Shine a Light on Autism: A University wide Celebration of Students Autism Research, Scholarship and Inclusion Initiatives

During Autism Acceptance Week 2025, COALESCE hosted Shine A Light on Autism — a cross-campus event designed to showcase research, creativity, and lived experience across the Sussex community and our international partners.

The centrepiece of the event was a vibrant exhibition of posters created through the Global Classroom collaboration between Sussex and OP Jindal Global University. Students from our final year Autism Across the Lifespan module produced applied, community-focused posters offering practical guidance for making everyday spaces more inclusive for neurodivergent people — from dentists and cardiology clinics to cafés, university support centres, and other public settings across both the UK and India.

Alongside the exhibition, undergraduate and PhD students gave short talks on their autism research, highlighting emerging scholarship across cognition, learning, wellbeing, and community inclusion. Staff contributed workshops on synaesthesia, digital storytelling, and wellbeing, and visitors could explore a pop-up sensory room that brought neurodivergent-friendly design principles to life.

The event was open to the entire university and created a shared space for learning, curiosity, and dialogue. Shine A Light on Autism captures COALESCE’s ethos: collaborative, student-centred, research-informed, and grounded in improving everyday environments for autistic people through scholarship and community creativity.