Assistant to a student with a disability in Wrocław: 2026/2027 Guide

Wrocław reality: Why do you need help?

Despite the modernization of MPK Wrocław’s rolling stock, lines such as 16, 33 or 17 are extremely overcrowded during rush hours, which makes it impossible to enter with a wheelchair without the support of third parties. What is more, repairs of bridges (e.g. the Grunwaldzki Bridge or the Warsaw Bridges) often force sudden changes in routes in which a person with a disability may feel lost. The assistant is your logistics “fuse”.

How to arrange an assistant step by step?

Don’t wait until October. Wrocław BON closes the lists of demand for transport assistants often as early as mid-September in order to be able to plan the budget for the winter semester.

Visit to the Office of Persons with Disabilities (BON)

You need to go to the unit responsible for support. In Wrocław, these are:

• Wrocław University of Technology (WUT): Building C-13 (Serowiec), room 1.02.
• University of Wrocław (UWr): 35 Kuźnicza Street.
• University of Economics (WEEE): Komandorska Street (building A).

Take the original certificate of disability with you. A BON employee will interview you, specifying the number of hours of support (typically from 5 to 20 hours per week).

Finding a candidate (Buddha system)

Ideally, your friend from the dean’s group should be an assistant. Why? Because he is at the same lectures anyway. The university will sign a mandate agreement with him. If you don’t have one, BON has a database of volunteers and students looking for casual work that you can “interview” before starting a collaboration.

Registration in the USOS system and documentation

An application for assistant support often has to be recorded in the USOSweb system under the “Applications for educational support” tab. You need to define the scope of the assistant’s responsibilities there. After approval by the Rector’s Plenipotentiary, the assistant must submit a monthly report on the hours worked (e.g. “assistance in getting to classes in the D-20 building”, “noting a lecture on mathematical analysis”).

Comparison of assistant support at Wrocław universities (2026/2027)

The most common mistakes students make

The most common mistake is the wrong estimation of the time needed for logistics. A student with a physical disability assumes that he will be able to reach the Hub to Grunwald in 15 minutes by line 16. In fact, the lack of an assistant to help with a ramp failure on a tram or an icy pavement on bridges causes delays that result in no credits (ECTS).

The second reason is the lack of formalization of the help of friends. Many students ask their colleagues for notes “in black”. It’s a mistake! If a colleague becomes your official assistant, he will get money for it (paid by the university), and you will have a guarantee of reliability. The last issue is ignoring deadlines – applications for transport assistants submitted after 15 October are often rejected in Wrocław due to the exhaustion of financial limits for a given financial year.

AI and assistive technologies

In the academic year 2026/2027, the work of an assistant to a disabled person in Wrocław has evolved towards a hybrid model. Universities such as WUT have invested in advanced live transcription systems integrated with USOS, which changes the role of the note-taking assistant. Currently, the assistant in Serowiec (C-13) not only transcribes the lecturer’s words, but also manages the digital record, corrects errors in complex mathematical formulas using software such as LaTeX and makes sure that the notes go to your cloud on OneDrive WUT in real time.

If your disability concerns the organ of vision, your assistant is obliged to use university typhlostudios (e.g. in Libraries). The 2026 standard is to prepare materials in digitally accessible formats (WCAG 2.1 standard), which means that the assistant must be able to describe graphics and technical diagrams so that you can read them using a braille ruler or speech synthesizer. Wrocław Offices for People with Disabilities offer assistants free training in the field of digital accessibility – make sure that your assistant takes advantage of them.

Cobblestone and curbside logistics

Wrocław is a city of beautiful, but extremely non-functional spaces for wheelchair users. If your classes take place in the main building of the University of Wrocław or in the vicinity of Więzienna Street, your mobile assistant becomes a key navigator. In 2026, the city introduced the so-called “Wrocław Accessibility Standards”, but the historic pavement around the Market Square remains a challenge.

