SFOK17008U Cancelled Interdisciplinary Aspects of Healthy Aging
MSc in Public Health Science - elective course
General introduction to the course
Recent years have seen major progress in understanding ‘healthy
aging’, how to ensure life-course processes that enable older
adults to live independently in good health, stay engaged in social
relationships within families and communities, and uphold social
roles important to well-being. The course, offered by the
Center for Healthy Aging (CEHA), University of
Copenhagen, on behalf of the network International
Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), will focus on
exploring the aging phenomena through an interdisciplinary lens
with a special focus on the concept of vitality. It relates to
processes from the cellular up to the societal level and has not
only physical but also important psychological and social
dimensions, which affect every facet of life.
Objectives & course format
The objective of this course is to gain interdisciplinary
knowledge and research experience in the field of aging to better
understand how older people can preserve their vitality and enjoy a
robust older age. The following sub objectives will be achieved
over three weeks in August 2020.
Week one: The main objective is to provide knowledge on the interdisciplinary nature of the aging process and how to evaluate the strengths and limitations of this research field. There will be lectures that provide a bird’s eye view on vitality and aging and how these concepts are conceptualized. Additional lectures will delve deeper into disciplinary examples of research of specific aspects, while keeping the interdisciplinary nature of aging research in mind. The remainder of week will be devoted to student presentations on aging in their own discipline and country.
Week two: The main objective is to design an interdisciplinary research project. You will work in small groups. In the mornings, there will be hands-on research experiences, spanning the disciplines that comprise CEHA. Students will be exposed to scientific methods from the laboratory-, computational-, and humanistic sciences. During the afternoons, the students will conceptualize interdisciplinary projects supervised by researchers within CEHA.
Week three: The main objective is to learn how interdisciplinary research projects are written down and evaluated. You will work in groups, writing a grant proposal, which will be presented and defended in a mock grant evaluation at the end of the third week. An individual written proposal will be submitted for evaluation on a pass/fail basis at the end of the course.
Please see a more thorough description at:
https://healthyaging.ku.dk/education/iaru-summer-school-2020/
After the course, the participants will gain:
Knowledge:
- On aging as a complex phenotype that necessitates research integrating concepts from the humanities, social sciences, epidemiology, neurology, physiology, public health, and molecular biology.
- On defining the necessary methods that can be used to conduct aging research.
- On the principles for carrying out interdisciplinary aging research.
Skills:
- To evaluate and discuss the essential concepts of aging from an interdisciplinary perspective.
- To critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of aging research presented in the course.
- To discuss and evaluate research methods presented.
- To conduct simple experiments, statistical analyses or qualitative analyses under supervision.
- To synthesize and present current knowledge and practical experiences into a research proposal.
- To transform a research proposal into a grant application.
Competences:
- To independently adapt to a new environment and take responsibility for professional development.
- To collaborate and effectively communicate with peers from different disciplines.
- To critically evaluate, to acquire new knowledge, and to reflect on how this can be incorporated into other contexts.
- To evaluate presentations on research proposals of peers.
A number of research articles, which vary from year to year, depending on the researchers contributing to the lectures.
Please pay attention to specific language requirements. Learn more at the website: https://healthyaging.ku.dk/education/iaru-summer-school-2020/
- Category
- Hours
- Class Seminar
- 6
- Exam
- 27
- Excursions
- 3
- Lectures
- 20
- Preparation
- 32
- Project work
- 50
- Total
- 138
Countinous feedback during the course.
Please find application form at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences' website for International Summer Courses: http://healthsciences.ku.dk/education/summercourses/
The application deadline is 1 April 2020.
- Credit
- 5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Course participationWritten examination- Active participation (80% attendance) in the course incl. an oral group presentation (defense of the research proposal) and critical evaluation of presentations of peers.
- Written grant application, handed in individually.
Active participation in the research projects, the interdisciplinary work and the oral presentation is a prerequisite for writing the report. - Aid
- All aids allowed
- Marking scale
- passed/not passed
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
- Exam period
The written grant application must be submitted on the last day of the course at 10:00 AM.
- Re-exam
The students must hand in a written examination, which is a new version of the grant proposal.
Criteria for exam assesment
Knowledge:
- On aging as a complex phenotype that necessitates research integrating concepts from the humanities, social sciences, epidemiology, neurology, physiology, public health, and molecular biology.
- On defining the necessary methods that can be used to conduct aging research.
- On the principles for carrying out interdisciplinary aging research.
Skills:
- To evaluate and discuss the essential concepts of aging from an interdisciplinary perspective.
- To critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of aging research presented in the examination.
- To discuss and evaluate research methods presented.
- To synthesize current knowledge and practical experiences into a research proposal.
- To transform a research proposal into a grant application.
Competences:
- To collaborate and effectively communicate with peers from different disciplines.
- To critically evaluate, to acquire new knowledge, and to reflect on how this can be incorporated into other contexts.
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- SFOK17008U
- Credit
- 5 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree Master
- Duration
- Placement
- Summer
- Schedule
- Full-time schedule
3 - 21 August 2020 - Course capacity
- 24 participants.
The course is offered as part of the initiative IARU Courses by the network International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU). IARU Courses is an exciting learning experience that connects students from IARU universities with their peers around the world. Learn more at http://www.iaruni.org/for-students/iaru-courses. Thus, priority will be given to IARU students incl. UCPH students. - Price
No tuition fee:
- Danish students that can provide a pre-approval
- Exchange students that have been nominated by their home university
Fee paying participants:
All other participants (students, working professionals, etc.) must pay tuition fee according to the information below:
- EU/EEA citizens 4.000 DKK
- Non-EU/EEA citizens 6.250 DKK
- Study board
- The Study Board for Public Health Science and Global Health
Contracting department
- Department of Public Health
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Course Coordinators
- Claus Desler Madsen (7-68696a78716a7745787a736933707a336970)
- Maarten Pieter Rozing (4-6f74717c4275777066306d7730666d)
- Maria Kristiansen (4-6f636d6d4275777066306d7730666d)
Lecturers
Researchers from Center for Healthy Aging (CEHA) at UCPH