Service design for inclusion and accessibility at higher education institutes

Abstract

Design for care and support is slowly taking shape in developing nations. Disability support services are yet to find their place in Indian universities. Residential higher education provides a cohesive ecosystem of holistic growth. Students with disabilities have been devoid of these growth opportunities due to the absence of an equitable environment. This paper presents a model to establish inclusion and accessibility services for students with disabilities in residential higher education institutes. The service model results from participatory research and design thinking led co-creation with the students with disabilities at a pioneer residential university. The service design approach considers both the student and Institute viewpoints orchestrating the backstage and frontstage of the service. It presents the idea of bottom-up initiatives to build a larger disability support ecosystem in the Institute. The paper attempts to highlight the impact of service design in creating equitable and accessible systems for institutes and students.