Explore how you can enhance your professional journey through our comprehensive University Career Services Library.
This curated resource brings together the full range of career services offered across all EPC member institutions, providing you with streamlined access to tailored support at your university.
Whether you’re seeking one-to-one career guidance, engaging in skills workshops, or exploring placement opportunities, this library equips you with the tools to make informed decisions and maximise the resources available to you.
If you wish to provide an updated link, please contact Crystal Nwagboso – c.nwagboso@epc.ac.uk
Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.
Please note: Discussions around discrimination, prejudice and bias are highly complex and part of a much wider national and international debate, including contested histories. As such, we have limited the scope of our resources to educating and supporting students.
The resources that the EPC and its partners are producing in this area will continue to expand and, if you feel there is an issue that is currently underrepresented in our content, we would be delighted to work with you to create more. Please get in touch.
The University Career Services Library was produced by Crystal Nwagboso (Engineering Professors Council).
The EPC’s Inclusive Employability Toolkit is supported by Canterbury Christ Church University, Equal Engineers, The Royal Academy of Engineering, and Wrexham University. This resource is designed to help engineering educators integrate EDI principles and practices in engineering, computing, design and technology – across education, employer engagement, career preparation, and progression into the workplace.
Introduction
This resource was formerly known as the EDGE Toolkit, and was developed in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University, Wrexham University, Equal Engineers and The Royal Academy of Engineering. The two Universities have now joined forces with the Engineering Professors Council to launch the newly renamed Inclusive Employability Toolkit, working together to improve usability and ensure broader access to this valuable resource.
The Inclusive Employability Toolkit supports inclusive employment in engineering, computing, design, and technology, enhancing diversity and authentic voices in the workplace.
Our commitment to fostering an environment where every individual feels valued and empowered has led us to develop the Inclusive Employability Toolkit. This comprehensive toolkit is designed to guide students, faculty, and staff in understanding and practicing EDI principles, ensuring that our campus is a place where diversity thrives and every voice is heard.
The Inclusive Employability Toolkit is more than just a set of resources – it’s a commitment to continuous learning, understanding, and action. We invite you to explore the toolkit, participate in the activities, and engage with the wealth of available resources. Together, we can build an engineering community that truly reflects the world’s diversity, united in our pursuit of equity and inclusion.
Begin by exploring this page; it provides a comprehensive background on the importance of EDI in the world of engineering and sets the stage for your learning journey.
Welcome
The world is incredibly diverse, but navigating the complexities of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) can be challenging, especially for minority groups who face significant hurdles. In the video below, Professor Anne Nortcliffe invites you to explore the Inclusive Employability Toolkit, offering guidance on how to make the most of its features and resources.
The Inclusive Employability Toolkit aims to
Empower individuals to circumvent hurdles and deal with challenges they may face.
Educate together core concepts of EDI allyship to benefit of all of society.
Equip individuals with the tools and knowledge to enable inclusive environment. Encourage individual ongoing reflection, growth, and active participation in EDI initiatives.
Contents
How to use this toolkit effectively:
Embarking on your journey through Inclusive Employability Toolkit is a step towards fostering an inclusive and diverse environment within the engineering community. This guide will help you navigate the toolkit, ensuring you make the most of the resources, challenges, and learning opportunities it offers.
Activities: Explore each activity, designed to deepen your understanding and application of EDI principles across contexts. You can also explore our University Career Services Library here, where you’ll find a range of helpful resources.
Reflect and grow:Use this tool to gauge your current understanding and identify areas for growth.
Next steps: Guidance on continuing your EDI learning journey, including resources from Wenite and Equal Engineers.
Case studies: Case studies on inclusive employability for application in educational and teaching contexts.
Blogs: Personal experience, news and updates on the Inclusive Employability Toolkit.
Get involved:A guide to how you can contribute to the Inclusive Employability Toolkit and community.
Our contributors: We’d like to thank all our contributors for making this toolkit such a valuable resource.
Our supporters: We’d like to thank Canterbury Christ Church University, Equal Engineers, The Royal Academy of Engineering and Wrexham University for supporting this project.
