Their one-year course focuses on improving the autonomy and educational level of the intellectually disabled student

During the Aurora biannual in Amsterdam the Aurora Diversity and Equality Award was awarded to the ‘INSERLAB’ programme, coordinated by Rovira i Virgili University (‘URV’) Chair for Social Inclusion and the Social Business Research Lab.  

This third edition of the Aurora Diversity and Equality Award has resulted in a total of 12 nominations from the participating partner universities. The jury consisted of 4 members, representing academic staff as well as student representation. They could not vote on the projects that came from their institution. The jury members were Karen van Oudenhoven-van der Zee (dean/professor/chief diversity officer Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Svein Guðmundsson (equality officer, University of Iceland), Jake Goddard (now former Aurora student representative, University of East Anglia) and Ydwine Zanstra (lecturer, Amsterdam University College).

Among many many inspiring and creative entries, submitted, INSERLAB was chosen because it focuses on the dimension of diversity that is often overlooked. INSERLAB is coordinated by the Rovira I Virgili University (‘URV’), 22 lecturers, and various URV services. The course focuses on improving the autonomy and educational level of the intellectually disabled student. Eventually, the programme prepares the student for supported employment. In parallel, INSERLAB provides a mentoring programme where the students obtain experience in the university community, as well as comprehensive, personalised education.

Aurora is a network of research-intensive universities in Europe dedicated to matching world-class academic excellence with a distinctive commitment to societal engagement and impact.

The Aurora Equality and Diversity Award was launched within the network to highlight innovative and successful inclusion and diversity interventions. The objective of the award is to identify and exchange good practices and to advance the Aurora network’s vision of equal opportunities for staff and students. In this way, we aim to create a working and learning environment in which different perspectives are explicitly valued and to generate creativity from different angles in teaching and education.