Our new MSc in Design, Disability and Innovation programme was first offered in 2019 as a collaboration with University College London and London College of Fashion, as the flagship programme of the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDIH). Now in its second year, we have seen a huge interest from students from across the world and have already exceeded our target student numbers.  

The MSc is the result of two-year development plan motivated by a common interest from the three universities to bring disability to the forefront of design and innovation. Driven by the involvement of Loughborough University with the Paralympics and UCL’s long standing interest in inclusive human-computer interactions and LCFs experience in business and innovation, the three Universities realized the first MSc Design, Innovation and Disability.  

Professor Mikko Koria and Dr Antonius van den Broek from the Institute for Design Innovation have led the development and delivery of two core modules. Our module, Design Thinking, challenges students to come up with innovative solutions designed for individuals with an impairment. Our Collaborative Project module allows students to work with Ford Mobility on focuses on inclusive design that addresses mobility challenges. 

Since the start of the pandemic all teaching has moved to fully online delivery. This posed various challenges but also enhanced the accessibility of the course as it allowed students with less mobility to enroll. We have already exceeded our target student numbers, and they look to keep growing 

Loughborough University has been involved as a key partner in the GDIH since its inception. As well as this MSc, we are actively engaged in GDIH research. Loughborough London leads the GDIH AT2030 project, ‘Para Sport Against Stigma’, which is building on lessons learned from the London 2012 Paralympic Games, working across three African Countries: Malawi, Ghana and Zambia. It is a £1.89m collaborative project between Loughborough University, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the University of Malawi. 

To find out more information about the MSc Design, Disability and Innovation programme, please visit the Global Disability Innovation Hub website.

You can read more about the Para Sport Against Stigma project on our website here. You can also find out more about the GDIH AT2030 project here.

Find out more about the our partners, Global Disability Innovation Hub, here.