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Disability and Specific Educational Needs Policy - Researchers / Students

Preamble:

The European University Institute is committed to providing equitable academic conditions for all researchers and students. Therefore, the EUI is committed to maximizing accessibility to services, resources and activities for researchers and students to ensure that no one is treated less favorably on the grounds of disability, and whenever needed, to provide reasonable adjustment.

The EUI disability policy serves researchers and students who have long-term physical, mental or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation within the EUI on an equal basis with others. This includes, but not limited to: sensory impairments, learning disabilities, mental illness, dyslexia, severe disfigurements, cancer, HIV/Aids, progressive conditions even at an early stage, conditions which are characterized by a number of cumulative effects such as pain or fatigue and a past history of disability.

Researchers and students with disabilities / specific educational needs are invited to register their needs with Dr.Fatma Sayed, Academic Service, Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies (email: [email protected]). 

EUI administrators and academic staff involved in the support programme are fully committed to the Privacy Policy and confidentiality of personal information. The EUI will not reveal any sensitive personal information to external parties and will not include any reference to disability, specific needs or adjustments in any official certificate, academic transcript or reference letter issued to/for doctoral researchers.

Reasonable adjustment, disability and specific needs services will include:

1. Accommodation:
Researchers and students with disabilities and specific needs will be given priority in EUI researchers’ housing allocation. A number of EUI researchers and students’ housing units are allocated for the accommodation of persons with disabilities. Researchers and students  with disabilities and specific needs, not requiring this specific EUI accommodation, will be given special assistance in finding appropriate housing.

2. Access to academic facilities and services:
The EUI is committed to maximize access and reasonably adjust its academic environment for researchers and students with disability and specific educational needs. Reasonable adjustments include:

• General accessibility of EUI campuses, facilities, and services. EUI campuses accessibility maps will be published on line and made available to the whole EUI community as well as useful links to external disability services in Florence and Tuscany. Such information and accessibility maps will indicate the various services and features available at EUI: for example where lifts are available, which buildings are accessible to wheelchairs and/or for which events, conferences, workshops can sign language services be provided upon request, how seminar rooms, office/door signs will be prepared in braille on request.

• Provision of assistive technologies, for instance, hardware and software products - such as screen readers and voice recognition products - that provide essential accessibility to computers for those with significant vision, hearing, dexterity and mobility, language and communication, or learning needs.

3. Mentoring and Academic Support:
Researchers and students with disabilities are strongly encouraged to inform their supervisors and academic advisors about their specific educational needs. Academic departments, supervisors, academic advisors, the Dean of Graduate Studies and other Support Services such as the Counseling and Wellbeing Service - if needed - will work together (in support teams coordinated by the Dean of Graduate Studies) to examine the specific educational needs of the researcher and agree with the researcher/student on reasonable adjustments of academic conditions/environment, without diluting the criteria for academic achievement and requirements. The main aim is to accommodate their specific educational needs and guarantee an equitable and inclusive academic environment. Whenever needed, alternative ways to fulfill academic requirements will be developed in agreement with the researcher(s) / student (s) by the Support Team (see below point 4)


4. Support Teams:
Wherever needed, support teams will be set up to agree with the researcher on the measures of the reasonable adjustment to be adopted in her/his individual case.

The Support Team can be composed of members from:
• Academic Service – Office of Dean of Graduate Studies (needs assessment - coordination and provision of information) - Academic advisor in the the relevant academic unit. 
• Counselling and Wellbeing Service (assessment, mentoring and support)
• Logistics Service/ Buildings (access to campuses and key services; for instance providing a map of accessible areas for individuals using wheel chairs or who have mobility impairments (shuttle busses among campuses) – housing assistance)
• ICT Service (Assistive Technologies and equipment)
• Academic Departments and where appropriate RSCAS-Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies- and MWP-Max Weber Programme for Postdoctoral Studies- - School of Transnational Governance - (academic mentoring and support - coordination)
• Library (facilitate access to Library resources - other)
• Archives (facilitate access to resources) 
 

Page last updated on 08 September 2020

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