“After an academic journey that was not always easy, I found an University prepared to welcome me. And it has always been like this”. These were the words of Marco Rodrigues, a student at Técnico, who attended the first round table at the Social Responsibility Day, held this Monday at Taguspark campus. This edition was focused in Special Educational Needs in Higher Education.
Marco Rodrigues was born with cerebral palsy, which robbed him of the ability to use his lower limbs at an early stage, but this was not a limitation for him. “I feel happy and fully integrated at Técnico“ he said, referring to the past four years that he spent at Técnico.
José Pedro, a colleague of Marco and also a student with special educational needs at Técnico, took the opportunity to talk about some difficulties of his daily life. He highlighted the importance “of rethinking space accessibility at Técnico, namely in what concerns the auditoriums”, but he clearly underlined the availability and kindness of everyone at Técnico: “I feel free to ask for help and I feel that I can trust people because they care”.
Professor Luís Correia, Vice-president of Técnico for Taguspark campus, explained that the purpose of this event is “to understand the needs of students, professors and staff”, noting that “this topic needs to be discussed, approached and solved”.
Two representatives from the Special Educational Needs Network at Universidade de Lisboa (NEE-ULisboa Network) participated in the first round table, explaining the audience how the network works and the activities carried out to disseminate and implement inclusive practices.
Students and faculty from Instituto Superior Técnico, as well as from other Universities, gathered in the several activities during the afternoon. At the end of the event, NEE-ULisboa Network held an exhibition on the topic: “Universidade de Lisboa, a University for all”.
