Inclusion & Accessibility Innovation

At SURGE, we understand that science is only as good as the people behind it. As part of our mandate, SURGE has strived to better support the inclusion of underrepresented groups in science through many of its activities. This desire saw the creation of SURGE’s newest program, Inclusion & Accessibility Innovation. Through this, SURGE supports projects both across and beyond the university in improving both inclusion and accessibility to science, through experiential learning & innovation.

SURGE is a proud partner and support of Team Visual Assist, whose end goal is to create fully accessible undergraduate degree programs in Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University to students with visual impairments (VI). To this end, the team has introduced VI-accessible design elements to the set of core degree-required courses and more, creating VI-accessible educational material for these courses. The team has provided and continues to provide one-on-one teaching support to students with visual impairments, with an array of VI-accessible teaching tools while continuing active development of VI-accessible learning materials. Active development includes new tactile graphic resources and improving scalability in these resources including by using generative AI. Through this partnership, both Team Visual Assist and SURGE hope to further expand this development to other science programs including the physical sciences.