UOC - VASS Foundation Chair in Digital Transformation without Barriers: Employability and Inclusion

Main objectives

• Promote access to employment for people with disabilities through training by creating training and awareness programmes that enhance the digital skills of disabled collectives.
• Promote impact measurement and inclusive training in partner companies.
• Promote research and innovation as additional levers of support to improve the professional integration of this collective in ordinary settings.
• Disseminate knowledge and raise awareness of society by organizing outreach and knowledge transfer activities on the importance of breaking down barriers and building a culture of awareness about disabilities.

Trainings

• Free courses.
• Online mode (synchronous and asynchronous).
• Language: Spanish.
• Aimed at people with disabilities over 18 years old

2025

• April 1, 2025: First Meeting of the Chair members in Madrid.
• June 25, 2025: Presentation of the Chair in Madrid.
• September/October 2025: Launch of training programmes focused on people with disabilities to promote their inclusion in the workforce through a select series of relevant skill areas in the digital field.
• October 24, 2025: Accessibility Hackathon.
• November 15, 2025: Call for applications for the Responsible STEM Awards to the best final bachelor's, master's, or postgraduate theses from the UOC's Computer Science, Multimedia, and Telecommunications Department, which, due to their content, represent an improvement in the living conditions of people with disabilities, an advance in the accessibility of technological products and services, and an improvement in their employability.

2026

• Conference on employability and inclusion of people with disabilities.

2027

• International hackathon.

Directors

• Marta López Costa. Director of the Chair (UOC)
• Antonio Rueda Guglieri. Co-director of the Chair (VASS Foundation)

UOC academic team

• Elsa Santamaría López
• Jordi Planella Ribera
• José Israel Reyes Reyes
• Raúl Navarro Zárate
• Xènia García Vallès

Technical coordination

• Arantxa Rodríguez Arnedo. Corporate Project Manager (UOC)
• Beatriz Alcaraz Guijarro. Corporate Partnerships Director (UOC)
• Natalia Fuentes Pampliega. Marketing and Communications Director (VASS Foundation)

Advisory board

• Ignacio Tremiño Gómez. Vice President of the Spinal Cord Injury Foundation (FLM) and Vice President of Impulsa Igualdad CyL.
• Pilar Rojas Caja. Senior Leader Corporate Culture, Diversity and Employee Experience at REPSOL.
• Ignacio González Cabello. Manager of the Employability and Educational Innovation Department at the Telefónica Foundation.
• Mari Satur Torre Calero. Manager of the Spanish Red Cross Foundation.
• Miguel López Quesada. President of the Spanish Association of Communication Directors (Dircom).
• Pedro Martínez López. President of the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities in the Region of Murcia and Manager of Fundown.
• Israel González Carrasco. Director of the Spanish Center for Subtitling and Audio Description (CESyA).
• Marc Badia Muntané. Coordinator of the "Col·labora" Labour Inclusion Service at the Catalan Down Syndrome Foundation.
• Daniel Riera Terrén. Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications at UOC.
• Andrea Jardí Ferré. Associate professor and predoctoral researcher of the University of Barcelona.

Joint monitoring committee

• Carlos Gironella Guzmán. Public Sector Principle in Catalonia (VASS).
• José Samuel Berigüete Valero. Academic Director of VASS University.
• Joan Carles Medina Alcaraz. Associate Dean for Research at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences (UOC)
• Maite Fernández Ferrer. Associate Dean for Alliances, Community and Culture at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences (UOC)