The students of the Espazo Compartido program of the University of A Coruña visited the CITIC facilities on February 14. A total of 16 students, accompanied by three teachers, visited the ICT Research Center with researchers Manuel Lagos and Thais Pousada, who also coordinates this training program for young people with cognitive disabilities since 2020.

The students visited the Technology Demonstrator and the 3D printing and Virtual Reality laboratories, as did other Espazo Compartido students in previous editions.

In the words of Thais Pousada, academic director of the Espacio Compartido program, “these types of initiatives are fundamental for advancing inclusion. It is important that they can see first-hand a real work environment, where technologies that help improve the lives of people with disabilities are also being developed”.

The project

Espazo Compartido is a program promoted by the University of A Coruña for training in personal and social skills and basic competences, for the employability and the promotion of labor inclusion of young people with cognitive disabilities. It is a project that was born with the aim of opening the university space to groups that cannot access the common training channels due to the significant barriers of access to the educational system. Espazo Compartido is a commitment to university social responsibility, a sign of the commitment of the University of A Coruña to society and to the right to a decent education under equal conditions.

Objectives

Espazo Compartido is a pioneer project in the regional university system and one of the first at national level. Its main objective is to include people with cognitive disabilities in the university educational space. Ultimately, the program aims for students to advance in the construction of a positive self-perception and a life project that allows them to develop autonomously.