Working Group for the Organisation of Qualifying Work Placements for Students with Serious Health Conditions

The main purpose of the Working Group is to support the activities of the University Commission on Disability and Specific Learning Difficulties (DSA), the office responsible for managing support for students with disabilities, DSA and Special Educational Needs (BES), and the Chairs/Co-ordinators or Academic Directors of degree programmes and their respective Programme Councils, with the aim of discouraging students from dropping out of their studies due to the onset of disabling illnesses; to promote a culture of disability awareness and inclusion amongst teaching staff; to identify innovative placement strategies and methodologies that can serve as reasonable adjustments for students in serious health conditions and as an opportunity for improvement for the benefit of all placement students.

Main functions:

• To act in an advisory capacity to the Degree Programme Council regarding the management of cases involving students with serious health conditions who are unable to undertake their placements;
• To define appropriate reasonable adjustments for the completion of placements, including, where necessary, the provision of remote placements, making use of simulation technologies where applicable;
• Ongoing career guidance for students with serious health conditions who are unable to undertake their work placement, helping them to identify suitable career paths.