The Collective Intelligence Database

AGE’IN

An Interreg 2 Seas project with the aim to keep people independent at home for longer. The project will improve both their quality of life and the quality of their environment through partnerships and digital solutions. The project will be delivered through the creation of comprehensive and coherent partnerships in conjunction with house adaptations, digital solutions and apps, with an expected result of creating a change in policy towards the prevention of the loss of autonomy of elderly.

Transatlantic Exchange to grow Ageing Market

The founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab hopes to develop strategic partnerships with the North East’s innovators during a visit to the region in 2019. A multidisciplinary research program at MIT aims to understand the behaviour of the 50+ population, the role of technology in their lives, and the opportunity for innovation to improve the quality of life for older adults and their families.

Insilico Medicine and Oxford University

US-based Insilico Medicine is one of the first AI companies to combine the expertise in artificial intelligence applied to the cutting-edge medicinal chemistry and target identification. Their focus is on ageing and age-related diseases. They recently announced a partnership with the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Health Data Science at the University of Oxford. The goal of the Centre is to provide the next generation of doctoral level students with full support, to be able to combat research and innovation challenges across the engineering and physical sciences landscape.

The ACCELERATE Programme

Led by the Life Sciences Hub Wales, in a partnership that brings together EU, Welsh Government and academic investment of £24 million, will focus on accelerating the exploitation of innovation and technology opportunities that meet the needs across the health and social care system.

QUEX Institute

The University of Exeter and The University of Queensland have partnered to establish the QUEX Institute, a new multi-million pound partnership designed to bolster their joint global research impact. The partnership co-produces research of the highest quality, boosts industry and business collaboration, and publishes high-level policy reports designed to inform and shape key government initiatives across the globe. The QUEX Institute focuses on the crucial interdisciplinary themes of:

• environmental sustainability
• healthy ageing
• physical activity and nutrition

Leeds Beckett University and Axxonet

The signing of an official Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement follows the successful work that Leeds Beckett has been carrying out with Axxonet Global Limited and its Indian partner, Axxonet System Technologies India, developing assistive technologies for medical systems, supporting age-related disorders and Parkinson’s disease. The partner organisations will engage in joint research and development projects in the areas of physical and mental health, medical technologies, digital health applications, forensic sciences and cyber and digital security, as well as collaborating in bidding for future research funding and in the delivery of distance learning courses.

Support Monitoring and Reminder Technology for Mild Dementia (SMART4MD)

An EU-wide research project focused on empowering people with mild dementia and on supporting their carers, by creating a system designed to help with adherence to treatment and sharing health-related data. This is a four-year project involving 10 project partners from industry and academia and with five clinical sites around Europe.

WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Communities

The UK has 38 Age-Friendly communities. To become officially recognised as age-friendly, the leadership in your town, city or county must make a written commitment to actively work towards becoming a great place to grow old in, for all of its residents. Once signed up, communities carry out the following World Health Organisation Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities (GNAFCC) programme cycle.

PreventIT

Is developing mobile technology that enables early identification of risk factors for functional decline in younger older adults, and empowers them to self-manage their own health and function by adopting a healthy, active lifestyle. The consortium consists of five renowned universities, two university hospitals and two companies with combined skills in technology development, medical science, behavioural science, communication solutions, healthcare innovation, and product development. Partners include University of Manchester, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Robert-Bosch-Krankenhaus and Doxee.

UK-China Joint Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation

The UK and China are established science and innovation partners and November 2018 marks four decades since the first bilateral scientific treaty was signed between the UK and China. This joint strategy is the first bilateral science and innovation strategy China has developed with another country and a central part of the UK-China relationship. Under the joint strategy the two countries have launched the Flagship Challenge Programme which tackles challenges resulting from global issues such as climate change, population growth and environmental pollution. Healthy ageing is the priority area of the Flagship Challenge for 2019.

Newcastle University, Mayo Clinic (US) and Inserm (France)

Researchers have collaborated to reverse age-related damage in the heart. The research explores how senescent cells (zombie cells) form in the heart during ageing and lead to heart failure. The collaborative effort means researchers have not only discovered how this process takes place in the heart but also how it can be reversed or treated.

Northern Future Forum

Initiated by the UK in 2011, the Forum’s objective is to provide the leaders of the Nordic countries, the Baltic states and the UK a chance to discuss their future visions in a less official manner and include specialists of respective fields. The 2018 Forum focused on the challenge of an ageing population and the technologies required to meet every patient’s needs.v