Abstract:

Across Europe and beyond, demographic change is reshaping social, economic, and healthcare systems at unprecedented speed. Increasing longevity, shifting family structures, and growing diversity in older populations demand innovative competencies and coordinated responses across disciplines. The European Joint Master’s programme Active Ageing and Age-Friendly Society, currently in the European accreditation process, wants to address these challenges by equipping future professionals with the scientific, analytical, and practical skills required to design, implement, and evaluate strategies that promote wellbeing, participation, and equity across the life course. It is a four semester Joint Master Programme with 120 ECTS, 100 percent online with one on-site intensive week in the third semester.

Developed in close collaboration between a consortium of five European Universities, the programme integrates insights from social sciences, health sciences, gerontology, technology studies, economics, policy analysis and beyond. Its curriculum, with core, core of choice and elective modules, is structured around four pillars:
(1) theories and concepts of active and healthy ageing;
(2) age-friendly environments and community development in different sectors;
(3) health promotion, prevention, and digital innovation on different levels; and
(4) applied research and project-based learning.

This transdisciplinary structure enables students to critically examine ageing from micro-, meso-, and macro-level perspectives, fostering a reflective and evidence-informed understanding of societal transformation. The curriculum was developed together with older people and stakeholders of different disciplinary fields in active ageing, age-friendly society.

The programme places particular emphasis on internationality and flexibility. It is designed as a working-adult-friendly format, mostly online in synchronous and asynchronous teaching and with an on-site week in the third semester. The target groups are Bachelor graduates from all over the world and various professional backgrounds, including e.g. social work, nursing, health sciences, public administration, architecture, social sciences, economics and community development.

This abstract presents the programme’s conceptual foundations, structure, and pedagogical approach, highlighting the added value of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary training for addressing the complexities of demographic change. By integrating scientific depth with practice-oriented learning, the programme aims to build a new generation of experts capable of designing equitable, resilient, and age-friendly futures. Its holistic, research-informed, and internationally oriented design responds to urgent societal needs while fostering the skills required to shape sustainable transformations across sectors.

Keywords:

Active ageing, age-friendly society, interdisciplinary education, applied research, demographic change, Joint Master Programme.