The Diversity and Inclusion Office at IIM Bangalore organised a half-day workshop on ‘Inclusive Best Practices in Higher Education’, in collaboration with the Department for International Development (DFID), UK, on 28th November, 2019.
David Finch, Director, International Development and Research, National Star College, UK, conducted the workshop and discussed the duties of higher education institutes to ensure equity, strategies and adaptations for inclusion of persons with disability.
National Star College, based in the UK, has done remarkable work towards enabling people with disabilities realise their potential through personalised learning programmes.
They have developed some best practices to support the teaching of people with disabilities in higher education.
David Finch, from National Star College , UK, led a workshop on ‘Best Practices in Inclusion for Higher Education Institutes’, on November 28, 2019.
Finch suggested that institutes develop a greater understanding of the needs of people with disability and identify strategies that trainers/teachers can use to ensure they are not disadvantaged. “Institutes should aim for inclusive education where all students, including those with disability, have the same opportunity, at the same level,” he said, adding that inclusive education implies that a student be taught and tested in ways that are suitable for their learning and not at a level lower than other students. He described the disability support services structure at Cambridge University and UCL London, various support services like human and exam support services provided by these schools to students and how they can be replicated. He also emphasized the need for educational institutes to have a clear mission to enable inclusion.
Observing that technology plays a key role in removing barriers to inclusion, he talked about the SETT (student, environment, task and tools) model and suggested technology solutions based on student requirement. He said, “Technology is just a tool to crack the problem, to remove the barrier to inclusion. Institutes should not look for fancy devices but they must look for solutions that are easily available, sustainable, affordable and easy to use.”
