Institute for Social Justice
INC Lab
Based in the Institute for Social Justice and modelled on Living Lab methodology, INC Lab seeks to make real changes on campus by engaging staff and students in action learning.
We use INC Lab as a methodology for solving problems that arise from inflexible ways of being and doing in many places.
Each academic year, INC Lab sets a shared question: For 2026-27, this is:
What does it look like to be inclusive by default?
Our current cross-disciplinary projects are:
- Are our quiet spaces too quiet? Ensuring maximal accessibility of quiet spaces.
- Can we use cross-disciplinary skillsets to create an inclusive campus map to empower university members to engage with university spaces in equitable ways?
- What underpins better designed group work? How can students learn collaboration practices that are inclusive? What are the rules of groupwork? What is difficult in groupwork according to phenomenological accounts? How can everybody be themselves in a group?
Aligned with our cross-curriculum approach, the INC Lab core staff team includes:
- Dr Stephanie Petty, School of Education, Language and Psychology
- Prof Lorna Hamilton, School of Education, Language and Psychology
- Dr Emma Bassitt, School of the Arts
- Sue Mesa, School of Science, Technology and Health
- Dr Sam Hill, York Business School
- Antony Stones, School of Science, Technology and Health
- Hannah Ridge, Estates
- Anna Deacon, Specialist Support
- Dr Chris Whiting, Academic Practice
- Dr Catherine Heinemeyer, Living Lab and Institute for Social Justice
INC Lab’s vision
INC Lab approaches complex problems of inclusion on university campuses from a place of curiosity, open mindedness and rigorous interrogation. We believe that co-working and networking across subjects and departments provides larger and enhanced pieces of work beyond what would otherwise be achieved. We come together under a shared question to develop cross-disciplinary projects that require students to think critically about the communities in which they live and study. Our vision is to develop sustainable neurodiversity-affirming practices that benefit everybody.
Students can lead through a variety of roles and opportunities. These include conducting INC Lab teaching and research projects, via paid internships, student researcher roles, and working group membership.
INC Lab seeks to embed inclusive practices within the University's wider curriculum as a part of module design and outcomes and by working with professional services, including Estates, Careers, Governance Assurance and Compliance.
Finally, INC Lab is ever moving, as are the stakeholders, their needs and preferences and the knowledge gained.
Get involved
If you would like to know more or to explore opportunities, email Dr Stephanie Petty: s.petty@yorksj.ac.uk.
