Study Abroad: Students with Disabilities or Chronic Illnesses

 

Since 1999, the DAAD has been promoting the mobility of students with disabilities. RWTH advises students with disabilities and chronic illness as part of the Inclusive Education Officer initiative. For more information (especially in the context of the Erasmus program) and field reports, please visit the DAAD's page on international mobility of people with disabilities. For funding for students with disabilities within the Erasmus program, please read the section "Erasmus+ Special Funding".

In addition, the Berlin-based association Sozialhelden e.V. has launched the website wheelmap.org. The site makes it easier for people who rely on a wheelchair or walking aid to find their way around a city that they do not know. Using an online map, users can rate wheelchair-accessible restaurants, cafés and bus stops worldwide according to their accessibility using a traffic light system.

The Erasmus Student Network, or ESN for short, also provides a rating platform for assessing accessible locations on its website mapped.eu, focusing on the accessibility of European universities. When they are planning to go somewhere, disabled students can find out in advance whether a university building is equipped with a ramp or a lift, for example.

For further information on accessible universities offering assistance and a wide range of services for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses, please visit the ENHANCE – Accessibility web pages.