In 1988, Petersen[1] highlighted the vital role of higher education institutions in addressing the challenges of an aging society: they are a “primary source of knowledge” and a “major means of disseminating” it.
While significant efforts have been invested in introducing activities and research centered on aging topics, a notable deficiency exists in coordinating and mainstreaming these approaches across the entire campus.
Thirty years later, the EU Parliament, in its analysis of the tertiary education (2020), evoked that same “crucial role” of higher education institutions, identifying them with responsibilities related to teaching and research, and contributing to the society.
[1] Petersen, J.H. (1988), "A note on old-age pensions, demography and the distribution between generations", Journal of institutional and Theoretical Economics
While significant efforts have been invested in introducing activities and research centered on aging topics, a notable deficiency exists in coordinating and mainstreaming these approaches across the entire campus.
Thirty years later, the EU Parliament, in its analysis of the tertiary education (2020), evoked that same “crucial role” of higher education institutions, identifying them with responsibilities related to teaching and research, and contributing to the society.
[1] Petersen, J.H. (1988), "A note on old-age pensions, demography and the distribution between generations", Journal of institutional and Theoretical Economics
MISSION
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The mission of CoblAges is to integrate community-based learning into higher education and equip students to be better prepared to address the challenges of an ageing world.
To achieve this, we plan to involve students in an international setting through brief courses, which can subsequently be applied in the field of a rural community. In collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, students will work alongside older adults in the community to identify challenges and opportunities, reach out to various stakeholders, and devise concrete solutions |
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OBJECTIVES
To be more concrete, the main goals of the project are:
- To support the internationalization of Higher education institutions by offering a transnational cooperation opportunity;
- To support the integration of HE institutions with local community
- To develop and create a methodology to use community-based learning to prepare HE students for an ageing world;
- To train professors, community managers and students’ representatives on the facilitation of intergenerational citizenship workshops in rural communities;
- To trigger active participation of students and older adults, by intergenerational co-creation of community projects;
- To encourage short-term transnational mobility for young higher education students to broaden their horizons and help them build bridges across Europe and beyond, fostering a sense of common EU identity;
- To promote active citizenship by encouraging social action, thus fostering healthy ageing across the life course (young to old);
- To contribute to combat ageism tackling different age groups.
