At the end of February, Sarah Hurwitz, a professor at Indiana University's School of Education, and Lesley Davis, a former associate dean of Indiana University's Law School and current vice president of North American partnerships at AccessAbleUSA, visited our faculty. We continued the development work that we started in Bloomington last September.
Purpose of the Visit
The education systems of the United States and Hungary, including the services provided to students with special educational needs, differ substantially. Therefore, there is great potential in jointly learning about and analyzing the background of education and higher education policy, as well as the practical work being done in the field.
The visit to Budapest aimed to analyze two areas: developments ensuring equal access and educational services available to people with autism. The goal was to facilitate mutual learning between participants in bachelor's and master's programs and lecturers at both universities through exchange programs.
Professional and Community Experiences
During the week, undergraduate and master's students enrolled in English and Hungarian programs, as well as Erasmus+ mobility students, had the opportunity to participate in an accessibility workshop led by Lesley Davis and Tamás Méri of Access4you. The two experts helped the students think through, ensuring accessibility from human rights and business perspectives. Undergraduate students specializing in autism spectrum pedagogy, led by Sarah Hurwitz, discussed classroom tools for behavior management.
We exchanged experiences with Borbála Barát and Sarolta Pesti, doctoral students and postdoctoral colleagues from the Disability Studies Doctoral Workshop, on the American and Hungarian legal environments and their impact on families. We were delighted that Dr. Lajos Aáry-Tamás, the Ombudsman for Educational Rights, attended the program as well and shared his extensive professional knowledge with us.
Researchers from the MASZK HAS-ELTE ‘Autism in Education’ Research Group and the Disability Studies and Social Innovation Lab shared their programs and findings. Dr. Krisztina Stefanik, Dr. Ágnes Havasi, Dr. Mónika Macher, and Dr. Márta Völgyesi-Molnár presented evidence-based developments that improve the lives of people with autism.
Sarah Hurwitz and Lesley E. Davis visit our faculty - 2026
Institutional Visits and Professional Meetings
- Our guests met with the dean of the faculty, Dr. Gabriella Papp, and her deputies, Dr. Anikó Sándor, Dr. Andrea Perlusz, and Dr. Eszter Márkus, to discuss the strategic directions of our cooperation.
- We participated in Michael Ochieng' Otieno's doctoral pre-defense, where our colleague presented his results on the higher education experiences of university students with disabilities in Kenya.
- We listened to Lesley Davis and Gréta Kövecses's accessible report on their participation in the Zero Conference, where they presented participatory innovation methodologies.
- Led by our librarians, we viewed the English-language disability studies collection and the tools available to visually impaired readers.
- Then, we visited the Autism Foundation's elementary school. Orsolya Farmosi, the head of the upper grades, introduced us to the high-quality work being done at the institution.
Building International Partnerships
- Orsolya Bálint and Emese Éva Balogh of the Erasmus+ and International Programs Department participated in the week's events and offered valuable suggestions for future cooperation.
Future Outlook
Together with our colleagues from Indiana University, we are preparing an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM) partnership application. We hope this application will expand opportunities for students and teachers from Indiana University and ELTE to collaborate in the fields of disability studies and special education.