Accessibility at LMU

Deaf Week: Cornelia Ruppert on the value of accessibility

Around September 23, the International Day of Sign Languages, Deaf Week takes place worldwide. For Deaf Week, the Deaf Flag is being hoisted at the LMU Main Building. The Deaf Flag is an international symbol of the Deaf Community. Its turquoise and blue tones stand for sign languages, cultural diversity, and the global cohesion of Deaf people. Yellow symbolizes light, hope, visibility, and accessibility. Thus, the flag expresses the identity, pride, and solidarity of the international Deaf Community.

For me, hoisting the flag at the Main Building represents an important sign: the flag makes Deaf and Deafblind people, our sign languages, and our culture visible – at a place where education, science, and social responsibility come together.

My name is Cornelia Ruppert. Since 2023, I have been working as a Deaf research fellow at the Chair of Special Needs Education with a Focus on Hearing and Communication at LMU. In my work, I focus on the education and development of children with deafness / hearing impairments. Furthermore, I teach German Sign Language to prospective teachers and bring my perspective as a Deaf researcher directly into research and teaching.

Around 80,000 people with deafness live in Germany; approximately 200,000 people use German Sign Language. In their everyday lives, they still experience audism today – meaning discrimination based on their deafness and the devaluation of sign language – and encounter structural barriers, especially in education and the professional world.

Deaf and Deafblind people are a natural part of our society. Nevertheless, their experiences, perspectives, and knowledge often remain invisible. They are still underrepresented in positions of decision-making and power, as well as in the shaping of social processes. Still too often, they are talked and researched about, rather than working together with them and including their expertise on an equal footing.

Therefore, I hope that LMU, and the professional world as a whole, will not just address accessibility when concrete difficulties arise. It must be considered right from the start. This includes visually accessible information and working conditions that enable equal communication. To ensure communication, sign language interpreters can also be involved. It is equally important to naturally involve Deaf people in decisions that affect them and to let them take the lead as experts.

Because successful communication is the foundation for education, professional success, social participation, and a self-determined life. Where information and conversations are not accessibly available, exclusion occurs – an exclusion that often remains invisible to hearing people.

The fact that the Deaf Flag is being hoisted at the LMU Main Building creates visibility and sends an important sign. It makes it clear that Deaf and Deafblind people, with their language, their culture, their experiences, and their expertise, are firmly a part of our university and our society.

However, visibility alone is not enough. What is crucial is that this leads to genuine participation in the long term: through accessible communication, equal co-creation, and a university culture in which the perspectives of Deaf people are not only acknowledged but naturally included.

*Note on capitalization: In this text, terms such as Deaf, Deaf people, and Deafblind are deliberately capitalized. This capitalization reflects that these terms are not exclusively an audiological-medical description, but also represent a linguistic, cultural, and social identity of the Deaf Community.

Inclusion: studying and teaching with an intellectual disability

At the end of July, LMU researcher Peter Zentel will host the IASSIDD Congress, which aims to advance inclusion and raise awareness of the needs of people with intellectual disabilities. IASSIDD is one of the world’s leading scientific organizations in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Its work covers not only health, education, and quality of life, but also the opportunities and risks of modern technologies.

These technologies are particularly relevant for people with complex disabilities, whose communication abilities are often impaired. As such, they can benefit a lot from digital tools and artificial intelligence.

Sign language: Education Must Not Be Derailed by Language

Where to look? How to communicate? Cornelia Ruppert, a deaf research associate at the Chair of Special Education – Focus on Hearing and Communication & Inclusive Education, knows the uncertainty that hearing people feel on first contact. As she warmly welcomes us for the interview, she explains how to act when a sign language interpreter is present: You look at the person who is signing– not the interpreter simultaneously translating into spoken or sign language. It is obvious once you think about it, but the situation is unfamiliar to many hearing people.

“You’re not alone”: new peer group for students with Long Covid and ME/CFS

"There needs to be a space where those affected can share their experiences and support one another."

Students with long COVID or ME/CFS often face unique challenges in their daily academic lives and have few opportunities to connect with others. That’s why a peer group has been formed at LMU to address this very issue: it offers a low-barrier space for networking, mutual support, and sharing experiences. Two inclusion tutors explain how the group came to be, how the meetings work—and why it’s worth joining.

Overcoming barriers together

Inclusion tutors support students who have an impairment.

Finding a new lecture hall can be tricky for many students. But for students who have an impairment, it can turn into a major undertaking: Is there an elevator? How long will the detour via the ramp take me? What’s the lighting like in the seminar room? And will I still be able to concentrate on the lecture after all this stress? In situations like these, it can be helpful to have someone by your side – like the inclusion tutors at LMU.

Learning the way that suits you best

For the first time, the Writing Centre at LMU is offering a workshop for students who find it difficult to cope with traditional learning methods. Ronja Habeck, who is studying for a Master's degree in German Literature and works as a tutor at the Writing Centre, is leading the event - and explains in an interview how an individual learning plan can help you to study successfully.

She advises: "Our advice is to free yourself from predetermined learning and working patterns and to think about it: How can I personally learn and work better?"

Belonging@LMU

Vizepräsidentin Francesca Biagini: “Inspiration and innovation thrive in an atmosphere of trust and openness”

Belonging is the theme of the Diversity Initiative 2024. But what does it mean to really be part of a community? How does this feeling shape daily life and academic work? The answers are as diverse as the LMU community. Vice President Prof. Francesca Biagini, academics, students and staff share their personal experiences and insights to show what diversity and inclusivity mean to them at LMU.

“A fresh perspective!”

A commitment that benefits all sides: The inclusion tutors at LMU. Up to forty of them from almost all faculties are currently active at LMU. They have learned a lot during their three-week training. For example, that it is not so easy to get to the seminar room in a wheelchair. Sometimes a kerb becomes a problem, sometimes a corner. And if the ramp is too steep, another route has to be found.

“Between the world of the sighted and the world of the blind”

Menahil Tahir has a severe visual impairment and is one of 9,000 LMU students with health restrictions. She came to Munich from Pakistan on a DAAD scholarship to do her doctorate in ethnology.

Instead of talking about possible difficulties, she emphasizes the “creative potential” that her impairment unleashes. Time and again, she finds that her poor eyesight makes it particularly easy to find access to other people, even in field research. “I admit that my disability has helped me from time to time to establish a good relationship with my conversation partners,” she says with a smile.

Mixing AI and empathy

Professor Peter Zentel holds the Chair of Education for Students with Intellectual Disabilities and is a representative for the needs of students with disabilities. In this interview, he talks about the importance of accessibility and inclusion in teaching.

Zentel says: “The need [for accessible teaching and examination facilities] is considerable. The latest studies show that 16% of students across Germany have a disability; more than half of them, around 65%, suffer from a mental illness.”

More about the support services for students with disabilities:

- Advice and networking for students with disabilities
- Inclusion tutors and inclusion tutors
- Representative for the interests of students with disabilities
- Diversity Initiative 2024 for more participation: Belonging@LMU
- Compensation for disadvantages during examinations