Kirsty Wayland Memorial Disability Lecture

ADRC Annual Lecture 2026

The Kirsty Wayland Memorial Disability Lecture will be held on Thursday 30th April 2026. The lecture was previously known as The University of Cambridge Annual Disability Lecture. 

This year’s lecture - the 21st in the series - will be held in the Old Divinity School of St John's College of the University of Cambridge. 

Our speaker, Professor Suanne Gibson from the University of Plymouth, will explain how the lived experiences of disabled students serve as the primary catalyst for institutional reform. By moving away from "top-down" administrative models and toward co-creation, universities can transition from mere legal compliance to genuine disability equality.

"User-led, joined up and co-created = Disability Equality in Higher Education"

About Kirsty Wayland

Kirsty Wayland in the countryside

Kirsty Wayland (pictured above) was the first employee of the then newly formed Disability Resource Centre (now Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre (ADRC) in 2000.

Kirsty was the ADRC’s Disability Development Consultant and her role involved managing the ADRC’s disability training and consultancy provision for staff in the University and Colleges, coordinating the Specialist Mentoring scheme, as well as planning events. As a result of her wide-ranging role, Kirsty was well-known and highly respected across the collegiate University. Kirsty founded and developed the University’s series of Annual Disability Lectures, starting in 2003, and was rightly proud to have instigated such an important disability-focused event. 

Very sadly, Kirsty died in January 2023; the lecture series was renamed the Kirsty Wayland Memorial Disability Lecture in her honour that same year.

Previous lectures

  • 20th Annual Disability Lecture 2025: On 22 April 2025 we held the third lecture in memory of Kirsty Wayland. 'Competence standards and disability: what next for universities following the Abrahart case?' delivered by Harriet Cannon, Disability Team Manager, University of Leeds and Professor Pam Birtill, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Leeds. Watch the lecture on our YouTube channel.
  • 19th Annual Disability Lecture 2024: On 18 April 2024 we held the second lecture in memory of Kirsty Wayland. 'Unleashing Potential: Perspectives on ADHD & Higher Education' delivered by Professor Amanda Kirby, Professor Paul Wilkinson and Dr Portia Ungley. Watch the lecture on our YouTube channel.
  • 18th Annual Disability Lecture 2023: On 19 April 2023 we held the first lecture in memory of Kirsty Wayland. 'Widening Access to Higher Education with Lecture Recordings'. Delivered by Dr Emily Nordmann Watch the lecture on YouTube
  • 17th Annual Disability Lecture 2022: Where next for disabled people's equal participation? Navigating opportunities and threats in the context of Covid, cost of living and assorted future trends. Delivered by Liz Sayce on 16th June 2022
  • 16th Annual Disability Lecture 2019: Mental health conditions are not synonymous with failure; a personal story by Poppy Jaman. Watch Poppy Jaman's lecture on our media streaming service.
  • 15th Annual Disability Lecture 2018: Disabled Academics in the 21 Century. A panel of disabled academics, including Professor Nigel Lockett, Dr Hamied Haroon, and Professor Farah Mendlesohn spoke about their experiences as disabled academics. They described their career highlights and strategies for success in their chosen field. Watch the lecture on our media streaming service.
  • 14th Annual Disability Lecture 2017: Saqib Shaikh - Innovating towards a more inclusive future. Watch Saqib Shaikh's lecture on our media streaming service.
  • 13th Annual Disability Lecture 2016: Sue Kroeger - The Power of Design: Exclusion or Inclusion. Watch Sue Kroeger's lecture on our media streaming service.
  • 12th Annual Disability Lecture 2015: Jess Thom - Laughter as a Catalyst for Change.​ Watch Jess Thom's lecture on YouTube.
  • 11th Annual Disability Lecture 2014: Dr Rachel Perkins - Creating Mentally Inclusive Communities: Embracing Distress as Part of Everyday Life
  • 10th Annual Disability Lecture 2013: Dame Ann Begg - Two steps forward, one step back: challenges to disabled people in 2013
  • 9th Annual Disability Lecture 2011: Dr Nicola Martin - Disability Identity - Disability Pride
  • 8th Annual Disability Lecture 2010: Dr Ross Cooper - Neurodiversity and Dyslexia
  • 7th Annual Disability Lecture 2009: Professor Alan Roulstone - Disabled People and the Economic Downturn
  • 6th Annual Disability Lecture 2008: Baroness Jane Campbell - Fighting for a slice or for a bigger cake?
  • 5th Annual Disability Lecture 2007: Professor Lewis Wolpert - Severe Depression is Indescribable
  • 4th Annual Disability Lecture 2006: Bert Massie CBE - Civil and Human Rights for Disabled People: The Future Agenda
  • 3rd Annual Disability Lecture 2005: Professor Simon Baron-Cohen - Is Asperger Syndrome a Disability?
  • 2nd Annual Disability Lecture 2004: Dr Tom Shakespeare - Can Genetics Solve the Disability Problem?
  • 1st Annual Disability Lecture 2003: Professor Usha Goswami - A Cross-language Approach to Developmental Dyslexia