[community] Accessibility Accommodations in Engineering

[Aziza Virani]

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all well.

I would greatly appreciate any insight you may have around the following:

I assist postsecondary international scholarship students in securing internships and longer-term work opportunities in their areas of study and expertise. We have one Mechanical Engineering student who survived a near-fatal car accident in 2014, and continues to experience cognitive lapses along with physical impairments. A note that the student is mobile, and not in need of assistive devices to move around.

The student is interested in taking on a Professional Experience Year in Engineering, which is a program at the University of Toronto that facilitates a 12 or 16 month work term for undergraduate students with an Engineering firm in Toronto/Canada. The student is dedicated, intelligent and driven. Accommodations in this case might include: breaks in order to stretch and move around, access to a supportive team and manager, and a willingness on the part of a supervisor to allow for flexibility in work/assignment deadlines. There may be other considerations, however, we are not sure exactly how the student will perform in a work context.

I have two main questions:


*        Would any of you have any knowledge of Engineering or technical firms that have accessible workplaces/policies?

*        What should I be considering from an accessibility perspective, as I work to secure a meaningful, productive and safe placement for this student?

Any suggestions you may have would be very valuable. This is very new to me,

Thank you,

Aziza

Aziza Virani, M.Ed
Experiential Learning Advisor and Manager

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
Centre for International Experience | University of Toronto
New College | 45 Willcocks Street - Room M-145 | Toronto, Ontario | M5S 1C7 Canada
Phone: 416.978.3555 | www.cie.utoronto.ca