e-Wellbeing and Mental Health in Older Adults

<< Background >>In the e-MeBe project, 4 universities have worked on developing an online master programm on “e-Wellbeing and Mental Health in Older Adults”. The program is intended to meet the challenges of demographic change and contribute to the qualification of specialists in this field in the future. Promoting wellbeing and mental health are important factors in enabling active and healthy aging. Appropriate interventions are needed to maintain physical and mental health as well as to safeguard social relationships to ensure participation in community life. On the one hand, students should be sensitized to the needs of older people and, on the other hand, should develop interdisciplinary solutions to meet individual and social challenges. The master's course is suitable for various professions and builds on the different skills of the students. Great attention is also paid to digitalization to make offers for older people easily accessible, taking their needs into account. The course is designed as a purely online offering to reduce barriers for the students. Innovative teaching and learning concepts are used to enable a variety of methods and active exchange between teachers and learners, even in the virtual classroom. << Objectives >>The aim of e-MeBe is to develop a Master's program whose graduates can meet the challenges of an ageing society in terms of mental health and well-being. They will be able to apply new knowledge and techniques and develop cross-sectoral and cross-professional solutions. Graduates will also be able to design and implement targeted research and integrate the results into practice. To this end, all four participating universities contribute their respective expertise and perspectives. The strategic and structured cooperation of four universities is promoted across national borders and joint learning takes place. Learning objects are different regulations for the implementation of study programs and teaching and learning methods, especially the use and development of digital learning tools. The promotion of digital and green skills plays an important role, as does the consideration of disadvantaged learners. The jointly developed study program should be accessible to all interested parties with the appropriate prior qualifications. << Implementation >>WP 2: Competencies and need analysis - Literature research - expert discussions - Analysis of collected data including environment analysis - Creating of competency matrix WP 3: Curriculum Development an Accreditation Framework - Systematic review and narrative synthesis - Two round delphi expert - Decision chart and guide on approaches to curriculum design - Workshops 1 – 6 with outputs on curriculum development WP 4: Core and Elective Modules - Mapping the volume of degree in each country context - Co-creative workshop to define programme structure - Thematic transnational expert working groups for module contents development - Producing the handbook - Feedback on the quality of the handbook from national experts groups and analysis - Finals edits of the handbook WP 5: Innovative Teaching and Didactics - State of the art research for tools and methods used in e-lectures - E-pedagogical concept - Platform development and technical validation - Pilot testing - Tech.sustainability concept WP 6: Quality Assurance Processes- Comparison of target and actual QAP in the universities- Definition of to-be QAP of joint program - Implementation concept of QAP for each university - Mapping of existing QAP<< Results >>All of the results planned according to the application were achieved. The following outputs of the WPs were created:WP 2:Competencies and Environment AnalysisCompetency MatrixWP 3: Curriculum framework, including core and specialism graduate competenciescurriculum design with participatory input from institutions and stakeholdersWP 4:Contents for the core and elective of modulesHandbook for Joint Masters e-Wellbeing and Mental Health in Older AdultsWP5:accessible e-learning pedagogy concepte-solutions for education platforms and toolsWP 6:QAP for the joint master program and implementation plans for each universityIn addition, everyone involved in the project benefited from the exchange of ideas with one another. We were all able to learn from other professions, discover differences and similarities in the challenges posed by demographic change in the various countries and thus work towards a common vision. The project partners contributed their respective strengths and thus helped to develop the skills and broaden the horizons of the others. Everyone involved benefits from the collaboration, both in the possible implementation of the developed master's program at their own university and other internal programs.