"Excellent Award" for "Working – the way I want to!"

“This award honors five years of research and development by a large team,” says project leader Assoc. Prof. Bastian Pelka. He oversees the social science components of the overall project. To this end, a seven-member team at the Social Research Center is investigating how innovations can be integrated into the career guidance of people with disabilities. The goal of improving labor market participation was the reason for the award ceremony. 

In front of over 1,000 guests in the Leipzig exhibition halls, laudator Dr. Irmgard Plößl explained the jury’s decision: “Thanks to the project’s participatory approach, people with disabilities were involved from the very beginning. In this way, the project helps to make the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence accessible to people with disabilities. At the same time, the project creates a strong connection to the general labor market and is transferable to other institutions. Particularly decisive for the award were the strong person-centered approach as well as the promotion of personal responsibility and self-efficacy."

In the project “Working – the way I want to!” (project site only in german) funded by the Compensation Fund for the Severely Disabled, an AI-powered tool is being developed to support independent career guidance for people with disabilities. The goal is to enable users to inform themselves about their own strengths, the job market, and career opportunities and requirements. The technical tool is integrated into a social context that professionals, companies, or family members can use to encourage people with disabilities to utilize the tool. To this end, the team at the Social Research Center is developing supporting materials for all target groups. 

The project is led by the Franz-Sales-Haus (Essen) and implemented in cooperation with the Münster School of Design, Fraunhofer FIT, and the Social Research Center at TU Dortmund University.

At the award ceremony, the project received widespread recognition from numerous practitioners, representatives of affected groups, and the politicians in attendance: State Secretary Leonie Gebers (BMAS) and Petra Köpping, Saxony’s Minister of State for Social Affairs, Health, and Social Cohesion offered their congratulations.

In a separate workshop, the team from the Social Research Center—represented by Acting Prof. Dr. Bastian Pelka, Dr. Ann Christin Schulz, Daniel Krüger, and Lisa Preissner held a session with numerous practitioners, on how the tool should be integrated into daily practice and what is needed to ensure successful career guidance for people with disabilities. Through the discussion, the team was able to gather a wealth of practical insights for the upcoming development of the supporting materials, thereby also collecting important suggestions for the materials.

The Project “Working – the way I want to!” is funded by the Compensation Fund for the Severely Disabled, with a total grant of 5.9 million euros.