During the session held on the morning of February 23, leaders of public and private entities with close connection to the field of disability and universities took part in one of the traditional discussions of the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (CERMI).

The meeting was titled “Talent with disabilities asks for recognition – Strategies for universities to comply with the law and employ teaching and research staff with disabilities”. It was held remotely and was moderated by the director of the CERMI and the CEO of Servimedia, José Manuel González Huesa, who led the conversation between Rafael de Lorenzo, general secretary of Fundación Derecho y Discapacidad; Isabel Martínez, director of Programas con Universidades y Promoción del Talento Joven of Fundación ONCE; Jesús Celada, director of Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad; María Vicenta Mestre, principal of the University of Valencia and president of CRUE-Faculty; and Eva Alcón, principal of Universitat Jaume I of Castelló and delegate for Equality Policies of CRUE.

During the discussion, the president of CRUE-Faculty and principal of the University of Valencia Mª Vicenta Mestre addressed the main obstacles that teaching and research staff (PDI) face in their academic career, as well as key strategies to overcome them.

“We are making progress”, Mestre pointed out. However, she stated that “universities still have to face great challenges, test strategies and diagnose unresolved obstacles”.

At the higher education level, there are still unresolved issues such as tuition fees, one-off grants for different types of disabilities provided by universities, and the need to promote volunteering and awareness-raising. In addition, the principal has stated that disability care at universities “is a right, not a gift”.

“Universities and society need the entire pool of talent and, therefore, we must recruit it wherever it is. People need to delevop every skill to be better people and better professionals, and to contribute to a healthier society”, added the principal.

Mestre also wanted to highlight the two biggest challenges in this area: including disability in accreditations and considering the disability quota in calls for applications. Regarding the first issue, the principal stated that “ANECA should include disability in the accreditation criteria” and stressed that “the main obstacle in accessing an academic career is getting a tenure-track 1 lecturer position”. As for the second issue, she added that “universities unanimously agree that a procedure that satisfies the mandatory quota of vacant positions to be filled by PDI with disabilities needs to be developed”.

Lastly, the principal and president of CRUE-Faculty declared that “the moto that ‘no one is left behind’ is now more necessary than ever in this area” and that “for this goal, we need the collaboration of every agent involved together with a strong will to achieve it”.