De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has pledged to support disabled students from university to employment by signing the national Disabled Student Commitment.
The voluntary Commitment supports universities to work with disabled students to improve their experience, from choosing a course and starting university through to graduation and employment.
It provides a framework for universities to identify areas where they can improve and ensure disabled students are involved in shaping their experience.
DMU graduate, entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den winner Simon Sansome praised the Commitment, saying his own experience at DMU showed the lasting impact the right support and opportunities can have.
Simon said: “Graduating from DMU as a disabled student means a great deal to me, because my journey through university wasn’t always straightforward. What made a real difference was the support and opportunities DMU gave me, not only academically but in helping me gain genuine experience of the working world.
“As a disabled student, having people who looked at what I could do rather than what I couldn’t do was incredibly important. DMU gave me the opportunity to build my confidence, develop practical skills and prove myself in a real working environment.
“Those experiences have stayed with me throughout my career. Today, as a journalist, disability campaigner and founder of Snowball. Graduation is obviously about receiving your degree, but for me it also represents the opportunities, experience and belief that helped me build what came afterwards.”
The Commitment builds on DMU’s established support for disabled and neurodivergent students, including its specialist support for autistic students.
In 2023, DMU’s Autism Support Team won the National Association of Disability Practitioners (NADP) Service Team of the Year Award, recognising its innovative work supporting autistic students and creating opportunities for them to thrive.
DMU is committed to supporting students with a wide range of disabilities, including physical disabilities, sensory impairments and long-term health conditions, so they can succeed throughout their time at university.
The university is also further strengthening its commitment to disabled and neurodivergent students through the launch of a new disability-employability mentoring programme.
The programme will help students navigate the emotional, functional and legal aspects of inclusive career applications and employment, including understanding their rights and the protections provided under the Equality Act.
The scheme will help students build confidence in talking about their needs and requesting reasonable adjustments at work, whether that means explaining sensory needs such as lighting and noise or discussing other adjustments with an employer.
It will complement DMU’s existing employability support and ongoing research into disability and inclusion.
For students and their families, signing the Commitment is another step in DMU’s work to create an inclusive university where disabled students can succeed both during their studies and beyond.
Dr David Gordon, an Associate Professor at DMU, spoke about his personal experience as a parent finding the right university for his neurodivergent daughter. He said: “From my own personal experience, families spend a great deal of time researching universities and looking beyond academic results when deciding where their children will thrive.
“DMU’s approach shows that its support for disabled students goes beyond their time at university, helping them move confidently into their future.”
The Disabled Student Commitment was launched by the Disabled Students’ Commission in 2023 and is supported by Advance HE. It recognises that universities are at different stages in their disability inclusion journey and provides a framework for continued improvement.
Posted on Thursday 10 September 2026