HE Enabled: The Disability at Uni* Podcast

Oscar is a mechanical engineering student at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he is also the chair of the Disabled and Neurodivergent Society. Our conversation goes through Oscar's entire time at uni. He shares how he changed trajectory after diagnoses of FND and non-epileptic seizures at 17, and came to Manchester Met with no support worker at his welcome week.

Since then, Oscar has become the chair of the Disabled and Neurodivergent Society at MMU and discovered newfound independence among his friends there. He's also gone slightly viral; a recent video of Oscar showing the accessibility of his campus got half a million views! We also chat about his late diagnoses of ADHD and autism, and whether they changed anything for him academically or socially.

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Talia is an MLitt student at the University of St. Andrews, where they co-convene the Disabled Students Network. Cath learns about Talia's struggle navigating their university after becoming a wheelchair user halfway through their degree, and how this is a significant barrier to accessing their studies.

We also have a great chat about birding communities, nature photography, and looking outside of university societies to find community.

Follow Talia's Nature Photography Account on Instagram

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CW: This episode contains mentions of cancer diagnosis andincurable cancer.

Thank you to the wonderful Professor Jackie Carter forcoming on the show! Jackie is a professor emerita from the University of Manchester, where she was a professor in statistical literacy.

She is also the host and founder of the University of Manchester’s Let’s Talk Disability Podcast. This show works on turning the feedback of disabled employees and researchersinto actionable change through collaboration with senior staff members.

In this episode, we discuss Jackie’s working-class heritage,her unconventional route into professorship, and how an acquired disability changed, and continues to change, the trajectory of her working life and activism.

Links referenced in this episode (all text is clickable and will take you to the relevant link):

Listen to the Let's Talk Disability Podcast

Donate to Jackie’s fundraiser supporting brain cancerresearch

Read ‘Practitioner, Professor, Researcher, Reformer’, abook written by Jackie Carter and Linda Baines sharing women’s atypical stories in higher education.

Learn about Jackie’s Culture Shift Award

HE Enabled links:

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Thanks for listening!

This is a collaboration with the 21andsensory podcast! Listen to Emily's show via the ⁠Linktree here⁠. I can't wait to be on 21andsensory at the end of the month.

We talk about Emily's experience of university. This includes discovering her dyslexia diagnosis through a university-funded initiative, hyperfocusing on coursework in her graphic design degree, and her current work as a freelance graphic designer and lived experience advocate in collaboration with universities across the country.

We also have a chat about the importance of positive role models, and how her sensory processing disorder and late-diagnosed autism changed how she viewed her university experience and beyond. I also get the chance to ask some questions about the 21andsensory podcast and what it means to Emily!

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Lewis is a recent graphic design graduate from Edinburgh Napier university and the founder of Position Photography. We chat about what university was like for him, including his experiences of entering a university at second year, group work, and working with vague design briefs. Lewis also gives advice for those looking to start up a business after university or college.

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Thanks for listening! I can't wait to catch you next week for more :)

⁠Read the Disabled Student Survey 2025 by clicking here. ⁠

In this episode, Cath and Murrin discuss the 2025 Annual Disabled Student Survey. We walk through the paper, share lived experiences related to the questions, and think about what institutions can do next to make the disabled student experience the best that it can be.

Thanks to Disabled Students UK (DSUK) for sponsoring this episode! Here are some useful resources from them:

Join the DSUK mailing list

Learn about the Access Insights Membership

Sign up for their February Community Space Event

Discover DSUK's social spaces

Want to get ahead with HE Enabled? The next episode is now live on Patreon; check it out via the link below.

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CW: Reference to suicide in literature (32:08-32:19)⁠

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Olly and Amelia join Cath to discuss their experiences as neurodivergent students and consultants.

Olly walks us through how he re-entered academia after a significant time away, and how societies kept him afloat during his BA. Amelia shares how she went from missing her grades for her top university to becoming an award-winning Oxford classicist and varsity athlete. Both Amelia and Olly went through late diagnoses for their neurodivergence.

Following their late diagnoses, Olly and Amelia co-founded neurohaus, a consultancy aimed at helping businesses see the world through a neurodivergent lens. ⁠Click here to find out more about Neurohaus via their website⁠.

Thanks for listening! :)

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Thanks again to Lisa for coming on the show at such short notice!

We had a great discussion about her late diagnosis of autism, which went undetected throughout university and some of her working life. Lisa also talks how she found out about her diagnosis. She has founded disability and neurodiversity consultancy called Neurodivergent People. Find out more about it at its website by clicking here.

Click here to join the HEnabled Patreon for £1 a month!

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Interested in Emma's PhD Participatory Research Network? Click here to find out more.

In this episode, Emma shares their experiences as a multiply neurodivergent person who has attended five different universities.

They run us through the tools and adjustments which have helped them get through a BEng., three master's, and their current PhD. We discuss Emma's work in developing depression screening tools for neurodivergent people from global majority backgrounds, as well as what has helped throughout her own journey.

Cath also learns that top London universities book their exams at the same time as major conventions (to their great confusion...).

Nicola shares her experience with cystic fibrosis as a student, as well as what motivates her to engage with disability advocacy. We also discuss how experiences can be improved for all disabled students (and staff) in universities, and how self-kindness can go a long way for those completing a PhD while managing a chronic illness.

Thanks for tuning in! Here are some links that you may be interested in:

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