Goals
🌍 Diversity matters: The toolkit emphasizes that diverse voices enrich the workplace, offering unique perspectives that drive innovation and creativity. 💪 Empowering students: By focusing on technical students, the toolkit equips them with the skills and confidence to navigate their career paths successfully. 🎤 Encouraging authenticity: Bringing your authentic voice to work fosters an environment of trust and openness, leading to stronger team dynamics. 🤝 Role of allies: Supporting individuals from minority backgrounds (female, LGBTQ, disabled, mature, low socio-economic status, global majority) not only aids their success but enriches the workplace culture for everyone involved. 📈 Business impact: Companies that prioritise equity and inclusion see improved employee retention and higher morale, translating into better performance metrics. 🛠️ Better solutions: Diverse teams in engineering and technology are proven to develop more effective solutions, addressing a wider range of needs and challenges. 🏛️ Societal benefits: Promoting equity and inclusion not only benefits organisations but also contributes to a more just and equitable society overall.
Licensing
To ensure that everyone can use and adapt the toolkit in a way that best fits their teaching or purpose, most of this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Under this licence you are free to share and adapt this material, under terms that you must give appropriate credit and attribution to the original material and indicate if any changes are made.
Further details
CommitmentOur roleWhat we knowChallenges in the industryIndustry EmployersStudent feedback
To leading the charge in creating new opportunities for diversity and inclusion of engineering, technology and design to address regional skills gap. Our vision for all engineering, technology and design students regardless of their background have opportunity to thrive in engineering, technology and design industry.
As game changers we have researched and developed the Inclusive Employability Toolkit to empower students and employers in building bridges between academia, students, and industry to enable gainful graduate employment and more inclusive, dynamic, and diverse opportunities in engineering, technology and design.
A higher proportion of Global Majority and low socioeconomic students’ study at Post-92 universities, and yet, employment outcomes for graduates from these universities often lag behind their Russell Group peers.
Ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic factors continue to shape the employability landscape However more inclusive engineering, technology and design teams create better solutions to problems for all of society.
Gain insights from industry employers as they discuss the toolkit and its impact.
Gain insights from students as they reflect on the usefulness and impact of the toolkit.
Please note: Discussions around discrimination, prejudice and bias are highly complex and part of a much wider national and international debate, including contested histories. As such, we have limited the scope of our resources to educating and supporting students.
The resources that the EPC and its partners are producing in this area will continue to expand and, if you feel there is an issue that is currently underrepresented in our content, we would be delighted to work with you to create more. Please get in touch.
Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.
This month marked a milestone for the engineering education community, as the EPC and E-DAP launched their practical, step-by-step Deaf Awareness Toolkit* to a wider audience for the first time.
Designed for engineers at all career stages, the toolkit offers practical training to build inclusive skills, implement meaningful measures, and encourage open participation, ultimately improving engineering outcomes through greater accessibility and communication.
Breaking new ground in Engineering inclusion
Hosted by EPC CEO Johnny Rich, the toolkit’s accompanying webinar ‘Being heard: How everyone benefits from deaf awareness’ (available to watch here)brought together over 50 attendees from more than 29 institutions. It marked the first time the UK engineering community has come together in this way to explore how deaf awareness can unlock stronger communication, collaboration and innovation across the sector.
The panel featured voices from RNID, the EPC, E-DAP and professionals with lived experience, offering engineers practical, experience-led guidance grounded in real-world insight—not just theory.
Closed captions: a simple shift, a big impact
One key takeaway is that closed captions do more than support communication. They encourage presenters to structure content more clearly, making complex ideas easier to follow. This is especially important in engineering, where technical information needs to be communicated accurately across classrooms, meetings, and fast paced R&D environments.
Lucia Capogna (E-DAP) showed just how simple this can be in practice, giving a live demonstration of how to activate captions in PowerPoint. It is a small shift that can make a big difference, and it is easier to implement than many people realise.
Key messages from the panel
Frankie Garforth (RNID) Frankie addressed widespread misconceptions around deafness, hearing loss and tinnitus, reminding us that over 18 million people in the UK are affected. “You’ll know people living with this,” she said. “It’s good to support them.” She highlighted how deaf-aware technologies like closed captions can significantly improve communication – often in ways people don’t realise until they experience it first hand.
Dr. Sarah Jayne Hitt (EPC) Sarah Jayne emphasised that some of the most impactful accessibility technologies are already freely available. Many were showcased earlier in the webinar, and others can be explored via the EPC website. These tools, she explained, complement the learning that happens through real human connection – like her own journey learning ASL from a school teacher and later embedding deaf awareness in everyday university life.
