Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
IMAGE project launch events to address poor employment prospects of autistic university students across Europe.
The Improving Employability of Autistic Graduates in Europe (IMAGE) is an EU-funded partnership that aims to improve autistic graduate employment across Europe. The project involves five European universities: Leeds Beckett University, Helsinki University, Free University Amsterdam, Medical School Berlin and the University of Toulouse.
The IMAGE project has worked for the past three years to address the employment gap in graduates with autism and has created resources and tools to support autistic students, careers advisors, academics and employers.
IMAGE and universities across Europe have organised free events in November for professionals and students to raise awareness of supporting autistic students at university or in places of work.
Improved autism awareness means that more autistic people than ever are doing well in school, moving on to university, and entering the job market with university-level qualifications.
The majority of autistic graduates are not in full-time employment and those who are, often work well below their qualification level. The IMAGE project has set out to improve this employment gap throughout Europe.
The first event, a webinar on 10 November, was aimed at professionals helping students find work placements or graduate positions. During the webinar attendees learned about autism from a strength-based approach, and the opportunities and challenges faced by autistic students when seeking graduate employment.
The second event is an international online conference on 17 November, with autistic and non-autistic speakers from across Europe. The conference is aimed at those supporting autistic students at university or autistic employees in work, as well as employers, policymakers and autistic young people - whether in higher education or in work.
More information and to register for the webinar visit the events page.
Dr Marc Fabri, Reader at Leeds School of Arts, at Leeds Beckett University:
“It’s great to see so much interest in the two events we’re organising. I hope careers advisors find our webinar useful, especially the Good Practice Guide and training videos we’ve put together for them.
‘’The IMAGE conference has a fantastic line-up of international speakers, including autistic employees, researchers and career coaches. It’s a reflection of the inclusive and participatory nature of the project.”
For more information on the IMAGE project, please contact Dr Marc Fabri at m.fabri@leedsbeckett.ac.uk or call 0113 81 23317.