanish Sign Language from the Fundación CNSE, which qualifies him to teach Spanish Sign Language and to work as a deaf role model with deaf children in Spanish schools. Since 2021 he works in the project team at the EUD, where he is involved in various EUD projects. In these projects, he focuses on co-creation with deaf communities, accessibility issues, project management, science communication and dissemination.
Rehana Omardeen
Project Officer at EUD. Rehana has a background in academic research, and holds a PhD in sign language linguistics from the University of Göttingen. Since 2022 Rehana has been a Project Officer at EUD, involved in the activities of the projects team (including H2020, Erasmus+ and European Parliament projects). To these projects, she brings research, reporting and project management skills, with a focus on collaboration to allow for meaningful exchange between deaf communities and project partners.
Trinity College Dublin
Based in Brussels and operating at the European level, EUD represents deaf sign language users in all 27 EU Member States, plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. EUD has the sole mandate of the National Associations of the Deaf to work towards a more socially cohesive, sustainable, and accessible Europe for deaf citizens realising their inherent human rights. EUD aims to achieve equality in public and private life for deaf people all over Europe to ensure they can become full citizens. Its main objectives are the recognition of the right to use an indigenous sign language, empowerment through communication and information, and equality in education and employment.
Lorraine Leeson
Lorraine is Professor in Deaf Studies at the School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Science’s Centre for Deaf Studies and Associate Vice Provost for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, leading Trinity College Dublin’s work in this area. Lorraine previously served as Director of the Centre for Deaf Studies (2001-2018). Her research work is multidisciplinary, influenced by her background in deaf studies, interpreting studies, gender studies and linguistics. She has published widely in these areas.
Martina Farren
Martina Farren is a PhD candidate at the School of Linguistics, Speech and Communication Sciences at Trinity College Dublin where her research topic is on mainstream teachers’ experiences of teaching deaf pupils the national curriculum. She is also interested in the topic of classrooms mediated by sign language interpreters as this is a very new development in the Irish educational landscape. She also hopes to contribute to the development of a syllabus for Irish Sign Language as a subject in mainstream second level schools for which the Minister of Education has recently given the go ahead.
Holy Family School for the Deaf
Aideen Lynch
She is a a teacher of Science, Maths, ICT and Biology in Holy Family school for the Deaf in Cabra. She has been teaching Deaf students for 26 years. She studied science in the NUI Maynooth and a Higher Diploma for Teachers of the Deaf at the University of Birmingham. She is part of a team developing ISL (Irish Sign Language) signs for science and technology subjects.
Maggie Owens
Maggie is a Maths teacher and Qualified Teacher of the Deaf with over 20 years of experience at Holy Family School for the Deaf. She is passionate about creating engaging and inclusive learning experiences for all students and understands the importance of innovative teaching methods and tailored support. She is excited to join the project team to collaborate with educators from diverse backgrounds to enhance inclusive education and improve accessibility across all subjects.
Shirley Higgins
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Eli Raanes
Eli Raanes, professor at Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education, Dronning Mauds Minne Høgskole DMMH, Trondheim. In her dissertation at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) from 2006 she studied conversations between deafblind signers using Tactile Norwegian Sign Language. Eli Raanes has been working at the sign language and interpreting education, in the BA-program at NTNU, and as a professor in Pedagogy and Special needs education at the Department for Teacher Education, NTNU. She has been involved in projects on bilingual education for deaf children, on language development for the deaf and deafblind population, language history and home signing studies. Raanes research interest is sign language, interpreter-mediated communication, tactile sign language, rehabilitation for persons with reduced visual and auditive capacity/ deafblindness.
Marianne Pilskog Nyhus
Marianne Pilskog Nyhus is Assistant Professor, Head of the program for sign language and interpreting, Department of Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities at NTNU. Marianne holds an honours (master’s) degree in special education, is a preschool teacher with Norwegian Sign Language, and has further education in meaning-making and tactile sign language. Marianne has experience teaching students who wish to learn Norwegian Sign Language part-time, in the one-year study program, or through the BA in Norwegian Sign Language. Additionally, Marianne teaches primary school teachers about and in Norwegian Sign Language in both initial and further education. Marianne’s interests lie in the fields of language acquisition, bilingualism and multilingualism, interpreting, professional knowledge, and professional ethics, with a focus on accessible communication for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Marianne has participated in various development projects within these topics.
Sigrid Slettebakk Berge
Sigrid Slettebakk Berge is professor at the Faculty of teacher and interpreter education, NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. Her multidisciplinary research focuses on interpreted communication, accessibility and participation for all within a sociocultural and dialogical framing. Her Ph.D. project addresses inclusive interpreted mediated education for deaf students in upper secondary education. Earlier publications center around deafblind interpreting.