Ellie Haywood (E-DAP) Ellie shared how she took personal responsibility to embed deaf awareness into her workplace a few years ago. Her goal: to make accessibility part of the default way her team operated, so no one would need to ask for special measures. The impact was immediate – improving team efficiency and communication well beyond the deaf community. This inclusive approach proved particularly effective in high-tech R&D projects.
Pilot and student feedback
E-DAP piloted the Deaf Awareness Toolkit with nearly 500 first-year students across civil, mechanical and other engineering disciplines. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, particularly among non-native English speakers, who reported being better able to follow lectures and understand the content.
One simple innovation, using a blank PowerPoint slide during Q&A, made a big difference in helping students catch questions that might otherwise be lost in the noise of a busy classroom.
Survey responses showed nearly two-thirds of students felt neutral to strongly positive about captions and wanted to see them used more widely.
Resources and tools available now
The Deaf Awareness Toolkit is designed to help educators and engineers improve everyday communication and inclusion. It includes:
Beyond communication: safety, inclusion and culture
Deaf awareness goes beyond communication. In engineering environments, visual alarms and clear auditory cues support safety. Inclusive meeting behaviours, accessible research environments, and awareness of hearing health can all contribute to a more inclusive and effective working culture. Clear communication isn’t just a benefit for deaf individuals, it supports better outcomes for everyone.
The vision: One Million Engineers
This is just the beginning. Our goal is to engage one million engineers with accessibility.
With the EPC platform reaching 7,500 engineering academics across 82 institutions, and 179,000 students enrolled in those institutions, we are taking our first steps towards that vision.
Accessibility isn’t an optional extra. It’s a core part of engineering education and inclusion that we want to instil in future engineers.
What’s next
E-DAP and the EPC are now working together to embed deaf awareness more deeply into engineering practice and culture. Future activities will include:
Awareness campaigns across the engineering sector.
Continued toolkit development and events focused on neurodiversity, ethics and inclusion.
E-DAP is an active ally to the Deaf and deaf communities. We do not speak for them, but work in partnership with experts, advocates, and individuals with lived experience to improve awareness and inclusion in engineering and education.
We collaborate with the community to learn and co-create. Our goal is to support engineering innovation by enabling better communication for everyone, and to implement inclusion in engineering through technology, tools, learning, and partnerships that embed inclusive practices and create lasting change.
A Note on Language
Language matters. Whether someone identifies as Deaf, deaf, has hearing loss or tinnitus, they are all individuals, and respectful language helps create more inclusive spaces. If you’re unsure how to phrase something, ask. It’s always better to check than assume. Helpful guidance on terminology is available from the RNID.
Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.
Authors: Dr. Kieran Higgins(Ulster University); Dr. Alison Calvert (Queen’s University Belfast).
Topic: Integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into higher education curricula.
Sustainability competency: Anticipatory; Integrated problem-solving; Strategic; Systems thinking.
Related SDGs: SDG 4 (Quality education); SDG 13 (Climate action).
Reimagined Degree Map Intervention: Adapt and repurpose learning outcomes; Authentic assessment; Active pedagogies and mindset development.
Who is this article for?: This article should be read by educators at all levels of higher education looking to embed and integrate ESD into curriculum, module, and / or programme design.
Learning and Teaching Notes:
Supported by AdvanceHE, this Toolkit provides a structured approach to integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into higher education curricula. It uses the CRAFTS methodology and empowers educators to enhance their modules and programs with sustainability competencies aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Key Features:
• Five-Phase Process: Analyse stakeholder needs, map current provision, reflect on opportunities for development, redesign with an ESD focus, and create an action plan for continuous enhancement.
• Practical Tools: Includes templates for stakeholder analysis, module planning, active learning activities, and evaluation.
• Flexible Implementation: Designed for use at both module and programme level.
• Competency-Based: Focuses on developing authentic learning experiences across cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioural domains.
Benefits
• Identify stakeholder sustainability needs
• Map existing ESD elements in your curriculum
• Reflect on opportunities to enhance ESD integration
• Redesign modules with active learning approaches of ESD
• Create actionable plans for implementation and evaluation
Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.
Authors: Dr. Kieran Higgins (Ulster University); Dr. Alison Calvert (Queen’s University Belfast).
