The Faculty of Social Sciences played a key role in this edition, designed and facilitated by Virginie Cobigo, Full Professor in the School of Psychology. The event guided recruiters and supervisors to reflect on their hiring practices and co-create solutions with input from students with disabilities. The Accessibility Challenge is an innovative, collaborative, and experiential co-creation workshop aimed at supporting employers to remove employment accessibility barriers based on the lived experience of persons with disabilities.
This edition also showcases the involvement of the University of Ottawa working group responsible for implementing the David C. Onley Initiative (DCOI 2.0), which aims to close the employment gap that exists between students with disabilities at post-secondary institutions and their peers without disabilities. One of the working group's priorities is to improve the accessibility of on-campus recruitment processes for students with disabilities.
Participants experienced firsthand the challenges faced by students living with disabilities, fostering a collaborative atmosphere aimed at improving campus employment opportunities. They took part in simulated hiring processes from the perspective of an applicant with disability. These simulations were orchestrated by Virginie Cobigo and Alana Murphy from Open Collaboration for Cognitive Accessibility, Cynthia Allan, careers and employability specialist from the Career Corner, and student leader Jenna Boomhower. After these simulations, participants and students with disabilities co-created solutions to address the accessibility barriers they experienced during the simulation.
Here is a glimpse of what participants thought about the event : “It made me see first-hand that an interview is already stressful in itself, when you add a disability to the equation it adds extra layers of challenges to try and perform well”. “I will be reviewing the hiring process with my colleague to make sure that we are offering a safe and inclusive environment. I will also make sure to let students know that we can provide accommodations for the interview process.”
Professor Cobigo represented one of the Faculty's models of Knowledge Mobilization as the Executive Director of Open Collaboration for Cognitive Accessibility. Based in the very heart of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Open is a young social enterprise created in 2020, and is considered the one-stop shop for expertise and services in cognitive accessibility.
Professor Cobigo and her team help connect private industry, the public sector, non-profit organizations, and academia with people facing cognitive accessibility barriers in their daily lives, to improve the spaces and technology they use, and the services they receive. They act as a bridge between the two communities to ensure that people facing cognitive accessibility barriers are involved in the development of solutions.
In addition, a Mini Summit on Disability Experiences, organized by the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Victoria Barham, brought together various university sectors to develop strategies for strengthening campus accommodation systems. The Dean emphasized the Faculty's ongoing commitment to enhancing accessibility, aligning with the university's broader vision for a more inclusive campus environment.
For Awad Ibrahim, Vice-Provost of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusive Excellence, accessibility is a priority. These initiatives mark a significant milestone in the University of Ottawa's ongoing effort to support students with disabilities and ensure equal opportunities for all.
While there is still a long road ahead, these events are positive steps towards a more inclusive future.
To learn more about the University's commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusive Excellence, visit the vice-provost page for better insight into how education and research are being advanced to create a more inclusive university community.
Find out more about research conducted at the Faculty of Social Sciences and how it is being implemented in daily life mechanisms, visit Collabzium to explore how social science research is taking Knowledge Mobilization to a more concrete level.