A transport assistant must know the “Wrocław abbreviations”

• Log: As a student with a disability and your assistant, you have priority to get on the carriage. During rush hour, when there is a queue for 30 minutes of waiting at C-13, the assistant has the right to ask the staff to let you in without the queue due to the rigors of the schedule.
• Elevators in Pencil and Crayon: In 2026, Wrocław’s student skyscrapers will have an “intelligent elevator calling” system. Your assistant should have an encrypted access card that prioritizes your ride, which is crucial when you have to make it from Grunwald to classes at Przyjaźni Street.
• Vienna stops: The assistant must know which tram stops on Hubska or Piłsudskiego Street are elevated (Viennese standard), and where the tram line 16 ramp may not work properly.

What to do if an assistant falls ill before a session?

This is the worst case scenario for a student: Your assistant catches the flu in mid-January, and you have three colloquia in building D-20. In the academic year 2026/2027, Wrocław universities introduced the so-called Assistants’ Intervention Pools.

If your permanent assistant is unavailable, you have the right to report it to the BON as a matter of urgency (by phone or via a special module in the USOS Mobile application). The office is required to assign you a substitute assistant within 4 hours (for transportation support) or provide remote note-taking assistance (access to a recording of the lecture with automatic transcription). You are never left alone – the Wrocław fund for the support of people with disabilities (often funded by the National Recovery Plan) is so stable that budget reserves for “emergency hours” are standard in every faculty estimate.

Assistant to a Disabled Person and Rector’s Hours and Wittigalia

During Wrocław’s student holidays, such as Wittigalia in Tków, the work of assistants is subject to specific regulations. If the Rector’s hours have been announced during the juvenalia, the official teaching assistantship (paid from the BON budget) expires. However, if your disability requires the constant presence of a third party in order for you to safely participate in integration events on Słodowa Island, you can apply for the so-called “social assistance”.

Wrocław non-governmental organizations cooperating with the city (e.g. the “Promyk” Foundation) are recruiting volunteers-assistants who support students in cultural life. This is independent of the university’s BON and does not consume your limit of hours with USOS. Thanks to this, your teaching assistant can focus on taking notes on quantum physics, and the social assistant will help you get to a concert in the Niepolda Passage or a walk along the Wyspiański Coast.

Where in Wrocław is an assistant most needed?

The Accessibility Act and Your Claims in 2027

At the beginning of 2027, updated regulations on the accessibility of public universities will come into force. This means that access to an assistant in Wrocław ceases to be a “courtesy” of the university, and becomes your statutory right, the failure to comply with which may result in sanctions for the university.

If the BON refuses to increase the number of assistant hours even though your health has deteriorated, you have the right to appeal by the Student Rights Ombudsman (offices in the A-1 WUT building or at Szczytnicka Street). In Wroclaw, students with disabilities are strongly consolidated – use the support groups on Facebook (“Wroclaw Students with Disabilities”), where we exchange information about which faculty is most willing to allocate additional funds for personal assistants. Remember that an assistantship is not just notes – it is your tool to earn ECTS and complete your studies on an equal footing with others.

Access to the “Catalogue of Good Practices”

Wrocław universities have jointly created a digital “Catalogue of Good Assistant Practices”. You can download it from the BON UWr or WUT website. There you will find ready-made authorization templates that your assistant must show in the library in order to be able to borrow books to your account, as well as health and safety instructions on wheelchair belay in MPK Wrocław buses of the older type (which still occasionally leave on lines 1, 8 or 15).

Don’t waste time reinventing the wheel. Wrocław is a city that has systematically solved the problem of assistantship. Your task is only to accurately report your needs to USOS and find a trusted partner who will earn decent money with your help, while making your path to an engineering or master’s degree easier.

How to check if your assistant at WUT will cope with laboratories?