Who is this article for?: This article should be read by module coordinators, programme directors, and teaching teams in higher education who want to meaningfully integrate ESD into their curriculum design and delivery.
It’s always a struggle to get started on something new in the time- and resource-poor environment that is higher education. Sustainability can become just another box to tick rather than the world-changing priority it should be.
We knew there was more to ESD than simply labelling a module handbook with the SDG logos, especially when it was only SDG4 because it happens to mention education. There was a need to become familiar and comfortable with a deeper perspective on the SDGs and their related targets and indicators – without becoming intimidated by them. ESD should prepare students to tackle unforeseen challenges and navigate complex systems, rather than focusing on content alone. As higher education professionals, we recognised the inherent challenges of this.
As a result, we developed our CRAFTS (Co-Designing Reflective Approaches for the Teaching of Sustainability) model of curriculum design, based on an adaptation of Design Thinking, to provide a structured and usable, yet accessible, flexible, and not discipline-specific means of embedding and embodying ESD in the curriculum. We were then approached by AdvanceHE to develop this further into a practical, systematic resource that would empower educators to take genuine ownership of sustainability in their teaching and assessment.
The Toolkit helps tackle these issues in a straightforward way by breaking them down into five stages.
First, it shows how to analyse what stakeholders like students, employers and accrediting bodies want and need from a module when it comes to sustainability.
Then, it guides educators to map exactly what is being taught as the curriculum stands, aligning it to the SDGs and the ESD Competencies. This is a moment of real relief for many people, who discover that much of what they already do aligns perfectly with ESD.
After that, there’s a guided reflection to see where stronger integration might happen or where superficial coverage can be expanded into something more meaningful.
The redesign process helps to embed active learning and authentic assessments and finishes off with an action plan for moving forward and measuring impact for future evaluation.
We find it heartening to watch colleagues pivot from feeling like ESD is an add-on to realising it can enhance what they already do. Instead of worrying that they must become experts in every single SDG, the Toolkit reminds them that authentic engagement with a few well-chosen goals can lead to the deeper kind of learning we all aspire to provide.
This personal, reflective approach has helped academics overcome the sense that sustainability in the curriculum is an overwhelming requirement. They see it as a powerful lens through which students learn to handle uncertainty, become resilient critical thinkers and gain the confidence to tackle real-world problems.
We hope the Toolkit continues to spark conversations and encourage more creative approaches to ESD across disciplines. We don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all solution. It has been inspiring to see colleagues reclaim that sense of possibility and excitement, reassured that teaching for a sustainable future can be woven into what they’re already doing – just with an extra layer of intentionality and reflection.
If you’re looking for a way to bring ESD into your own classroom, we hope the Toolkit will be a reliable companion on that journey.
Dr Kieran Higgins (Lecturer in Higher Education Practice, Ulster University) and Dr Alison Calvert (Senior Lecturer in Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast) have collaborated on Education for Sustainable Development projects for over 4 years, drawing on extensive and wide ranging experiences of higher education and sustainability. Their vision is of transformed global higher education curricula that empowers all graduates, regardless of discipline or career path, to become champions of a sustainable future.
Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.
Overview
The Engineering Deaf Awareness Project (E-DAP) is a pioneering initiative dedicated to making deaf awareness a standard in engineering. E-DAP is a movement for meaningful, measurable change in the number of people who proactively use accessibility tech in their daily lives, supporting everyone around them. By embedding accessibility into the fabric of engineering, E-DAP is breaking down barriers, changing perceptions and creating a future where engineering truly works to make everyone’s lives more effective
Imagine a world where talented individuals and dynamic growth oriented companies are turbo charged by removing barriers in communication and understanding. In engineering—a field where communication is critical to innovation, being proactive and embedding accessibility at the norm is critical. At E-DAP, we believe technology for accessibility is the foundation for accessibility and increased performance and ground-breaking ideas. By fostering technology for accessibility and increased performance, we’re not just improving workplaces—we’re demonstrating how inclusivity fuels economic growth, creativity, collaboration and benefits everyone.
The EPC has published E-DAP resources in a toolkit in solidarity with the Project’s aims.
Mission and Strategic Aims
E-DAP’s mission is to embed deaf awareness into the core of engineering practices, ensuring that the profession is accessible and for all . Our strategic aims include:
Awareness: Educate engineering professionals and students about the challenges faced by the deaf community.
Inclusion: Develop and promote resources and training to support deaf individuals in engineering environments.
