Intergenerational Learning in Dublin City University: Practice, Policy and Possibilities, by Dr Trudy Corrigan

Our current society frequently provides little opportunity for generations to meet together and learn from each other. This is often attributed to busy lives, use of technology, geographic distance and generally-with the exception of family bonds- little or no opportunities are presented for us to meet together to understand and enjoy each other’s company through intergenerational learning and dialogue.

In 2008, Dublin City University staff created a space where older people from the wider community could engage in teaching, learning and research opportunities in collaboration with academic staff and students from the university. This space was established as a new model of learning which would embrace the wisdom, tacit knowledge, competence and skills of retired older people. This was to to provide access to a population of prospective students, in later stages of life and interested in experiencing a taste of the research, modules, cultural and social activities available on our campus. All of this was with the intention of valuing the role of older people and in recognising that they have much to contribute in terms of their contribution to the social, economic and cultural fabric of society.

Our model of intergenerational learning embraces this space as a community of learning, supporting the richness that can be gained through learning-for-learning sake. It is based on our initial research findings, where many older people expressed an interest in being engaged in modules of interest to them which were currently available in the university, but also to engage in activities that could benefit their daily lives. This ranged from advice on physical and mental well-being to understanding a range of knowledge in a variety of multi-disciplinary contexts, from humanities to science, especially knowledge that was not available to them in their earlier lives. Keeping up to date with current research, norms and values was also identified as a reason to participate in higher education.

Many of the older people we interviewed were less interested in pursuing a full time degree (some of them completed this at both undergraduate and post-graduate level earlier in their lives); what was of greater interest was the opportunity to gain access to teaching, learning and research opportunities at this time in their life and to engage with academics and students both on campus and online. The richness of the experience did not arise from credit-bearing modules but from experiences where learning in itself was the reward. Since the original development of a pilot project, we have endeavoured to provide light assessment for participants who wish to use this format for reward. Frequently, this reward has been attributed to the engagement in intergenerational dialogue between academics, students and our older participants, who become students on campus for the duration of our programme. The light assessment is being offered or will be offered in the future in terms of reflective learning logs which credit prior learning, and we are in the planning stages of offering digital badges as an assessment reward for all. To date over 1000 older people have participated in our programme and over 600 undergraduate and post- graduate students have participated in a volunteering capacity.

Through our practice and as part of the Age Friendly University Initiative in DCU, we have come to realise that this shared experience enables us to explore experiential learning, peer learning, prior learning, social learning, intercultural diversity, enquiry based learning under the broad umbrella of intergenerational learning and practice. While we have been innovative in developing this space on our campus, we would like to promote similar spaces integrated into other third level institutes. In short, we believe that the success of this programme is a worthwhile initiative in developing possibilities, policy and practice in the creation of shared learning opportunities together for people of all ages within higher education.