RMIT supports people with disabilities through an inclusive design competition

RMIT supports people with disabilities through an inclusive design competition

RMIT University is hosting a nationwide design competition highlighting innovative ideas in the form of design or prototypes to promote inclusiveness for people with disabilities in the workplace.

The second Accessibility Design Competition (ADC), which is running from 15 April to 11 June 2022, offers students a chance to cultivate an inclusive mindset, make use of problem-solving skills, and learn about different perspectives through workshops, networking, and mentoring sessions.

Students across Vietnam will be teamed up with RMIT industry partners to innovate their ideas, designs, and solutions aimed at ensuring greater inclusivity and breaking down barriers for persons with disabilities (PWDs).  

RMIT Manager, Employment & Industry Relations and the competition founder Mr Melvin Fernando said that ADC promotes the spirit of inclusiveness in the workplace and promotes innovative equal employment opportunities.  

“Since the first event in 2020, ADC’s ultimate goal has been to embrace diversity and achieve a greater acceptance of differences among our communities,” Mr Fernando said.  

Mr Vi Thanh Tuan, who was an industry mentor of the first ADC and Head of Plant Logistics, Schaeffler Vietnam highly appreciated the format of the competition.  

“The ADC addresses a topic that needs much more attention. Its higher purpose was to do ‘something good’ and help people with special circumstances,” Mr Tuan added. “It is great that this competition also incorporated some sharing and valuable lessons for all participants about working with PWDs.”  

RMIT Vietnam alumnus Nguyen Tuan Tu, who was also an ADC mentor in 2020 and born with a significant visual impairment shared his understanding of the challenges and difficulties that PWDs are facing when looking for jobs.  

“Working as a Diversity and Inclusion Supervision officer in an international manufacturing company provided me with an understanding of the challenges that PWDs are facing when looking for jobs. Most of the time, employers lack the awareness and understanding of the capabilities of these people,” Mr Tu said.  

“This competition was one of the rare occasions that brought the issue to the spotlight and tried to address it with solutions from students and industry partners.  

"I believe the activity will create a small but lasting impact on the community, making hiring people with disabilities a blessing rather than a burden.”  

The ADC itself runs for two months with access to a range of workshops and two group mentoring sessions to nurture students’ skills from ideation to design/prototype. 

First launched in 2020, the ADC 2022 is organised by RMIT Careers, Alumni & Industry Relations in partnership with Saigon Innovation Hub, RMIT Wellbeing, and RMIT Human Development Club.   

More information can be found at https://www.accessibilitydesigncompetition.com.  

Story: Thuy Le

19 April 2022

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