AWIEW project presents results at the 8th Community Health Conference 2025

At the Community Health Conference at Bochum University of Applied Sciences, health and inclusion researchers meet annually. New projects, innovative methods and recent findings are presented and discussed here under the umbrella theme of "Community Health". At the eighth edition of the conference on 20 November 2025, researchers and practitioners from four project partners presented the project "Working – the way I want to!" (AWIEW) in a dedicated focus session. The project team was represented by nine speakers.

Daniel Krüger (Social Research Center Dortmund) kicked off the session as chair with an introduction to the participation situation of people with disabilities in the general labour market in Germany, which has so far been characterised by few transitions from, for example, special schools or sheltered workshops (“WfbM”). Against this backdrop, the project partners are developing a needs analysis tool (“BAI”) using a participatory approach to provide people with disabilities with career guidance opportunities. With the help of this tool, which consists of several modules, some of which are AI-based, the project is helping to improve the transition prospects of people with disabilities into the general labour market. In addition to experts in labour market integration and integration assistance, social designers, experts in artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction, and social and rehabilitation scientists, people with disabilities are also involved in the design and testing of the tool. This co-design approach ensures the participation of the target group and thus a tailor-made development. An inclusive approach is also being pursued in the implementation of public relations work with a co-editorial team.

The central importance of the participatory approach in the project was particularly evident in the contribution by Franz Sales Haus. Wolfram Willschrei (co-designer and co-editor of the inclusive public relations team) and Joline Düring (inclusive pedagogist) offered a practical insight and began by presenting the work of the inclusive public editorial and dissemination team, which operates according to the principle of "nothing about us without us". They showed how people with learning and cognitive impairments act as experts in their own field and are not just the subject of reporting. The inclusive team produces social media content, videos and photos, conducts interviews and documents the development of the needs analysis tool. Another important focus is on lectures and public appearances, where the team members contribute their personal perspectives on vocational participation – as was the case at this year's CHK. The presentation centred on the personal experience of Wolfram Willschrei, who described his journey of vocational orientation as a person with a disability. He made it clear how strongly internships, career decisions and later steps were influenced by his environment and how limited his opportunities were to independently find out about professions. A video he produced with the striking quote "How can you know what you want to do when you don't even know what's out there?" impressively illustrated the continuing great need for guidance among many people with disabilities. Joline Düring then demonstrated the potential of the needs analysis tool developed in the project to close precisely these gaps and enable self-determined, informed career decisions. The presentation formed a lively transition to the following input from the social design team, which presented the joint methodological development of the needs analysis tool.

In the presentation of the social design team, represented by Diana Cürlis and Mara Vöcking, the work at the interface between tool development and human-centred design was in focus. The speakers provided insights into generative and evaluative workshops as well as the underlying work processes. One focus was on the presentation of the "Career Interest Test" module, whose redesign and development by the team was explained. The presentation highlighted the identified needs and showed how visual worlds were developed and tested together with co-designers with disabilities, and how inclusive illustrations were created to accompany users through the tool's modules. In addition, the social design team provided insights into the ongoing design process of the needs analysis tool and its contextual integration.

In his subsequent presentation, Prof. Dr. Harald Mathis provided insights into the technological development of the modules of the needs analysis tool. He highlighted the challenges arising from the use of AI-based solutions and at the same time pointed to possible solutions, such as 'agentic behaviour modelling', which can be used to overcome some of the disadvantages of large language models, or the integration of 'journeys' as a basis for “content, process and presentation of the interview” (own translation) through a chatbot for collecting biographical data – one of the modules of the needs analysis tool. He concluded with an overview of the next steps and a summary, emphasising the importance of involving the target groups – here, in the context of testing.

Felix Fankhänel, Lisa Preissner and Dr Ann Christin Schulz concluded the focus session. In their presentation, they presented findings from their research on the context of the needs analysis tool. In order to incorporate the perspectives of other stakeholders on the transition process into the general labour market, they drew on findings from embedded research – a form of participatory observation – in integration assistance and educational institutions, expert interviews in companies in the general labour market, and focus groups with parents and legal representatives. These findings were then supplemented by the results of a group discussion with representatives of public funding agencies, public authorities and organised civil society. Several key findings have emerged from the research to date: among other things, they pointed to gaps in knowledge regarding the instruments for promoting participation in work at companies in the general labour market, highlighted bureaucratic hurdles, and also took into account the wishes and needs of the target group. They also looked at factors for sustainable employment perspectives in the general labour market. The presentation was closed by Dr Ann Christin Schulz, who gave an initial insight into the accompanying material aimed at pedagogical professionals and materials on how inclusion can be achieved in everyday working life.