Erasmus+ 60

<< Background >>Erasmus+60 is a highly innovative project focusing on a particular age group that has not been sufficiently considered in the development of HEI activities and framework programmes like Erasmus+: European citizens aged 60 and above. With life expectancy increasingly growing and given the fact that one citizen in three is expected to be over 65 by 2060, the need for studying and training opportunities grows correspondingly. Studies are not only of benefit to the mental and physical health of senior citizens, but they are also important in view of late career development and professional activities during semi-retirement and beyond as well as personal development of senior citizens including critical thinking as well as language and IT skills.<< Objectives >>Erasmus+60 aimed first of all at taking stock on a large scale of existing Higher Education offers for citizens aged 60 and over in relation to the issues of inclusion and diversity. The second objective consisted in developing pilot courses contributing to the aim of building inclusive higher education systems that contain adapted offers to citizens over 60, including student life activities to maintain one’s health. The project’s third objective contributed to the aim of promoting inter-connected higher education systems in Europe by providing a pilot platform for an online offer of shared courses as well as intercultural learning activities for citizens over 60. The fourth and final objective was to develop policy recommendations that drawing on the project results in order to highlight the urgent need to open new and more systematic educational perspectives for senior citizens of the EHEA. << Implementation >>To achieve the project’s objectives, activities were implemented in the following way: First objective: Erasmus+60 analyzed best practices on how to overcome important barriers for end-users. Project results 2 to 3 were designed to achieve this objective, that-is-to-say, to take stock of existing educational offers for senior citizens and to analyze best practices on how to overcome important barriers. In order to develop proof-of-concept courses and the toolbox we needed to have as diversified and accurate a picture of senior citizens’ attitudes to Third-Age Education and their needs (PR2) as possible, while discussing best practices. The second part of PR2 was then dedicated to the development of a methodology for co-managing online intergenerational learning offers as a particular strategy of peer learning for senior citizens and younger students. Feedback PR2 and the feedback collected during the Hackathon (PR3) as well as the learning activity provide a very robust base to develop the pilots in PR4.Second objective: Erasmus+60 developed pilot courses to facilitate access to Third-Age Higher Education Programmes drawing partly on existing offers but also developing several new pilot courses to address specific needs. In PR4, we developed online courses dedicated notably to the issues of European identity and diversity, critical thinking, developing digital competences for citizens 60+, intergenerational online learning, as well as promoting healthy and active aging. Third objective: It appeared obvious that there is a need for European platforms of Third-Age Education with academically sound and internationally shared content that could eventually reflect or even be a part of European University Alliances. As there was no e-learning platform specifically designed for 60+ project results, PR4 addressed this need by providing a toolbox and guidance on how to create national/local entry points into a safe European learning space for seniors that supports their unique learning interests, motivations and needs. Fourth objective: Erasmus+ 60 has provided ground-breaking policy recommendations based on our research results that incorporate end-user feedback from 7 European countries. They contribute to the effort of raising awareness about the challenge that inclusion, diversity and the internationalisation of studies represents in Third-Age Education. PR5 points ways to make Third-Age Education the norm in the European Higher Education Area and formulate concrete recommendations, including both educational offers that HEIs can develop as well as full scale student services, including mobility opportunities.<< Results >>The Erasmus+60 project results’ objectives and outcomes are the following: PR2 - Enhancing lifelong learning through intergenerational learning - toolkit development for Third-Age educational activities (LEAD: ELTE) PR2 provides desk research on best practices to overcome barriers and to put into place intergenerational offers in the higher educational context. It also developed a toolkit to propose a model for planning, implementing and evaluating intergenerational learning based on the collaboration between senior citizens and universities. PR3 – The hackathon with stakeholder organisations regarding the co-design of an Erasmus+60 Third-Age educational offer integrating intergenerational learning perspectives (LEAD: UL) The purpose of this hackathon was to stage a large effort to collect feedback from stakeholders such as HEIs as well as local, regional, national and international educational authorities and other organisations reflecting the partners’ countries. This PR allowed the consortium to collect extensive feedback on the results of the desk research in view of preparing its piloting courses and toolbox for online platforms. The outcome was a general report. PR4 – Creation of 7online courses and toolbox development for online platforms to offer, exchange, link, and access community-specific and European across-community distance learning courses designed with and for citizens 60+ (LEAD: UNIST, CO-LEAD: UZURICH). Following the deskresearch and feedback collected from stakeholders in P1-3 and the learning activity, this PR developed 7 online courses (each one in English and the national language of the course leader) as well as a toolbox with guidelines, and cost-effect evaluations for a European network of online platforms offering distance learning courses for citizens 60+. The outcomes of this PR were 7 courses and thetool box. PR5 - Policy recommendations (LEAD: EUF) The reports, hackathon and feedback from the platform’s testing phase and final outcome provided a very solid basis in academic terms and as far as end-users' needs are concerned on which the project’s policy recommendations were made. EUF coordinated this final phase of discussions involving all partners leading to the writing of the policy recommendations report.