Assistance Animal Toileting Area Launch - a pause for paws

Join the UTS Accessibility Service for the launch of the unique assistance animal toileting area! Discover an inviting inclusive space that champions inclusion, social impact, and sustainability. We would like to acknowledge the lead consultant ASPECT Studios.

The Pause for Paws Assistance Animal Toileting Area will be officially opened by Kylie Readman and Megan Taylor:

Professor Kylie Readman

Professor Kylie Readman is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Students) at the University of Technology Sydney. In that role, Kylie focuses on creating the institutional conditions for building staff and student capacity in learning, teaching, and the student experience, centered around academic engagement, belonging, wellbeing and partnerships. Ensuring student equity is a central theme of her work, including several research projects that investigate the experience of students from a range of diverse backgrounds which are under-represented in higher education. She has had many years’ experiences of leading innovation at the whole-of-institution level, including strategy, resourcing, curriculum integration and product design and campus master planning. Kylie is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a 2020 recipient of an Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Australasia Champion for Change citation.

Megan Taylor 

Megan is currently a PhD Candidate and Research Associate at UTS, situated in the Faculty of DAB, School of built environment. Megan has a diverse background, consulting with public and private sectors regarding how to build a better public realm and enhance people/place resilience in every sense of the phrase. Her focus centres on the fundamentals of what makes an environment equitable, functional, and user-friendly so that everyone can thrive. Currently, she is interested in how people access public space, amenities, and services, and how policy, design and practice influence its use. Megan’s PhD focuses on the challenges and enablers of open space provision largely from a local government perspective. Her research highlights the need for cities to place greenspace at the top of the agenda, because without it, urban environments, and by extension people and animal/plant habitats do not function.

Most recently Megan (pictured above) applied her extensive knowledge and experience of urban planning, wayfinding and creating integrated inclusive environments to the co-design process of the UTS Assistance Animal Toileting Facility. As a guide dog handler herself, coupled with her passion for sustainable infrastructure, innovation and creating fit for purpose vibrant spaces, she was uniquely positioned to work on the project. In her words:

“This is one of the prettiest and most useful amenities I have ever been a part of designing. The team behind this are talented, amazing and were a pleasure to work with. But most importantly, the facility actually works. Not only has it integrated beautifully into the surrounds, creating a pocket of serenity for passersby, but as a toileting facility built from natural materials, my working dog feels comfortable and is able to use the space as intended without intrusion or distraction.”

We will showcase how the co-design approach worked to capture learning from lived experience and knowledge sharing to deliver a quality result.

Celebrate with us as we set a new standard for access with dignity on campus. Don’t miss this exciting step towards a more inclusive future!

Please register for catering purposes. 

Image description: Megan is utilizing the UTS Assistance Animal Toileting Area with their guide dog.

Photograph provided by ASPECT Studios