Barriers to Inclusive Mobility Viktor Piorecký Building Bridges, May

● Staff: 5200 Masaryk University (MU) ● Founded: 1919 ● Faculties: 9 ● Students: ● Staff: 48 int., 180 ext. ● Founded: 2000 ● Current SEN students: 540 Teiresias ● Students since 2000: 1956

Teaching and Counseling Serv. Pedagogical counselling Special curricula Special courses Services for daily studies Services for lifelong learning ICT Services Public study rooms Information Accessibility Services Electronic documents Tactile documents Texts Publishing House Graphics, maps Talking documents Assistance Test adaptation Special teaching rooms Developping spec. applications Spec. ICT courses Video documents Hybrid documents Electronic documents Tactile documents Texts Library Graphics, maps Talking documents Video documents Hybrid documents Courses and tests interpreting Interpreting special courses Translation and interpreting Translating written documents into SL Speech visualisation Speech-to-text reporting Note-keeping Psychological counselling Technical services Orienteering Personal Assistance Information services Accommodation and boarding

MU and mobility of SEN students ●app. 200 MU SEN students travelled abroad for short study visits and semester/year visits (18 students with special Erasmus grant) ●destinations: Brasil, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Norway ●app. 15 SEN students came to MU ●Role of Teiresias ○knowing the students and their needs before the nomination process ○organization and coordination before and during the visit ○communication with all stakeholders ○organization of special Erasmus grant ○providing assistance /service abroad (if needed) ●Three key areas: ○organization of the stay ○social contact on the spot ○technical support on the spot

Mobility of students with special needs

General Challenges ●protective family ●fear of unknown ●service expectations o different standards and practice of services (different offices in charge, external organizations in charge vs. services offered by the university itself, publicly delivered service vs. individually payed service...) o incorrect information (or lack of information) about the services available, sometimes these questions are clear after the visit... ●financial requirements of services (additional grant needed - subject to negotiation with national agency). Who pays for services? If there are no services, who is in charge to organize them, host or sending university? ●limited or none accessibility measures during social events on the spot

Challenges for students with visual impairment ●problematic or no adaptation of study material o access to local (regional, national) electronic library for visually impaired o the right to use specific publication in electronic format in respective country o the right to request document conversion from respective university/regional/national digitalization office o the right to use conversed materials during exams ●problematic or no adaptation of other documents such as applications, accommodation rules, registration documents etc. ●spatial orientation o access to local voice navigation o orientation instruction within the university and between univ. and accommodation o haptic plans ●guiding and assistance ●difficulties when traveling with guide dog (culture, accommodation)

Challenges for students with hearing impairment ●Interpretation from English or local language to ISS or to local sign language? ●Access to local online interpretation services ●Speech-to-text reporting ●Who pays for these services? ●Communication in English as requirement ●Social isolation as barrier (no interpretation in private life)

Challenges for students with mobility impairment ●barrier-free o university, its services and events o public services o transportation (public, taxi…) o accommodation o hygienic services ●the right to park personal car (campus and accommodation) ●personal assistance during education ●personal assistance during private life

How to overcome these challenges? ●communication ●knowing who delivers specific services in what extend, what is the price and who pays for it (all of it in advance of the visit) ●extensive budget in advance (often unrealistic) ●adaptation of all important information in advance ●regular contact during the visit

Thank you

Support Centre for Students with Special Needs Masaryk University Šumavská 15, Brno, Czech Republic Tel.: Fax: