Inclusive UCC Welcomes 18 Student Interns to Enhance Module Accessibility

13 Jun 2023

Welcome to the Inclusive UCC Internship Programme, where 18 student interns have recently joined to enhance the accessibility of over 80 modules across the four colleges. This initiative builds upon the success of a pilot programme conducted in the summer of 2022, which involved four student interns working on improving the accessibility of 18 modules. During that pilot, a remarkable 22% increase in content accessibility was achieved across the modules.

The ongoing Digital Accessibility in Content Delivery project aims to implement a student intern model across all four UCC colleges throughout the summer. This initiative focuses on supporting digital accessibility and enhancing module layout and structure. A group of 18 students was hired and commenced their work on June 6th for eight weeks. To showcase their efforts and provide valuable feedback to the staff involved, a special event is scheduled for July 27th.

By placing the student voice at the forefront of reviewing the institution's digital accessibility and involving those most affected by accessibility barriers in finding solutions, this approach ensures genuine student involvement. The interns will use the Anthology Ally reporting tool for Canvas to analyse and redesign the content. Additionally, they will collaborate with course instructors to develop plans for maintaining accessibility improvements in the future. This collaborative effort will contribute to building the capacity of our academic staff.

For further details about this exciting initiative, please reach out to Inclusive UCC at inclusive@ucc.ie. Stay tuned for updates on the remarkable progress made by our dedicated student interns.