Action: Support and drive change across academia and businesses
Innovation: Leverage emerging technologies to create solutions that bridge communication gaps.
Challenges
The engineering sector has historically faced challenges in creating inclusive environments for deaf individuals, including:
Lack of Awareness: Limited understanding of the unique needs of deaf professionals and students.
Resource Gaps: Scarcity of tailored training materials and support systems.
Technological Barriers: Underutilisation of technology to facilitate effective communication.
Initiatives and Activities
To address these challenges, E-DAP is implementing several key initiatives:
Hackathons: Organise collaborative events at Google’s ADC, bringing together students, engineers, and professionals to develop technological solutions that enhance communication and accessibility.
Webinars: Conducted a series of online seminars aimed at reaching over 1,000 participants, providing insights into deaf awareness and practical strategies for inclusion.
Social Media Campaigns: Leverage LinkedInto disseminate resources, share success stories, and engage the broader community in discussions on inclusivity.
Partnerships: Collaborate with organisations such as the Engineering Professors Council, Google, and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) to amplify impact and resource availability.
Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.
PowerPoint Subtitles Guidelines
1. Benefits of subtitles
Improve accessibility for deaf people
Improve understanding for foreign students/non-native speakers
Improve communication with native and non-native speakers, reducing the issues when one of the parties has a strong accent
2. Main steps
STEP 1: Activate the subtitles (See section 3)
STEP 2: Customise your settings (See section 4)
2.1. Select the language to be used 2.2. Select the subtitles position 2.3. Customise subtitles appearance (background, text size and colour)
STEP 3: Create your slide to leave room for the subtitles in line with your settings (avoid overlapping)
Note 1: You need to be connected to the internet for the subtitles to work.
Note 2: You need to change your security settings to authorise PowerPoint to access the microphone.
Note 3: You do not have to customise your settings for each presentation unless you wish to change something.
3. How do you activate the subtitles?
Open PowerPoint and on the main task bar select “Slide show” and tick “Always Use Subtitles” on the ribbon:
4. Subtitles settings
When activated, you can customise the subtitles:
Subtitles position
“Below slide” and “Above slide”
If one of the following options is selected
● Below slide
● Above slide
you do not have to worry about the subtitle background overlapping with slide content. However, the overall dimension of the projected slide will be reduced, so please check that it is still ok.
The examples below show the difference between “Bottom (Overlaid)” and “Below slide”.
Bottom (Overlaid)
Below slide
“Bottom (Overlaid)” and “Top (Overlaid)”
Important: If you select one of the following options
● Bottom (Overlaid)
● Top (Overlaid)
you will need to prepare your slides to leave room for the subtitles in line with your settings, and change the subtitle settings to improve visibility (see “Subtitles” > “More settings”).
The example below uses “Bottom (Overlaid)” and default settings for text and background.
On the above example we can see that the subtitles overlap with both the logo and the contents of the slide, making the visibility poor. In addition, the size of the subtitles text appears to be quite small.
The following example shows how the settings may provide better visibility of the subtitles and the contents of the slide.
More settings: Text size and colour, background colour and transparency
1) Change the settings to use a “Large Text” or “Extra Large Text” and colours that improve visibility (e.g. yellow on solid black)
2) If you cannot rework the master slides and move the logo, select a solid background to provide more visibility to the subtitles. (Although you will make the logo less visible, this should give a better experience to the people attending the presentation.)
Subtitles background colour
How can the slide background influence the colour of the subtitles background and text colour?
• What colour is the slide background?
If the slide background is white or a light colour, you should consider using a dark colour as subtitle background to create the right level of contrast and improve the visibility of the subtitles. Similarly, if the slide background is black or another dark colour, you should consider using a light colour as subtitle background.
The subtitles text colour should in turn be in contrast with the subtitles background colour.
• Where is the logo? Are the subtitles overlapping with the logo? Can you re-work the master slides and move it?
If you cannot move the logo, you may want to consider this:
The subtitle background is not a solid colour by default, but has a certain degree of transparency. This may still be ok if there are no other objects (like a logo) under the subtitles background. Otherwise, you may need to update this setting to have a solid colour as background.
5. Guidance scope and feedback
Thank you for reading this guide and for your interest in E-DAP. We hope that this guide will help you to implement deaf awareness practises.
