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Feeling inspired by Kavya Mukhija's story? Why not put yourself forward to become one of our student leaders this year in the Leadership Race? Find out more about representing your community here. Anyone can be a student leader like Kavya.
Who is Kavya Mukhija?
Since she was a child, Kavya has defied expectation, advocating for the rights of people with disabilities through research, activism and policy reform on a global scale.
Born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, a condition which weakens the muscles, Kavya uses a wheelchair and has had to navigate inaccessible environments and societal stigma. The first person in her family to be born with a disability in New Delhi, India, Kavya’s mother struggled to find a school that would accept her. Eventually, one did but only on the condition that her mother would be present in the classroom at all times, even carrying her to upper floors for lessons.
People with disabilities have to endure so much since the moment that we are born. It’s more like a battle that we have to fight than a life that we have to live.
From day one, Kavya has been on a mission to change this. Despite the challenges she faced, Kavya earned a bachelor’s and master’s in psychology and began advocating for disability rights from a young age. At just 13 years old, she represented India at UNICEF, and later at the UN, Global Disability Summit, and the C20-G20 India Summit.
A Chevening Scholar, Kavya’s advocacy set a new precedent for caregiver visas in the UK, allowing her mother to accompany her to London, where she studied for an MSc in Disability, Design, and Innovation at UCL’s Global Disability Innovation Hub. “There is no other course like this,” she says, which integrates disability, technology, hands-on design, and policy.
More recently, Kavya contributed to a report that led India’s Supreme Court to declare accessibility a fundamental right, mandating accessible public infrastructure, transport and digital technologies. In 2024, she won the prestigious Diana Award for her humanitarian work to champion disability inclusion.
Kavya hopes UCL will continue expanding access to disabled students globally and aims to apply her learning to policy reform in India. Heartened by how far things have come, she says:
Watching your dreams unfurl in front of your eyes is the most beautiful thing you can ever see.
What's next?
- Browse through all the Faces of UCL using the search page.
- Learn about the history of the Students' Union through the past 130 years.
- If you're feeling inspired by the impact our students have made, put yourself forward in the Leadership Race and help us shape the next 200 years by nominating yourself to become a student leader.
- Explore what we have planned this year for UCL200
- Sign up to updates about the UCL200 Summer Festival, 2-6 June