A model equipped with braille letters as a teaching aid for students with disabilities

ITS Campus, ITS News — The Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) has once again demonstrated its commitment to realizing inclusive higher education. This time, ITS lecturers have formulated a policy paper titled ” Designing a Multiscale Support System for Digital Education to Improve Higher Education Access for People with Disabilities” as the basis for developing inclusive education policies at ITS.

The head of the ITS research team, Siti Nurlaela, ST, MCom, PhD, revealed that access to higher education for people with disabilities remains limited, particularly in the fields of science and technology. She noted that although national regulations guarantee the right to education for all citizens, its implementation on campus still faces various challenges. “We want to ensure that ITS is ready to become an inclusive campus, not only in terms of infrastructure but also in terms of its academic system,” she explained.

Siti Nurlaela ST MCom PhD (far left) when submitting the policy draft to the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Planning and Geosciences (FTSPK) ITS Dr Farida Rachmawati ST MT as a representative of the ITS leadership

The lecturer in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (PWK) at ITS explained that the necessary support system for students with disabilities needs to be developed through three main stages. The first stage is student input, which focuses on student acceptance through an inclusive admissions system. The second stage is student process, which focuses on adaptive and accessible learning. Finally, student output, which prepares students for academic independence and professional careers.

Through this research, Siti and her team conducted an internal study, sampling several study programs (prodi) to assess the curriculum’s suitability to the needs of students with disabilities. The analysis was conducted through mapping of graduate learning outcomes (CPL) to determine the level of readiness of each study program. “This step helps us understand the extent to which the curriculum at ITS supports the principle of inclusivity,” Siti explained.

This research was also strengthened by a study on the implementation of inclusive education at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, England. Siti explained that the collaboration with UWE aimed to study the implementation of digital policies and systems that support educational services for various types of disabilities. Furthermore, her team also conducted studies at several local universities to review existing higher education disability services in Indonesia.

Siti Nurlaela ST MCom PhD (fifth from right) after presenting her academic manuscript study to ITS leadership

Research team member Sri Oka Rachmadita, ST, MT, from Trisakti University, added that the research has yielded several policy recommendations that have been submitted to ITS leadership. One of these is the establishment and strengthening of the Disability Services Unit (ULD) as a central coordination center for services and academic support for students with disabilities. “This institution will ensure the implementation of inclusive education at ITS,” said the woman, familiarly known as Oka.

Oka further explained that the research and development of this policy paper was a collaboration between ITS and UWE Bristol, with support from the British Council through the Disability Inclusion Partnership Grant program. This activity also involved researchers from Trisakti University and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) to strengthen the national perspective in developing inclusive education policies in Indonesia.

This study confirms ITS’s contribution to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point 4 on Quality Education and point 10 on Reducing Inequality. Furthermore, collaboration with national and international universities also supports the achievement of point 17, Partnerships to Achieve the Goals. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: A Rifda Yuni Artika
Translator : Devinka Mutianeira