By 2030, one in six people worldwide will be 60 years or older. This demographic shift is reshaping societies, placing new pressures not only on health care and social systems but also on post-secondary institutions, which must adapt to meet the needs of an aging population.
"The university is embracing the realities of an aging population by fostering a culture that welcomes and supports people of all ages students, faculty, staff, and community members alike while also improving the lives of older adults through workforce development and innovation," says Dr. Chantelle Zimmer, PhD, senior manager, Centre on Aging, housed within the O'Brien Institute for Public Health at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM).
In 2018, UCalgary became one of the first major Canadian institutions to join the Age-Friendly University (AFU) global network and lead the charge to drive meaningful changes for older adults in higher education. Through its Centre on Aging, the university is building a more inclusive campus where individuals of all ages can learn, contribute, and thrive.
Advancing intergenerational teaching and learning
To strengthen teaching and learning, the Centre is collaborating with the CSM to integrate foundational aging-related content into its three undergraduate programs: Undergraduate Medical Education (UME), Bachelor of Community Rehabilitation (BCR), and Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc).
"Delivery of exceptional educational experiences for learners and faculty is a vital priority for the Cumming School of Medicine," says Dr. Lisa Welikovitch, MD, senior associate dean, education, CSM. "Our goal is to graduate health-care professionals who provide service to the community with an inclusive lens and an understanding of the unique circumstances that shape the ways in which clients engage with the health care system."
By assessing the existing curricula against current standards in the field of aging, the review will inform strategies to enhance aging-related education across CSM programs and increase students' engagement with older adults throughout their studies.
"As our population ages it is critical that our graduates enter the workforce with knowledge, skills, and competencies that promote age-inclusive culture. This early exposure in medical school and residency will positively impact strategies used to engage patients across a variety of disciplines," says Welikovitch.
As the collaboration with CSM continues, the Centre plans to build on this momentum by working with other faculties and departments to ensure essential aging-related content is included within their curricula.
"The Centre on Aging has laid important groundwork in advancing the AFU initiative at the University of Calgary but creating a truly age-inclusive campus requires a shared effort," says Zimmer.
Supporting age-friendly innovation on campus
The Centre also aims to support age-friendly initiatives across UCalgary to ensure age-inclusivity is embedded into the fabric of the campus community.
To advance this objective, the Centre on Aging and the Office of Institutional Commitments have launched a new funding program: the Age-Friendly University Project Grants Program. This program is designed to make UCalgary more age-friendly by supporting a wide range of activities that promote age-inclusivity, such as:
- Research exploring age-friendliness and age-inclusivity within the university environment
- Courses and micro-credentials focused on aging and older adults
- Enhanced services and programs for age-diverse students and employees.
- Development of lifelong learning and intergenerational programming on campus.
The program provides grants of up to $40,000 for projects that advance age-friendliness in any of the university's core areas.
For Zimmer, the grant program is an opportunity for faculty and staff to take an active role in driving change by leading their own age-friendly initiatives. "There are many ways to make meaningful impact. By working together, we can realize the goals of the Centre's AFU action plan and advance the broader AFU principles of accessibility, inclusion, and intergenerational learning," she says.
Pioneering change in age-inclusive higher education
The AFU movement is a global initiative that began in 2012 to help post-secondary institutions address the opportunities and challenges of an aging world. Its focus is on transforming how aging is understood and valued in higher education. The movement is guided by 10 age-friendly principles, developed by the founding institutions of the global network, which promote age-inclusivity in higher education.
"The AFU initiative directly supports three of the university's strategic priorities: delivering future-focused education, advancing research and innovation that address society's biggest challenges, and centring the community in what we do," says Zimmer.
From 2022-23, the Centre on Aging assessed the university's age-friendliness and found it to be moderately age-friendly based on actual campus practices and features. Despite this rating, most campus community members did not view the university as age-friendly and were unaware of existing initiatives. The assessment also identified gaps in five of the 10 AFU principles.
Following the assessment, the Centre developed a four-year action plan to address these gaps by targeting six key areas: teaching and learning, services and resources, student affairs, research, human resources, and outreach and engagement. The plan aims to weave age-friendliness into core aspects of university life and operations.
The Centre is one year into the four-year plan.
Chantelle Zimmer is an adjunct assistant professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and the Senior Manager of the Centre on Aging, housed within the O'Brien Institute for Public Health at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.
Lisa Welikovitch is the senior associate dean, Education, and a professor in the departments of Cardiac Sciences and Medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. She is a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute at the CSM.
