Spring School 2009

Week in Residence School 2009

19 - 23 April 2009

In 2009, an alternative training opportunity was provided in the form of a Week in Residence from 19-23 April 2009. The programme included seminars related to medical aspects of ageing and social science workshops. These workshops were designed not only to present information but to encourage discussion from a multi-disciplinary perspective.

Most importantly the Week in Residence programme was tailored to individual research interests and skill levels. Each of the 14 participants representing 12 countries (China, Lithuania, South Africa, Spain, USA, Germany, Sweden, Korea, Czech Republic, India, Indonesia) was assigned a mentor who met with them at the beginning to layout their weekly plan and remained in daily contact to ensure that their needs were being met.

The plan included identification of resources such as the libraries, training, other University seminars and networking with relevant University contacts which the researcher would find beneficial. In addition, each participant was encouraged to share their own research findings within the larger group which included OIA DPhil students, post-docs and academics.

Highlights Spring School 2008

14 - 18 April 2008

70 delegates represented 30 countries and 20 disciplines

Speakers included international experts:
- Prof. Jay Olshansky, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Prof. Axel Börsch-Supan, University of Mannheim
- Dr. Claudine Attias-Donfut, Caisse National d’Assurance Vieillesse
- Richard Blewitt, Help Age International
- Prof. Alastair Buchan, University of Oxford
- Prof. Sarah Harper, University of Oxford
- Dr George Leeson, University of Oxford
The School provided the opportunity to:
- share discussion, education and debate
- build necessary expertise and skills
- foster research capability
- create a mentoring network
- develop tools in the areas of demography, bio-demography,
- provide dialogue on bio-medical research and practice, economics, health and policy.
- establish concrete project and programme collaboration
The School underlined need for this type of academic network, skill building and information sharing within the global ageing research community.
One unique feature was the opportunity for cross-cultural as well as cross- disciplinary interaction and networking.
In the participant evaluations: 82% rated the school as good to excellent with 93% eager to return for the next Spring School.

Participant Feedback:

“Future schools have to keep the amazing diversity we have here now
(people, places, perspectives, disciplines, ages, etc.). This made the school the success it has been – take the toolkit to the next level!” Participant from Canada

“To be a researcher on ageing, you couldn’t miss this opportunity
to see and learn about the recent issues discussed in the Spring School!” Participant from Poland

“Astonishing sense of community developed in three days through shared interests.
There was also a huge sense of an underlying compassion and sense of deep concern for human welfare in general that was actually quite moving!” Participant from United Kingdom

Heartfelt Thanks:

To the 2008 Spring School generous supporters:

The Nuffield Foundation
Sir Halley Stewart Trust
Department of Geratology, University of Oxford
National Institute on Aging
SAB Miller