Disabled student ambassadors promote inclusion in Norwegian higher education: building competencies and strategies for the future

Disabled students encounter complex barriers to participation and inclusion throughout higher education and face challenges transitioning into employment. This study has engaged eight disabled university students in participatory action research. The students, in collaboration with university researchers and staff, have developed and implemented actions at a Norwegian university. The study aimed to explore the students' experiences of being ambassadors to promote inclusion. Data were generated through participatory observation with field notes during actions, sound recordings of reflection meetings, and a focus group dis-cussion. A reflexive thematic analysis resulted in the construction of four themes: confronting and overcoming the challenges, adding value and being a resource, building strategies to control stigma, and translating knowledge and actions towards inclusion. The results demonstrate the individual and societal value of including student voices to change for more inclusive practices, where disabled students are empowered and build competencies and strategies for the future. This study shows the importance of involving disabled students in decisions that concern them and calls for change in how disability is viewed and addressed in higher education.Through collaboration with researchers and staff at the university, students felt empowered in planning and carrying out actions that could change learning environments for the better.The students' involvement in promoting change at the university gave them opportunities to display their knowledge while also developing skills they could use in the future.While met with recognition and respect from staff and other students at the university for their role in advocating for change, the students were still worried about future employers finding out about their impairment.There has been little work on the involvement of disabled students in the promotion of inclusion alongside their studies. Future research should investigate the positive and negative effects of this involvement.