Inclusive higher education for students with visual impairment in Indonesia


British Council Renews Inclusive Education Partnership Between Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia and the University of Edinburgh (2025)

Following the success of their 2024 collaboration, Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia (UAI) and the University of Edinburgh (UoE) are proud to announce the renewal of their inclusive education partnership, supported by funding from the British Council's Going Global Partnerships programme.

The 2025 initiative, titled Academic Success for Researchers with Visual Impairment, is one of only five projects in Indonesia selected for funding. It aims to enhance inclusivity in higher education and research for individuals with visual impairments, further building on last year's project Enhancing Access to Higher Education for Students with Visual Impairment. Professor John Ravenscroft, Professor of Childhood Visual Impairment at the University of Edinburgh, is leading the UK side of the project.

"We are thrilled to receive this grant, which reinforces our commitment to inclusive research and equitable access to academic careers," said Professor Ravenscroft.

Summer Xia, Country Director Indonesia and Director South East Asia at the British Council, said:

"This partnership is grounded in a shared commitment to equity in education and research. The British Council is proud to support initiatives that expand opportunities for researchers with disabilities. By drawing on the UK's experience in inclusive higher education and working closely with national partners, this collaboration is shaping practical, locally relevant solutions that make academic success more accessible to all."

On the Indonesian side, the project is led by Cut Meutia Karolina, a specialist in visual impairment research, alongside lecturer Gusmia Arianti from Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia. The project also involves close collaboration with Indonesia's National Commission on Disabilities, ensuring its outcomes have a broad and lasting impact.

Launching in May 2025, the project will include:

The results of these activities will inform new policy briefs and practical guidelines on developing inclusive academic journals, contributing to a more accessible academic landscape for researchers with visual impairments.

For further information, please contact: john.ravenscroft@ed.ac.uk or @cviauai on Instagram.

Supported by funding from the British Council Going Global Partnerships programme. Going Global Partnerships supports universities, colleges and wider education stakeholders around the world to work together towards stronger, equitable, inclusive, more internationally connected higher education, science and TVET. Through international partnerships, system collaborations and opportunities to connect and share, we enable stronger transnational education, more collaborative research, higher quality delivery enhanced learner outcomes and stronger, internationalised, equitable and inclusive systems and institutions. This leads to stronger higher education, research and TVET systems around the world that can support fairer social and economic growth and address national and global challenges all backed up by mutually beneficial international relationships.

University of Edinburgh and Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia successfully promotes inclusive higher education for students with visual impairment (2024)

The first project was led by Professor John Ravenscroft, Chair of Childhood Visual Impairment, with Elizabeth McCann, from Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia, led by Cut Meutia Karolina and Edoardo Irfan, both lecturers in Communication Studies at Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia. This project was supported by the UK-Indonesia Disability Inclusion Partnership grant from the British Council 2024.

Throughout 2024, the implementation team successfully carried out various activities that promoted the implementation of an inclusive campus for students with visual impairment. Some of the activities implemented include:

  1. Learning best practices for the Indonesian team through visits and direct learning with various related parties at the University of Edinburgh;
  2. Assessment of the physical environment in terms of accessibility safety at Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia;
  3. Training for lecturers in terms of classes that are inclusive of students with visual impairment; and
  4. Discussions with stakeholders on inclusive campuses for students with visual impairment.

Some of the products of this project are in Indonesian regarding the implementation of an inclusive campus; and examples of videos that are inclusive of people with visual disabilities as one of the support materials for learning. In addition, the project successfully encouraged Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia to establish a campus-based Disabled Student Service Centre.

All the outcomes of the activities were successfully promoted through the results dissemination activity, which was held at the same time as the launch of the Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia's Disability Student Service Centre. The dissemination event invited stakeholders from the relevant government in Indonesia, various NGOs focusing on inclusive education, students with visual impairment, representative lecturers from various universities in Jakarta and surrounding areas, and the entire academic community at Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia. The activity, which took place on 12th December 2024, was successfully delivered through a hybrid method; live from Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia and online from the University of Edinburgh. In this dissemination of results, John and Elizabeth presented policy recommendations through a Zoom meeting directly from Edinburgh, Scotland. It was followed by a display of various output products from the project. All the invited guests are enthusiastic and supportive of the sustainability of the UK-ID collaborative project to build inclusive universities.