%0 Journal Article %T The concept of universal design as an element of raising awareness of the needs of people with disabilities among students: the experience of the Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa %A Zalas, Katarzyna %A Czerw, Monika %J Homo et Societas %V 2023 %R 10.4467/25436104HS.23.003.19115 %N Issue 8/2023 %P 25-37 %K universal designing, disability, accessibility, special needs, awareness of needs %@ 2543-6104 %D 2024 %U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/homo-et-societas/article/koncepcja-projektowania-uniwersalnego-jako-element-podnoszenia-swiadomosci-potrzeb-osob-z-niepelnosprawnoscia-wsrod-studentow-z-doswiadczen-uniwersytetu-jana-dlugosza-w-czestochowie %X The article is devoted to deepening students’ knowledge about the needs of people with disabilities. Its aim is to present the implementation of the project of the National Center for Research and Development entitled Universal Fields - Universal Society, implemented at the Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa, which focused on introducing mandatory classes in the field of accessibility and universal design into the study programs of selected fields. The article presents solutions implemented into the University’s teaching, in the form of traditional lectures, exercises, but also innovative workshops with people with special needs, simulations using specialized equipment and simulators, as well as study visits. The authors of this text also included the results of the classes and the opinions of students participating in them, pointing to the need to create an environment, services and products consistent with the assumptions of universal design.