During the first semester of the 2025–2026 academic year, 16 second-year students from various majors at Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) took part in the course “Inclusion Without Illusions” as part of the “Worldview Core” curriculum.

“We define the goals of inclusion at UCU for each academic year. We not only responded to individual requests from students with special educational needs or disabilities, but also carried out systematic work on institutional and academic processes. A major breakthrough was the creation of the practical course ‘Inclusion Without Illusions,’ which grew out of real, everyday practice and shifted the focus from isolated solutions to building an inclusive environment,”
noted Halyna Oleksyn, head of the Inclusion Unit of UCU’s Dean’s Office for Student Life.

As part of the course, students visited Third After Midnight (a museum in the dark), the Unbroken National Rehabilitation Center, one of PrivatBank’s branches, and took part in a tour of the UCU campus. The final project consisted of an analysis of the accessibility of the university’s buildings, with practical proposals for improvement.

Thanks to invited lecturers, second-year students were able to view inclusion through the lens of different fields and understand how they can implement inclusive solutions in their own projects.
Anastasia Pytlovana, a third-year Theology student, has a disability. She was one of the guest lecturers for the special course, where she spoke about the theology of the body through the prism of inclusion.

Lecture “Theology of the Body” in the course “Inclusion Without Illusions”

“My participation in university life is about an experience that goes beyond lectures and exams—it gives me the opportunity to be heard and to change the educational environment. I have never perceived my disability as a barrier to my own initiatives. On the contrary, it is part of my identity. I was able to combine academic knowledge with my life experience, which I believe is worth sharing. My lecture helped students see inclusion not as ‘help for the weaker,’ but as the equal coexistence of different experiences. I am convinced that a university becomes better when different voices are heard within it. And my voice is one of those that makes our community truly open,” shared Anastasia Pytlovana.

After completing the course “Inclusion Without Illusions,” students initiated their own projects aimed at implementing barrier-free practices in public life. In particular, they conducted accessibility lessons for students at the Maliuk School and also joined the implementation of inclusive initiatives in other Lviv schools.

The most important task of the inclusion initiative at UCU remains the support of students with special educational needs. The work of the relevant university unit is based on dialogue and an understanding of each student’s individual needs. This support makes it possible to identify current challenges in a timely manner, respond to them, and—together with the academic community—build an accessible and dignified educational environment.

Inclusive education training was also conducted for university methodologists, during which there was a professional discussion of real requests they encounter, their role, and opportunities for involvement in supporting students with special educational needs.

Another important step was initiating an appeal to take into account faculty workload in organizing inclusive education, since high-quality inclusion is possible only through two-way interaction that considers both students’ needs and the real resources of instructors. Adapting educational components and providing individual consultations require time and professional engagement; therefore, accounting for this work in academic workloads is a prerequisite for sustainable and responsible inclusive education in higher education institutions.

In addition, various awareness-raising events took place throughout 2025. In particular, on December 3, to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a screening of the 2025 Spanish film “Deaf” was held. The film highlights the challenges faced by people with disabilities and shows that true inclusion begins first and foremost with empathy and openness.

Screening of the 2025 Spanish film “Deaf ”for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Students also worked on the podcast “Inclusion Without Illusions.” It consists of seven conversations about how Ukrainian Catholic University is shaping an inclusive environment. Faculty, students, staff, and administrators talk about accessible education, support for people with disabilities, veterans’ experiences, and changes in infrastructure. The podcast was created at the initiative of the Student Support Unit for Students with Special Educational Needs of UCU’s Dean’s Office for Student Life, in partnership with the UCU School of Journalism and Communications.

You can listen to the Ukrainian-language podcast at the following link: https://tr.ee/p6fQdCaGEa