Mobile as Assitive Technology

A groundbreaking research project, launched in India, Brazil, and Kenya, is set to investigate accessibility and inclusion for millions of people with vision, hearing, and other impairments by leveraging the capabilities of smartphones and mobile apps.

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Samuel Kariuki, a participant in the Mobile as AT project, navigates his phone during a training session in Nairobi.

Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) is an Academic Research and Practice Centre accelerating disability innovation for a more just world. Based at UCL (University College London) we are operational in 60 countries, with more than 70 partners. Since launching in 2016 we've reached more than 34 million people and are the World Health Organisations (WHO) first Global Collaborating Center on Assistive Technology.

Our Themes

CEO Vicki Austin was featured on CNBC news to share the scope of GDI Hubs work and the global need for AT. In this interview with Arabile Gumede, Vicki discusses GDI Hubs mission, reach and impact to date. "We want to make the world for disabled people and we try to use innovation, change and technology to make that a reality."

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A screen shot from the video. Two people are sat on chairs in discussion within a technology lab.

What we do

WHO Training in Assistive Products: a new open access online training resource for primary health workers

Training in Assistive Products (TAP) is a new open access online training resource to prepare primary health and other personnel to fulfil an assistive technology role. This new global resource has been driven by support from UK aid through GDI Hub's AT2030 programme.

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Image of a young man in a red t-shirt sitting in his wheelchair inside a community space

UK aid announces £31 million to improve access to life-changing Assistive Technology for all, backing increased ground-breaking innovation and research by the AT2030 programme - led by Global Disability Innovation Hub

The UK aid funded AT2030 programme explores and tests ‘what works’ to improve access to life-changing Assistive Technology (AT) for all.


To date AT2030 has published 150 influencing papers, supported 27 AT ventures, developed 63 partnerships to support AT capacity and enabled 47 African countries to view the Paralympics for the first time. We're reached over 29 million people.


This investment marks the UK’s role as a global leader in research and innovation and demonstrates a continued legacy of the London 2012 games, with a leading commitment to disability inclusion.

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Three Graduates stand outside a UCL sign on graduation day with 2 professors from the MSc programme. One graduate is using walking aids, and all three (one man and two women) are wearing graduation robes. The large UCL letters are painted brightly and all the people in the photo are smiling warmly at the camera.

Apply for our UCL based Disability, Design & Innovation MSc

Our Disability, Design and Innovation MSc is the first of it's kind, seeing design engineering meet global policy and the societal context of disability, this multidisciplinary programme takes theory into practice - harnessing academic excellence, innovative approaches and co-creation to tackle global challenges from a new perspective.

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