For many students with disabilities, the university experience can feel isolating. From inaccessible infrastructure to a lack of understanding from peers, these barriers can often overshadow the joys of campus life. As a lecturer at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Wuri Handayani saw an opportunity to foster a culture of inclusivity, awareness, and support across campus with the Pro-Buddy project.
At the heart of the project is a simple but powerful idea: connection. Through a buddy programme that offers both social and academic support, the project seeks to raise awareness about disability issues among all students at the university as well as providing academic coaching sessions for students with disabilities.
With the funding from the UK Social Action Grant by the British Council, Wuri is able to put this vision into action. The Pro-Buddy team collaborated with the Management Laboratory at FEB UGM to organize tailored academic coaching sessions. A total of 10 UGM students with disabilities from various faculties and academic levels participated. These sessions were designed not just to provide academic assistance, but to cultivate self-reflection, goal-setting, and strategic thinking. Students were encouraged to evaluate their own academic progress, identify specific challenges, and map out steps to reach their goals.
“For the disabled students themselves, based on our interviews and sharing sessions, they feel that this programme at least enhanced their awareness on how to prepare for their future,” said Wuri.
Alongside this, the team also wanted to get a better grasp of how disability is perceived by the wider student body. The Pro-Buddy project conducted a preliminary survey which provided key insights into how students perceive inclusivity on campus and highlighted areas for improvement. These insights are now serving as a roadmap for their activities and communication strategies aimed at strengthening campus-wide understanding.
Wuri also acknowledged that the project was able to expedite the establishment of the university’s disability service unit. “The launching of this unit is very important to give a message to the community and society, that we have a disability service unit that has the obligation to facilitate and bring the accommodation for the disabled students,” she shared. It also created a new instagram account for the university’s disability service unit to share updates, educational content, and opportunities for involvement.
Not only that, the Pro-Buddy project held a poster competition to encourage students to creatively express their ideas and reflections around disability issues and inclusion. These efforts tapped into the creativity of the student body and amplified the project’s message in visually engaging and accessible ways.
The initiative culminated in a Pro-Buddy workshop that officially launched the buddy programme. Students interested in becoming buddies registered, received orientation, and connected with peers in need of support. They had over 52 registrants for this programme.
Each activity under Pro-Buddy had created a ripple effect across campus: building awareness, inspiring action, and laying the foundation for a more inclusive university.
Furthermore, the project has the potential to serve as a model for other Indonesian universities, which could adopt its framework to better support students with disabilities. By doing so, Wuri hopes that the project can significantly contribute to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in fostering inclusive and equitable education. Wuri encourages other universities in Indonesia to establish disability service units. “Or at least an initiative on how to provide inclusive services for students with disabilities.”
Wuri is also learning about universal design for learning from the UK, which she found is still limited in Indonesia. “We want to learn more about universal design for learning not only to accommodate disabled students, but for anyone,” she continued. “Because there are many different ways to learn.”