Inclusive studying and working on an accessible campus

AG Barrierefreie Hochschule and ‘StudiTalk’ campaign for the participation of university members with disabilities

The International Day of Disabled Persons on 3 December aims to draw attention to the needs of people with disabilities. This is because they still encounter problems in everyday life, partly because they are not considered when building work is carried out. Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences has been working for many years to ensure that its students and employees with disabilities are able to participate. In addition to compensating for disadvantages and providing counselling services, dedicated university staff are working to make the campus as accessible as possible.

By signing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 15 years ago, Germany committed itself to promoting inclusive education and the removal of barriers in public spaces.  In the Barrier-free University Working Group, university members are working to implement this on campus and enable equal participation in studying, teaching, research and everyday working life. The action plan for implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in 2020. This includes measures for various fields of action, from the accessibility of buildings and the website to compensation for disadvantages for students and the training of teaching staff. ‘The environment must adapt to the needs of people with disabilities and not the other way round. Ideally, they should be able to use all university facilities and services in their generally available form without having to resort to special or alternative solutions or having to request them retrospectively,’ explains Claudia Krieten, the university's representative for inclusive studying. 

A lot has changed since the Barrier-free University Working Group began its work in 2018. For example, an accessible meeting room was put into operation, further training opportunities were created for lecturers and the university's website has also been accessible since its relaunch. Preparations are also currently underway to equip lecture and seminar rooms with a technical system for hearing assistance.  With the help of an app, people with hearing impairments can take part in university events without barriers in rooms equipped with the system, without having to rely on specific seats with particularly good acoustics, as is usually the case. Preparations for a digital, barrier-free wayfinding system for the university are also currently being made by the Barrier-free University working group. With the help of an app, better orientation within the buildings should be possible. Routes to lifts, accessible toilets, event rooms, advice centres, etc. are displayed or announced to users. ‘The AG Barrierefreie Hochschule is involved in all expansion and conversion measures. The university is also a partner in the Inclusive Bremerhaven Network to promote accessibility beyond the campus grounds,’ says Gudrun Zimmermann, Head of the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Diversity at the university.

If students with and without disabilities or chronic illnesses can participate in all areas of the university community and study successfully from the start of their studies to graduation, then we can speak of an inclusive degree programme. The needs are very individual. To make it easier for them to participate in seminars and lectures, students with disabilities at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences receive support from Claudia Krieten. The representative for inclusive study advises students on aids and programmes before they start their studies. She also checks whether students can claim compensation for disadvantages in examinations. ‘Some students are helped by the use of appropriate hardware and software, which we can then provide,’ she says. In another case, with the support of the university, she made it possible for a student to bring her assistance dog to campus and lectures. ‘The most important thing is to talk to everyone involved and develop solutions,’ emphasises Claudia Krieten. The ‘Breaking down barriers together’ group is part of the peer-to-peer programme ‘StudiTalk’ so that students with disabilities can also interact with each other. To mark the International Day of Disabled Persons, the committed students are launching a poster campaign on campus to raise awareness of this offer. ‘Barriers not only hinder access to buildings, but also to knowledge and information. We at ‘StudiTalk’ are creating a safe space for affected students. This can involve structural barriers, communication problems, university didactics issues, compensation for disadvantages during studies or accessibility in the workplace. Together with the AG Barrierefreie Hochschule, we would like to help ensure that the university continues to develop in an inclusion-sensitive manner,’ says Jurina Kleemeyer, who is involved in the “StudiTalk” together with Laura Schröder.

Further information can be found at www.hs-bremerhaven.de/en/university/a-campus-for-everyone