lunchBOX

11 February, 2021

lunchBOX: Hello, good day, and welcome to lunchBOX. On the menu today, we're honoured to welcome not one, but two legends of accessibility: Ben Watson and Nik Duncan from the OPERA team at the University of Kent.

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Ben and Nik are the driving forces behind the University of Kent recently achieving the first ever 100% ASPIRE education review for the quality of their accessibility statement.

We're delighted they could join us to talk about their work, their favourite people, their thoughts for the future, and, of course, we'll answer the burning question of the day: what do they like for lunch? So, without further hesitation, let's find out. Bon appetit everyone...

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1. Who are you and what do you do?

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BW + ND: Ben Watson and Nik Duncan, we are the OPERA (Opportunity, Productivity, Engagement, Reducing barriers, Achievement) team which is a university-wide project to mainstream solutions for embedding accessibility which is leading on developing strategies for embedding accessibility at the University of Kent.

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We are involved with many projects and collaborate with many departments across the University to mainstream accessibility by design within as many projects and processes as possible.

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Our day-to-day work is varied and has evolved a great deal. We now manage the alternative formats service, assistive technology provision as well as providing training and support for digital accessibility for The University as well as wider Kent and sector networks. This includes leading on the University's response to the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations (2018).

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2. How did you come to be involved in the world of accessibility?

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ND: I studied the Multimedia Design and Technology BSc and then the Mobile Application Design MSc at Kent. I found the modules about usability fascinating. The most profound moment for me was on the BSc, in a first-year module on design and visual communication our lecturer, Ania Bobrowicz, organised guest speakers who used assistive technology such as NVDA. It really hit home how important accessibility is and how we need to consider it at the outset of designing systems and interfaces.

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I carried this philosophy to everything I do and when I was working in the library, I mentioned the need for accessible reading materials. A colleague, Matthias Werner, recommended I should go to a lunch time presentation Ben was running about accessibility. It was so inspiring to find someone else as passionate as me about accessibility. So, I owe Ania and Matthias a huge thank you!

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3. What does accessibility mean to you?

BW + ND: Enabling everyone to access anything they would like to in the way that suits them best – regardless of disability.

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4. What has been your biggest challenge in promoting accessibility?

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BW + ND: Getting fully accessible content from publishers. Fortunately, many publishers do share their material on RNIB Bookshare and the list is continually growing.

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However, there are still some publishers who require requests to be made directly to them which causes unnecessary delays, especially some publishers who make the process more convoluted with departments in different regions. Others simply ignore the requests.

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It would be great to have more input from the publishers to create and share more accessible materials (such as greater push for the ePub file format).

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5. What’s been your biggest success in relation to accessibility?

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BW + ND: The OPERA project was recognised with the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Student Support.

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6. What is the most enjoyable part of your job?

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BW + ND: The relationships we build with students and seeing them grow in confidence both during their time at University and keeping in touch with them as they pursue an amazingly diverse range of careers beyond Kent.