If you’d like to be involved in any further E-DAP led events, training materials or to join the E-DAP mailing list, please complete the form via the link below or scan the QR code.
Your feedback is important to us, as it allows us to improve our events and materials for others. Please provide your feedback on this guideline and on the subtitles usage by completing the following form:
Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.
Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.
Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.
At the Engineering Professors Council (EPC), we believe that inclusivity should be embedded into the heart of engineering education. One of the key areas where this is essential is supporting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. We are proud to be a supporter of the the Engineering Deaf Awareness Project (E-DAP), a pioneering initiative established by Dr. Emma Taylor, focused on making Deaf Awareness a standard practice within engineering, both in academia and industry.
Why This Matters in Engineering Education and Workplace Settings.
A recent study by the University of Manchester and University of Nottingham, published in the International Journal of Audiology revealed that deafness and hearing loss affects 18 million people in the UK—around one-third of adults. Despite its prevalence, many educational institutions and industries, including engineering, face challenges in making environments fully accessible to deaf or hard of hearing individuals. The E-DAP project highlights a crucial issue: without deaf awareness, talented engineering students and professionals face significant barriers that limit their ability to contribute fully in all aspects of their daily personal, academic and professional lives.
Gaining Momentum
The E-DAP has gained significant momentum through increased collaboration and has expanded its reach, engaging a wider audience in conversations about accessibility in engineering. This growth culminated in a recent visit to Google’s Accessibility Discovery Centre (ADC) in London, where next generation Engineering Leaders Scholarship (ELS) awardees from the Royal Academy of Engineering joined forces with a diverse community to explore how technology can drive meaningful change.
Hackathon Innovating for Deaf Awareness at Google’s Accessibility Discovery Centre (ADC)
At the ADC, the team toured the latest tech and heard a keynote presentation by award-winning EDI lead Maria Grazia Zedda, followed by a hackathon focused on developing new ideas for accessible tech in engineering.
The hackathon hosted by Ellie Hayward (leading in implementing deaf awareness in start-up environments) and judged by Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor Dr. Emma Taylor, brought together the best next generation engineering minds to tackle real-life deaf accessibility challenges. Working in pairs, they focused on how they could develop technologies to break down barriers and develop integrated technology support for deaf individuals, in both academic and professional environments. The hackathon participants came from diverse engineering disciplines (biomedical, aerospace, software, manufacturing, mechanical, structural and spacecraft) and included;
The team was supported by Stella Fowler and Professor Sarah Hitt of the Engineering Professors Council. Stella is also an Honorary Research Fellow at UCL and Sarah is Professor of Liberal Studies at NMITE, which focuses on a real-world, holistic and contextual approach to engineering.
The team also benefited from valuable advice and sustained support provided by RNID, a Google ADC partner, whose expertise supported the accessibility focus of the hackathon. For further insights on fostering inclusive environments, RNID’s guidelines on accessible meetings are an essential resource.
The hackathon sparked a wide range of innovative ideas, inspired by the ADC visit and Maria’s keynote speech, and these will be further refined in a future hackathon later this year.
Voice isolation technology for hearing aids
Projected real time captioning onto a wearable device
Real-time sign language translation that integrates with existing meeting tools
An AI assistant and digital hub for best use of accessibility settings
Looking Forward
In the coming months, the E-DAP will collaborate on a series of outputs including hackathons, a webinar and the development of a manifesto for change outlining key recommendations for integrating deaf awareness into education and industry. It’s evident that the momentum of the E-DAP will continue to build, with a strong focus on two key areas;
Increased focus on enabling deaf awareness to ensure better engineering life long education delivery for all using current tech: By integrating the latest accessibility technologies, the project aims to create more inclusive learning environments, ensuring those who are deaf or have hearing loss have equal opportunities to participate and thrive in engineering education and industry across all modes of learning, from apprenticeships to workplace based learning.
Developing future concepts and tools through direct, engineering-led design hackathon activities and more: These events and collaborations will empower engineers to innovate and develop cutting-edge solutions, focusing on real-world applications that address accessibility challenges.
A Shared Vision for Change
At the EPC, we recognise inclusivity benefits everyone. By supporting the E-DAP, we aim to create an environment where all can thrive and contribute to the future of engineering. Together, we can ensure that deaf awareness is not just an initiative but a standard practice in our field. We look forward to bringing more updates to the EPC community over the coming months.