The next #LTHEChat Wednesday 21st March 8-9PM (GMT) will be based on questions from Luisa Wakeling and Ellen Tullo on the topic of “Involving the public in the design and delivery of higher education”.

From left, Ellen Tullo, Laura Greaves and Luisa Wakeling

Ellen is a Lecturer in Ageing Education, Luisa is a Lecturer in Cell Biology and together, with Laura Greaves a research fellow from the Centre for Ageing and Vitality, they run a multidisciplinary, higher education module, Newcastle University Ageing Generations Education (NUAGE) aimed at undergraduate students from any academic background.

Student interns and older people collaborate with Ellen, Laura and Luisa to design, deliver and evaluate this module, which has now run annually since 2013. The collaboration, aiming to challenge the association of ageing with frailty and focus learning on healthy ageing, involves a team of older members of the public recruited through the user group VOICE. This multigenerational collaboration ensures learning is grounded in the realities of ageing in the community rather than solely reflecting academic research priorities.

The older public volunteers initiated the formation of a steering group (EXBEX- ‘expert by experience’) collaborating with student interns and teaching staff, guiding the development and delivery of the module. They also critically evaluate the NUAGE curriculum, obtaining a holistic and dynamic view of ageing.