Student Programs
Teach Access Student Academy
Discover how to build empathy and awareness for accessibility in this engaging, interactive event! Open to all students, whether you’re enrolled in a college or university or learning independently, this free virtual event will strengthen your understanding of accessibility and why it matters.
You’ll learn practical accessibility skills you can apply to your projects, along with strategies for having meaningful conversations that motivate others to prioritize inclusion.
Whether you are new to accessibility or looking to strengthen your understanding, this event will help you take steps toward creating a more accessible world.
Sponsored by:
2026 Student Academy
This year’s Academy, presented by Microsoft, will be on Thursday, February 26, 2026, and Friday, February 27, 2026, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm ET (8:00 am to 3:00 pm PT).
Registration for the event is now closed. You may still complete the application to receive access to the event recordings and resources once they become available.
Day 1: February 26, 2026
11:00 am- 12:30 pm ET
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- Welcome and Opening Keynote Building Trusted Technology in the Era of AI
- Jenny Lay-Flurrie (Microsoft)
- Welcome and Opening Keynote Building Trusted Technology in the Era of AI
12:45 pm- 1:30 pm ET
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- Leveling Up: Making Games Accessible Panel
- Arman Nobari (Good Trouble Games) and Jordan Kough (AbleGamers)
- Leveling Up: Making Games Accessible Panel
2:15 pm- 3:00 pm ET
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- Giving a Voice to Visuals: The Art of Translating Images for Everyone
- Caroline Desrosiers (Scribely)
- Giving a Voice to Visuals: The Art of Translating Images for Everyone
3:15 pm- 4:00 pm ET
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- Disabled Expertise Forever, Disabled Expertise for the Future (Or, Stop Using Checklists to Avoid Talking to Disabled People)
- Ashley Shew (Virginia Tech)
- Disabled Expertise Forever, Disabled Expertise for the Future (Or, Stop Using Checklists to Avoid Talking to Disabled People)
4:15 pm- 5:00 pm ET
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- UX Research for Accessible Design Panel
- Katie Wainwright (Google), Kaush Ganesh (Cisco Systems), and Kavana Ramesh (Lululemon). Moderated by Reginé Gilbert (NYU).
- UX Research for Accessible Design Panel
5:15pm – 6:00 pm ET
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- Emerging Accessibility Pros Fireside Chat
- Deanna Ferrante (Macmillan Learning), Ian O’Bara (Level Access), and Nicholas Cook (Assistiv Labs)
- Emerging Accessibility Pros Fireside Chat
Day 2: February 27, 2026
11:00 am- 12:30 pm ET
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- Welcome and Redesigning Work, Technology, and Innovation through Accessibility and Disability Inclusion Panel
- Alexandra Charnin (2Gether International), Blake Steinecke (Marketing and Accessibility Professional), Kelsey Hall (ADP), Molly Lazarus (Remarkable). Moderated by Bill Schiffmiller (Akoio, LLC).
- Welcome and Redesigning Work, Technology, and Innovation through Accessibility and Disability Inclusion Panel
12:45 pm- 1:30 pm ET
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- Who belongs in an AI world?
- Elaine KA (Amazon)
- Who belongs in an AI world?
1:40 pm- 2:00 pm ET
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- Beyond Sights, Borders, & Budgets: Tactile Coding Blocks
- Savaas Iqbal, Lila Alderete, Rishabh Dholakia, and Shannon Lin
(Cornell Assistive Technologies project team)
- Savaas Iqbal, Lila Alderete, Rishabh Dholakia, and Shannon Lin
- Beyond Sights, Borders, & Budgets: Tactile Coding Blocks
2:15 pm- 3:00 pm ET
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- Using personas to design for differences
- Whitney Quesenbery (Center for Civic Design)
- Using personas to design for differences
3:15 pm- 4:00 pm ET
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- Accessibility Testing Panel
- Maureen McClearly (Level Access), Merrell Guzman (Test Party)
- Maureen McClearly (Level Access), Merrell Guzman (Test Party)
- Accessibility Testing Panel
4:15 pm- 5:00 pm ET
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- Accessibility: The Skill that Future-Proofs Your Tech Career
- Shyanne Fullerton and Kristian Burch (Salesforce)
- Shyanne Fullerton and Kristian Burch (Salesforce)
- Accessibility: The Skill that Future-Proofs Your Tech Career
5:15pm – 6:00 pm ET
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- Accessibility is everyone’s job! Fireside Chat
- Meena Das (GitHub), Nandita Gupta (Cisco Systems) and Tiara McKenzie (Michigan Department of Civil Rights)
- Accessibility is everyone’s job! Fireside Chat
Past Student Programs
2025 Student Academy
The 2025 Student Academy was a two-day virtual event held on Thursday, February 20, and Friday, February 21. Day 1 focused on building empathy and awareness around disability and accessibility, while Day 2 explored practical skills and real-world applications of accessibility. Session recordings are available to view on YouTube.
2023-2024 Student Academy
During the 2023-2024 academic year, a monthly series was offered for students to explore various topics on disability and accessibility. The recorded sessions are available to watch on the Student Academy YouTube Playlist.
Teach Access Student Ambassadors Program
The Teach Access Student Ambassadors program was launched in September 2023, with over 80 registered students. In the fall, students met once a month to discuss disability and accessibility topics. Then, in the spring, they collaborated in modified design sprints to create accessibility awareness and advocacy projects.
