The Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub, based at Here East in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, is driving disability innovation forward for a fairer world. Researchers from UCL and other organisations are working on projects to increase access to assistive technology to those that need it.
GDI Hub have made impact their goal and currently have initiatives running in 35 countries, including Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.
UCL is involved in some particularly exciting work in Kenya, a country with a burgeoning tech sector, that’s at risk of leaving people with disabilities behind. An organisation called Motivation is helping to change that, by developing the next generation of wheelchairs for low to middle-income countries.
Another project, in Uganda, is using assistive technology and accessible learning materials to improve learning outcomes for children with hearing and sight impairments.
Hosted by UCL’s Department of Computer Science, the Hub was set up with help from UCL Innovation & Enterprise and the Faculty of Engineering Enterprise team. Projects run by the research and practice centre have opened up access to assistive products and services to 21 million people worldwide since 2016.
Commenting on the Hub’s success, its Academic Director, Professor Catherine Holloway, who set up the centre with Victoria Austin and Iain McKinnon, said: "We were born out of the London 2012 Paralympic Legacy and since that time, we’ve achieved more than we ever thought possible. Today, GDI Hub is the first World Health Organisation Collaboration Centre on assistive technology, which demonstrates what collaboration, partnerships and creating momentum behind a movement can do."
Read the full story on the UCL Innovation & Enterprise website.
Links
- Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub).
- AT 2030: Life Changing Assistive Technology for All.
- UCL Innovation & Enterprise’s funding schemes.
Image
- Credit: GDI Hub.
EEE Alumni Stories: Svetlana Grant
Svetlana Grant, now at Google DeepMind, shares how UCL’s MSc in Integrated Machine Learning Systems helped turn her passion for AI into a new career path.
16 Jul 2025
EEE Alumni Stories: Ilham Nandana
Ilham Nandana, now Director of Strategy & Market Development at CommScope, reflects on how UCL’s MSc in Wireless and Optical Communications prepared him for a global career in telecom strategy.
01 Jul 2025
Mendy Laoda
Mendy graduated with a Civil Engineering with Seismic Design MSc in 2016. We caught up with Mendy to find out what she has been up to since graduating and how her studies helped shape her journey.
04 Nov 2024