In the academic year 2026/2027, especially at the technical faculties of WUT (Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering or Electronics), the role of an assistant goes beyond the usual listing. If your disability requires support in laboratories (e.g. in buildings C-6 or D-1), you must verify that the selected candidate has basic knowledge of health and safety and technical terminology.

In 2026, the Wrocław BON allows assistants to complete a free training module on “Operating research equipment under student supervision”. Remember that the lab assistant doesn’t do the experiment for you – he’s your “hands.” He must be able to operate reagents or grippers precisely, listening to your instructions. When choosing an assistant in the USOS system, look for people from higher grades of the same field. This will help you avoid errors in the reports, which are meticulously settled by the teachers in Wrocław and have a key impact on your ECTS.

Support in autism spectrum and anxiety disorders

A novelty in the academic year 2026/2027 is the mass introduction of assistantship for students with invisible disabilities, including those on the autism spectrum (ASD) and with social phobia. Wroclaw, as a city with a huge pace of life, can be overwhelming in places such as the Reagan Roundabout or the Wrocław Główny railway station.

A support assistant in ASD (the so-called shadow assistant) helps with:

• Overstimulation management: Finding quiet learning zones on campus (e.g. hidden reading rooms in the Pencil or relaxation zones in Serowiec).
• Communication with lecturers: Help in formulating questions during consultations, when direct contact with an authority causes anxiety paralysis.
• Social Navigation: Going to the Teddy Bear bar together or to integrate at Satiety, which prevents the student from being isolated. If you have a certificate with a code 12-C, Wrocław support offices (especially at the University of Wrocław) treat such applications as a priority, considering the assistant as a key link in preventing neuroatypical people from dropping out of their studies.

Mobile assistant and Wrocław winter 2027

Wrocław’s winters can be treacherous – high humidity at freezing temperatures makes bridges (Grunwaldzki, Zwierzyniecki) and ramps on Borowska Street turn into slides. For a student in a wheelchair, the help of a mobile assistant during this period is a matter of life safety.

In 2027, transport assistants in Wrocław are obliged to undergo instruction in “Safe belaying in difficult weather conditions”. Your assistant should know how to stabilize the stroller on the icy cobblestones at Plac Uniwersytecki and how to make an emergency call to a specialized MPK Wrocław minibus when the tram line 16 gets stuck in a snowdrift at Huby. Remember that in the event of extreme cold, the BON may give permission for remote assistance (e.g. the assistant connects to you via Teams and helps with a library query, while you stay in a warm room in the T-19).

Liability and Assistant Insurance

This is a technical aspect that students forget about in the euphoria of finding help. In the academic year 2026/2027, each mandate agreement signed by a university (e.g. UEU or UPWr) with an assistant should include private life liability and accident insurance.

Why is it important? If your assistant, carrying your specialized laptop with typhloinformatics software, drops it on the stairs in building A-1, the repair costs can run into thousands of zlotys. Before starting cooperation, ask the BON office to confirm the scope of the assistant’s insurance. Wrocław universities cooperate with insurers who offer extended policies for assistants of people with disabilities – make sure that your assistant is covered, which takes the financial stress off both of you in the event of an accident.

Where in Wrocław does a note-taking assistant have to be an “expert”?

International Student and Language Barrier

Wrocław hosts thousands of students from abroad. In 2026/2027, the assistantship program has been expanded to include a language support function for students with disabilities who are not fluent in Polish (e.g. students from Ukraine with UKR status or people from English-speaking countries).

If your lecture in Serowiec is in Polish, and you need notes in English or Ukrainian, you can apply for a bilingual assistant. The hourly rate for such a person is about 20-30% higher in Wrocław, which makes this job very attractive for philology students. An application for this form of support must be strongly motivated in the USOS system, but the Wrocław BON (especially at the University of Wrocław) is known for its pro-client approach to international students, recognizing that disability combined with a language barrier is a double exclusion.

Assistant Culture: How to Avoid Conflict in the Session?

