Abstract:

The concept of Universal Design (UD) is playing an increasingly important role in the work of IT professionals creating digital solutions for diverse user groups, including people with disabilities. Creating accessible and usability software is no longer merely an added value, but a fundamental requirement for the responsible and inclusive development of digital technologies. This article presents the implementation of the UD concept in the practice of Master’s Computer Science studies.

The initiative to incorporate UD into the curriculum included two courses: a lecture entitled "Barriers in the Digital Space" and a project-based course entitled "Universal Design in Computer Science." Students taking these courses had previously completed undergraduate studies, including courses in Human-Computer Interaction and Software Engineering, providing them with appropriate theoretical and technical preparation.

The aim of the "Barriers in the Digital Space" lecture is to raise students' awareness of the problems and barriers faced by people with disabilities and to expand their knowledge of broadly defined accessibility in various spheres of life, with particular emphasis on digital accessibility. Students will learn about the principles of UD for software interfaces and methods for assessing their accessibility and usability.

In the "Universal Design in Computer Science" project course, students develop and implement a web or mobile application, incorporating selected UD principles. They then conduct usability and accessibility testing of the developed application, utilizing eye tracking techniques, the System Usability Scale, and automated tools for assessing compliance with WCAG recommendations.

Introducing these courses into the curriculum has yielded tangible learning outcomes. Students demonstrate an understanding of the essence and need to implement UD principles in the process of creating digital products. Many of them choose to pursue master's theses on UD, accessibility, usability, and user experience. Over the four years of the course, numerous master's theses on UD in computer science have been developed, some of which have been published by students as scholarly articles. This article presents statistics on the number of master's theses related to UD.

Keywords:

Universal Design, higher education, curriculum.