The general aim of the IHES project was to identify, through transnational cooperation, the key issues to be addressed for promoting integration of people with disabilities in the university environment and thus improve the multidimensional understanding of the phenomenon of social inclusion at the international level and the necessary competences of university actors to contribute to generating inclusive societies. Specific objectives were: SO 1) Promoting integration of people with disabilities in the university environment and thus improve the multidimensional understanding of the phenomenon and strengthen the necessary competences of all university actors on the matter. SO 2) Explore the possibility to provide an international model for integrating people with disabilities (with a specific focus on intellectual and psychological aspects) in Higher education on the basis of a transnational analysis of best practices to make universities more inclusive SO 3) Provide decision and policy makers of the higher education sector with practical oriented recommendations outlining strategies and solutions to be implemented in the European universities with the aim of including people with intellectual disabilities.
The IHES project rationale was deeply connected with the constant increase in the request coming from people with disabilities in accessing to Higher Education and the related need for the academic institutions to strengthen their offer of same opportunities to all students. Through the state of art analysis carried out at the time of the preparation of the project application, even if many universities did have support services for students with disabilities, relevant gaps still existed with reference to subjects with intellectual and psychological disabilities who continued to be excluded from access to higher education (Díaz-Jiménez,2019). Within this context project partner selected and duly addressed the need: - of universities to improve their capacity to include people with intellectual disabilities in their educational programmes - to insert adapt higher education curricula to prepare undergraduate students to become future professionals committed to the independent living of people with intellectual disabilities - to strengthen cooperation between universities and society actors dealing with the inclusion of people with disabilities to promote knowledge-sharing and consolidate inclusive-friendly higher education offer