Accessibility on Campus St. Pölten

On 16 August, two external experts visited the Campus St. Pölten to inspect the UAS buildings with regard to their structural accessibility. Birgit Schierhuber, certified professional for accessible building and head of the project "BhW barrierefrei", and Harald Fiedler, business founder of TROTZ-DEM and a blind person himself, set out to verify whether there was still room for improvement.

What can the UAS do to improve?

One thing soon became clear: accessibility in building is much more than lifts and ramps for wheelchair users. An accessible environment is designed in such a way that it enables all persons with disabilities to participate as independently as possible and without help from others. This also means considering various types of disabilities.

Accessibility is an assured right of persons with disabilities – and an accessible environment is a plus for everyone.

All barriers found were documented and will be reported. This report constitutes an important starting point for further continuous improvement.

What has been done so far?

Some measures were already taken over the past years in collaboration with associations of affected persons:

• In 2019, six persons with different disabilities already inspected the UAS building.
• For blind and visually impaired persons, the St. Pölten UAS has a tactile guidance system that leads from the main entrance to the CSC and a technology for making literature readable in the library. Persons with hearing impairments can make use of an audio induction loop in Lecture Hall 2.

What's next?

Once again, it became clear how important it is to engage in exchange with experts who can contribute valuable perspectives and impulses based on their own disabilities.

For this reason, the St. Pölten UAS is planning further steps to improve participation within the framework of the lighthouse project “Inclusion in Studying and Teaching” until the end of 2022, for example another exchange with experts and a UAS-wide “Inclusion Workshop”.

• Read more about the Gender & Diversity management of the St. Pölten UAS.