The last piece of the puzzle is the “relational contract”. An assistant to a disabled person is not a servant, but your partner in education. The Wrocław academic community promotes the “Independent Living” model.

Golden Rules 2026/2027:

• Schedule in Google Calendar: Traffic jams in Wrocław are unpredictable. Share your calendar with your assistant so they know when they need to pick you up from the Pod Kredkou stop.
• Clear listing instructions: Tell him: “Write down only the definitions and formulas from the board, I record the rest with a dictaphone.”
• Respect for Rector’s Hours: If a vacancy is announced in Wroclaw, don’t force the assistant to come, unless you have a project backlog – remember that he is also a student and has his own session.

By applying these principles and using the full spectrum of support from the BON WUT or the University of Wrocław, you become the architect of your education. Wroclaw is a city that gives you tools – from free transport to an assistant-translator. Your only task is to reach for them and not miss the deadlines in the dean’s office.

Questions from students in Wrocław about assistants?

Can an assistant of a disabled person help me commute to rehabilitation?

This is a common question from students living in dormitories such as T-15 (Wittigowo). Officially, a teaching assistant financed by the university (WUT, UWr) is obliged to support you in the educational process, i.e. in commuting to lectures, to the library or to the dean’s office. However, in Wrocław, the regulations of the BON are quite flexible: if rehabilitation is necessary for your functioning at university, and the assistant has unused hours within the limit, there is usually no problem for him to accompany you on the way to the university hospital on Borowska Street. Remember, however, that a transport assistant is not a taxi driver – he accompanies you on public transport (MPK Wrocław). If you require specialized door-to-door transport, you must submit a separate application for an MPK minibus for the disabled at the dispatch office at Na Niskich Łąkach Street. Such transport is free of charge or costs a symbolic few zlotys, provided that you have the status of a student at a Wrocław university.

Can my brother or sister be my official assistants at the university?

Most universities in Wrocław (especially the Wrocław University of Technology) allow the possibility of employing a family member as an assistant, as long as you do not live in the same household (although there are exceptions to this rule for a significant degree). However, you need to check the regulations in building C-13. The most important requirement is that the helper has the status of a student (although not always – the assistant can be an outsider). This person must sign a mandate agreement with the university and have valid insurance. This is a brilliant financial solution: your loved one helps you take notes in Serowiec or move around Grunwald, and the university pays him a salary of PLN 35-40 net per hour in 2026/2027. It is a real injection of cash into the family budget, which stays in your surroundings instead of going to a stranger.

How many hours of assistant assistance can I get per week at the University of Wrocław or WUT?

The standard limit in Wrocław is from 40 to 80 hours per month, which gives an average of 10-20 hours per week. The final decision is up to the head of the National Training Centre and depends on the type of your disability and the intensity of the schedule in the USOS system. If you are studying in a technical field that requires many hours in laboratories (e.g. at the Faculty of Chemistry or Civil Engineering), you can apply for an increase in the limit. Remember that these hours are added together: if on Monday the assistant helps you for 6 hours (commuting + note-taking), and on Tuesday only 2, everything is billed on a monthly basis based on the assistant’s work sheet. In Wrocław in 2026, the control systems are very tight – the assistant has to enter specific buildings (e.g. “help in reaching the A-1 WUT building”) and times to receive the payment.

Does the assistant of a disabled person have free rides for MPK Wrocław?

This is a technical trap that many students have fallen into. An assistant who accompanies a disabled person with a significant degree (or an appropriate entry in the card) is entitled to free rides from MPK Wrocław only if they travel directly with you. If the assistant travels alone to pick up your books from the Main Library of the University of Wrocław on Joliot-Curie Street, he must have his own Urbancard with the purchased ticket. The exception is the special city programs “Personal Assistant for Persons with Disabilities” implemented by MOPS Wrocław (Strzegomska Street), where assistants receive special badges entitling them to free rides in order to carry out your affairs. Always check the current regulations on the Urbancard website, because fines for not having a ticket with an assistant (approx. PLN 280) are not reimbursed by the university.

