This year, the ESARQ School of Architecture at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC) is offering the 6th edition of the Accessibility course as a core, compulsory subject in its undergraduate programmes, thanks to support from the Adecco Foundation and Caixa d’Enginyers savings bank. These sponsors support the programme as part of their commitment to integrate disabled people in the workplace and to promote training to increase their skills.

This commitment was ratified on Thursday, 23 October 2014, during the signing of the renewal of the agreement in the presence of UIC Rector Dr. Pere Alavedra, Francisco Mesonero, the General Director of the Adecco Foundation, and Isabel Sánchez, the Director of Personnel Management and Development at Caixa d’Enginyers savings bank.

The aim of this pioneering subject in Spain is to raise the awareness of future architects and give them training about the barriers faced by people with reduced mobility, and to discover the advantages for everyone of accessible designs and products. With this knowledge, architects can plan their buildings from the very beginning so they are accessible for everyone.

The subject is taught by ESARQ Prof. Enrique Rovira-Beleta, an accessibility specialist and the Head of the UIC Service for the Disabled, who transmits to students the philosophy that "including accessibility criteria does not reduce the architectural quality, design or aesthetics, but it does produce benefits for everyone, whether you're disabled or not".

To this end, students not only gain technical, practical knowledge on how regulations on accessibility and universal design are applied, but they also face real situations, take field trips to examine environments and buildings with architectural barriers, and receive visits from disabled teachers and technical personnel. The ultimate aim is to ensure that students learn about the difficulties faced by the disabled on a daily basis and are also able to apply architectural solutions to guarantee that all contexts are accessible to people with reduced mobility and communication capacities, so these places are much more convenient and safe for everyone.

During the signing ceremony, Francisco Mesonero said, “The availability of accessible spaces is key in the process of helping disabled people join the workforce. That's why we believe this course should continue, because we're aware that we're working for a better future for people with reduced mobility and severe disabilities".

Isabel Sánchez, the Director of Personnel Management and Development at Caixa d’Enginyers savings bank, added, “Although considerable advancement has been made in terms of accessibility, there is still a long way to go and the best way to progress even further is to make it obligatory in the educational system as a way of changing people's attitudes, raising awareness and discovering that including these requirements in the design makes a clear improvement in the quality of the products and services available to the general public. That's why this cooperation agreement fits in with our organization's aim of helping facilitate full accessibility for all people, especially the disabled."

Also at the signing ceremony were Francisco Javier Pérez, the Coordinator of the Adecco Foundation in Catalonia, Montserrat Ramírez Fuentes, the Director of Institutional Banking at Caixa d’Enginyers savings bank; and Enrique Rovira-Beleta, the course professor.