Disabled Student Empowerment Project

The Disabled Student Empowerment Programme (DSEP) reflects the University of Derby’s commitment to disabled student engagement.

DSEP ensures disabled students play an active role in shaping their university experience by placing student voice at the heart of decision‑making and service development.

Through the programme, students share lived experiences, identify barriers, and work in partnership with the university to co-create solutions that improve accessibility, inclusion, and a sense of belonging.

On this page

• What is the Disabled Student Empowerment Program?
• Why DSEP?
• How the programme works?
• Impact of DSEP
• Student feedback
• Get involved

What is the Disabled Student Empowerment Program? 

DSEP is a student-led and supported initiative run by the Student Services Disability Support team. It provides a safe, inclusive, and collaborative environment where disabled students can:

• Share their experiences of university life
• Identify barriers they encounter
• Exchange peer support
• Build confidence in advocacy and self-expression
• Contribute to real change across the university

Sessions are facilitated by Disability Advisers and designed to centre student voice and lived experience.

Why DSEP? 

DSEP is rooted in lived experience. From experience, higher education can be a place where disabled people grow, develop confidence, and shape their identity. At its best, it is not just a system of support, but a space where disabled students are active partners in shaping their own experiences and the wider university environment.

This programme is built on that belief. It recognises that disabled students are experts in their own experiences and should be central to conversations about accessibility, inclusion, and change.

Guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) principle “Nothing about us without us”, DSEP creates a platform where students can:

• Share their lived experiences of university and higher education
• Reflect on barriers and identify what meaningful change looks like
• Contribute ideas and co-create practical solutions
• Build confidence, self-advocacy, and a sense of belonging
• Support each other through peer connection and shared understanding

DSEP is more than a programme - it is a space for students to grow, to be heard, and to actively contribute to shaping a more inclusive university for current and future students.

How the programme works? 

• Sessions run quarterly (or once per semester)
• Each session focuses on open discussion and shared experiences
• Facilitated by Disability Advisers from Student Services
• Designed to capture diverse student voices across courses, campuses, and needs

You SAID it - We DID it! 

Student voice drives real change. Here are examples of improvements made in response to student feedback:

Get involved

DSEP is open to all disabled students at the University of Derby. Come along, connect with peers, and help drive change.

Contact s.showkathhussain@derby.ac.uk or disabilityteam@derby.ac.uk