What to do if a note-taking assistant makes mistakes in the notes from lectures at WUT?

The quality of teaching support is crucial to your performance in the session. If your assistant can’t handle math formulas or technical terminology in Cheesecake, you have the right to change your support person. The procedure in Wrocław in 2026 requires reporting this fact to a consultant at BON. You can suggest another senior student who is more familiar with the subject. Remember that you can also apply for a “mixed” assistantship – one person helps you with logistics in Wittigów, and the other (e.g. from your group) deals only with notes. Wrocław universities promote a model in which a student with a disability is the “boss” of their support team. You choose people and you evaluate their work in monthly reports.

How to get an assistant for the time of Wittigalia (Juwenalia) or student events?

Assistant programmes financed by universities (WUT, UWr, WEEE) are intended for educational purposes only. Officially, an assistant cannot be paid from the university fund for accompanying you to Słodowa Island or Pasaż Niepolda during an event. However, many students get along with their assistants privately or use the MOPS Wrocław municipal program, which finances the so-called personal assistantship. A personal assistant (from the city) can go with you to the cinema, the Capitol Theater or to a concert in the Student Culture Zone. If you want to take full advantage of the nightlife of Wrocław, apply to MOPS for a “Personal Assistant” as early as August – the process of granting aid takes longer there than at the university, but the scope of support is much wider than just notes.

Can an assistant represent me in the dean’s office or in the library?

A teaching assistant can borrow books on your behalf (authorization in the university library system is required) and help in dealing with administrative matters in the dean’s office. However, they cannot make decisions for you or sign documents in the form of declarations of will (e.g. an application for a rector’s scholarship), unless you have a notarial power of attorney. In Wrocław, it is standard for an assistant to accompany you during a visit to the student service office, help you fill out forms and make sure that you do not miss important deadlines. If your disability prevents you from speaking or writing, the assistant acts as your voice and hands, but you must be physically present for key legal activities at the university.

Where to look for a candidate for an assistant if I don’t know anyone in Wrocław?

This is the most difficult moment for first-year students coming to the “Periphery” of Wrocław. The most effective place is the Facebook groups: “Students of Wrocław”, “WUT – What? Where? When?” and dedicated groups of your faculty. Post this: “I’m looking for an assistant to a disabled person (notes + transport), work paid by BON, approx. 15 hours a week”. There is no shortage of people willing to do so in Wrocław, because it is an ideal job for students – they do not have to commute anywhere, they earn money by being in their own classes. You can also ask for your demand to be announced by the starost of the year or to upload information to the screens in buildings C-13 or D-20.

Does the assistant support the student during exams and colloquia?

Yes, an assistant can help during exams, but the rules are strict to avoid suspicion of dependency. The assistant can read questions (for blind people) or write down your answers (for people with motor organ dysfunction). In Wrocław, this form of exam usually takes place in a dedicated room in the BON or under the supervision of an office employee, and not directly in the lecture hall. You must report your willingness to use the assistance of an assistant at the exam at least 14 days in advance with the subject teacher and at the BON office. The teacher cannot refuse this form of credit if you have it entered in the “study adaptation sheet” (a document issued by the BON at the beginning of the year).

How to settle the work of an assistant so as not to lose financial liquidity?

As a student with a disability, you do not pay money to an assistant out of your own pocket. The assistant signs an agreement with a university (e.g. with the University of Wrocław). Your only obligation is to reliably sign the list of hours (bill) at the end of each month. In Wrocław in 2026, these invoices are usually submitted by the 5th day of the following month at the BON office or via an electronic system. If you forget to sign the list to your assistant, they will not receive the transfer on time, which may result in their resignation. Keep an eye on it, because finding a good assistant in the middle of the semester (especially before the session) in Wrocław borders on a miracle.