Global Disability Innovation Hub

Creating a more just world for disabled people, and all people

In 2016, a small UCL Grand Challenges grant helped bring together researchers and partners from across disciplines to explore what could become the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub). What started with a £10,000 grant has grown into a global organisation operating in 41 countries, collaborating with more than 100 partners and positively impacting the lives of over 35 million people.

In this video, GDI Hub archive footage, and new filming in their development lab at UCL East is combined with new interviews with GDI Hub co-founders Dr Vicki Austin and Prof Maria Kett, who discuss how that initial investment helped bring people together, turn ideas into action and build partnerships spanning academia, government, industry and the disability community. They explore the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, the development of more accessible assistive technologies, and how research can move beyond publications to create meaningful change in people's lives.

UCL Grand Challenges tackles complex global, national and local issues through interdisciplinary research and collaboration - I created four case study films to celebrate 15 years of the initiative in 2024.