Summer school

AI-Enabled Digital Accessibility Summer School 2026

15-17 June 2026 | University of Surrey, UK

The inaugural ADA Summer School on AI-enabled Digital Accessibility took place from 15 to 17 June 2026 at the University of Surrey, hosted by the Centre for Translation Studies with support from the ADA Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholarships Network.

About the Summer School

AI-enabled Digital Accessibility (ADA) is an exciting field that brings together expertise from artificial intelligence, computer science, translation studies, accessible communication, cognitive and social sciences, and inclusive design. ADA explores how advances in AI can work alongside human expertise to improve digital media access for a wide range of users. The specific focus of ADA is on enhancing accessible communication and creating high-quality accessible content at scale. Current ADA projects focus on the use of AI in accessibility practices such as subtitling, captioning and audio description, as well as on approaches to improve cognitive access, text simplification and multilingual accessibility. 

This emerging field represents a paradigm shift from purely engineering-led, AI-driven methods towards an AI-enabled approach where user needs guide the development of responsible, nuanced solutions for accessible digital content. At ADA’s core is the principle that only human-in-control approaches can effectively mitigate AI risks, such as bias, errors, and privacy concerns. ADA therefore aims to establish a new interdisciplinary research paradigm leading to truly responsible research designs and solutions.

This intensive 2.5-day Summer School equipped participants with critical knowledge, research insights, and methodological skills essential to kickstart and/or refine cutting-edge research in this area. They explored interdisciplinary approaches based on the latest projects in this field and developed collaborative research skills that prioritise human-centred integration of AI technologies in digital accessible communication. 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the Summer School, attendees will be able to:

  • Master foundational concepts of ADA theory and methodology
  • Understand current challenges and opportunities in the field, including relevant legislative and ethical frameworks
  • Gain exposure to user-centred methodologies and learn when and how to make informed decisions about involving users in research
  • Explore the latest research findings through case studies spanning AI-enabled multimodal practices such as video/image-to-speech (e.g. audio/video description), speech-to-text (e.g. live subtitling), and text-focused practices (e.g. text simplification)
  • Present and refine their research through peer and expert feedback sessions
  • Work in teams to address authentic challenges in accessible media and communication through industry-led collaboration

Interactive Learning Experiences

The Summer School featured a range of:

  • Interactive lectures and workshops covering theoretical and methodological aspects of ADA research
  • ‘Lightning talks’ where attendees presented their research to peers and received feedback
  • Research design clinics to refine project ideas and make informed decisions about when and how to involve users in research
  • Expert panel discussion exploring challenges and opportunities in applying cutting-edge AI technologies to make digital media and communication (more) accessible
  • Project development workshops to co-create innovative approaches to tackle authentic accessibility challenges 

The Summer School offered the unique opportunity to connect with fellow researchers, established academics, and industry professionals who are shaping the future of AI-enabled digital accessibility.

Programme

The programme featured presentations and workshops from members of the ADA consortium alongside distinguished external invited speakers from leading institutions and industry partners.

Guest Speaker: Prof. Horacio Saggion (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) – Please note that Prof. Saggion also delivered a keynote at our Convergence 2026 conference: Human-AI Integration for Multilingual and Accessible Communication, held at the University of Surrey in Guildford from 17 to 19 June. The conference featured a dedicated strand on AI-enabled digital accessibility and societal inclusion. 

Programme

Monday 15 June (full day) 

  • Interactive session: Foundations of AI-Enabled Digital Accessibility (ADA)
  • Research Showcase: Centre for Translation Studies
  • Project design clinic: Interdisciplinary approaches and research methodologies for ADA 
  • Research-in-practice session: Research insights from user-centred ADA projects

Tuesday 16 June (full day) 

  • Participant lightning talks: Emerging research questions and challenges
  • Participant lightning talks: PhD and ECR project snapshots with facilitated group feedback
  • Interactive Workshop: Human-AI integration in multilingual and accessible communication (led by the Convergence 2026 keynote speaker, Horacio Saggion) 

Wednesday 17 June (half day) 

  • Project development workshop: Addressing real-world accessibility challenges through authentic case studies 
  • Expert panel: Cutting-edge AI technologies and methods for ADA

This summer school is primarily designed for PhD students and early-career researchers in translation studies, audiovisual translation, accessible communication, computer science, human-computer interaction or adjacent fields who want to learn more about AI applications to accessible digital communication.

Organising committee

Prof Sabine Braun 

Professor of Translation Studies
Director, ADA Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships Network
Director, Centre for Translation Studies (CTS), University of Surrey 
Co-director, Surrey Institute for People-Centred Artificial Intelligence (PAI)

Leading expert in human–machine interaction to enhance access to information, culture, media and services; focus on spoken-language interpreting and audio (video) description.

Dr Elena Davitti

Associate Professor in Translation Studies, CTS Surrey
Co-Director, ADA Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships Network

Specialist in human-centric, hybrid modalities for real-time speech-to-speech and speech-to-text practices across languages.

Dr Yuan Zou

Lecturer in Translation Studies, CTS Surrey

Specialist in AI-enabled accessible communication, with a focus on audio description and inclusive design for video games and interactive digital content.

Dr Andreea Deleanu

Research Fellow in Translation Studies, CTS Surrey

Specialist in inclusive accessible communication research, with a focus on sensory and cognitive access to multimodal content.

 

Questions? Contact us at cts@surrey.ac.uk for more information.