UNIMPEDED UNIVERSITY

Unobstructed University Project launched by Istanbul Aydin University and its founding foundation Anadolu Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) in 2021; it aims to benefit from the university experience and opportunities of disabled individuals who are not able to go to university in terms of cognitive skills. This project aims to contribute to their academic and social development by offering a variety of programs for individuals with special needs. The project is being realized at Istanbul Aydin University Florya Halit Aydin Campus.

The first pillar of the project is the “Academic Study Program with Special Education Students” organized for disabled individuals aged 9-12 years. During the summer period, 3 days a week for 4 weeks, activities in various fields such as gastronomy, music and sports are offered to students to discover their talents and improve their social skills. This program has been specially prepared with the contributions of volunteer academics and mentee students and has been implemented as a group work. Simultaneously, in the process of implementation of the program, parents are also offered the opportunity to train. In this context, volunteer academics in different classrooms are given courses with special educational content for parents. Thanks to these special training courses, parents can establish a more solid communication with their children and help them to follow their education processes more closely. The knowledge and experience gained by parents through these trainings encourage children to participate more effectively in their education.

In the second leg of the project, with the “College 1 Day a Week” study carried out in 2023, special needs individuals over 17 years of age are offered the opportunity to study in a university environment. Through this program, it is aimed for people with disabilities to become more integrated into society and to develop their potential. Individuals with disabilities who have undergone commission evaluation participate in the courses of volunteer academics and interact with university students and receive support from volunteer mentored students. Thanks to the program specially prepared for disabled individuals considering their abilities; rhythm and dance training, hair and beauty care, hotel management, sports, painting, digital game design courses are provided. At the same time, disabled individuals who are provided to come together with student clubs are preparing the environment for them to experience a university atmosphere.

The Unimpeded University Project aims to ensure that people with disabilities benefit from the university environment as well as to support their academic and social development.

This project, which is not an example in Turkey and in the world, offers an inclusive education model and university experience to disabled people who cannot benefit from university opportunities in terms of cognitive skills by carrying the targets of quality education which is the 4th step of sustainability development goals and reduction of inequalities which is the 10th step.