An ageing population has shifted global demographics, in turn creating demand for diverse professionals who possess both the knowledge of ageing consumers’ interests and characteristics, and the necessary skills to adapt to their service and product needs. Incorporating ageing-related content into curricula has been found to be effective in enabling students in diverse disciplines to acquire the knowledge necessary to meet these changing societal needs, which place universities in a critical position to respond to ageing populations through new approaches in teaching, research, and community engagement.
In support of the cultivation of gerontology education and workforce development, the Geron-Infusion Education (GIE) initiative was jointly developed and implemented in September 2018 by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University under the Infusion Active Ageing Education project (GIE-IAAE) and the University of Hong Kong under the Campus Ageing Mix Project for University Students (GIE-CAMPUS). The GIE initiative adopted a ‘soft-socialisation approach’, encouraging academic staff to bring active ageing content into their curricula, while also integrating research into the process of feasibility testing and emphasizing the systematic evaluation of impact at the individual, departmental, and institutional levels.
Research objectives
- Identify and form a group of scholar leaders in the university to initiate Geron-Infusion activities through innovative programmes.
- Test the feasibility of the ageing infusion approaches to equip students with gerontology knowledge and skills.
- Promote the integration of gerontology (active ageing infusion education) into formal curricula in different disciplines at the university.
- Enhance the university’s institutional capacity to identify innovative ways to nurture future academic and social leaders to face an ageing society in Hong Kong and globally.
Learn more about the project