Die Herausforderung
The world is rapidly aging and becoming more digital. We envision a world that supports life-long learning and includes online education opportunities for seniors tailored for them. 65+ who have life-long learning goals should have access to inclusive, geragogy-based and digital education. There is no e-learning platform for 65+, although there are countless opportunities for young generations.
Die Zielgruppe
65+ is a very heterogeneous group with varying degrees and types of educational backgrounds, and digital skills. We target these retired individuals who are interested in life-long learning.
Das Team
We are a team with complementary expertise in geronto-psychology, organizational psychology, academic teaching and research, citizen science, e-learning and business development. We need a marketing expert.
Die Lösung
OldSchool will provide seniors with online academic courses (e.g., Seniors University curricula), hobby and health classes, digital skills courses, social learning opportunities, and access to scientific research and citizen science projects. We will cooperate with circular economy partners to provide digitally isolated seniors with repurposed computers. These seniors will be supported by tech-savvy seniors via our “ambassador program”, as well as other seniors who might need support. We have already partnered with the Seniors University in Zurich (UZH3), and with a nursing-home association, a retirement association and the National Library in Vienna.
Fragen an die Community
Could you please support us with
- finding the right marketing person?
- accessing seniors who have no or few digital skills?
- our market research (e.g., sending our survey to seniors)?
We are open to networking and brainstorming together. Many thanks!
Johannes Schneider
Holger Hoffmann-Riem
Burcu Demiray
0 thoughts on “OldSchool”
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
It looks like your project is already pretty advanced. Which response have you received from your target group – are they interesting in digital learning? Best wishes, Holger
Burcu Demiray says:
Dear Holger, many thanks for your comment! Actually the idea is only 2 months old, so we are at a very early stage, but happy to see that we made good progress! Our initial target-group survey has shown that 73% of Swiss internet users above age 65 are interested in OldSchool.
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
73% is pretty impressive. And given that a significant fraction of the Swiss population is 65+, this means you probably have a target group of more than a million people. The challenge will then be (a) to reach them and (b) to turn vague interest into action!
Sabrina Leva says:
Interessantes Projekt. Unser Team “mobility4all” war letztes Jahr dabei. Ulrike von unserem Team hat bereits mit Burcu gesprochen und einige Tipps gegeben. LLL (life Long Learning) ist ein grosses Thema, auch in der dritten Lebensphase. Inhalte und Herangehensweise ist ein andere als analog, aber online ist die Zukunft und bietet den Älteren, die permanent auf Weltreise sind, die Möglichkeit keine Lektion zu verpassen.
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
Die Frage ist, ob diejenigen, die permanent auf Weltreise sind, auch diejenigen sind, die ein solches Programm brauchen – ich vermute die aktiv reisenden sind vermutlich die, die auch ohne das Programm viele Inputs bekommen. Ich frage mich wie man die Senioren erreicht, die sonst nicht so aktiv sind?
Johannes Schneider says:
Eine wesentliche Aufgabe ist es, einerseits die spezifischen Bedürfnisse der Zielgruppe 65+ zu erkennen und zu erfüllen – bei gleichzeitiger Berücksichtigung der Tatsache, dass diese Zielgruppe, was ihre Interessen betrifft, genauso heterogen ist wie die Zielgruppe unter 65. Die Weltreisenden gehören da genauso dazu wie die, die nicht mehr so einfach in die nächste Volkshochschule gehen oder fahren können (oder gerade nicht dürfen).
Ulrike.Liebert says:
Yes, I have talked to Burcu and I have to say: I love this project. It is promising in several categories: excite older persons for going digital, excite elderlies for innovation to keep them during digital transformation on board, train brain functions during retirement, connect and widen horizons. Bottleneck will be accessibility of the platform / courses, content and support. Copy passet of SENIOR UNI content wont work. I wish the team of Burcu success and a wide reach.
Burcu Demiray says:
Thank you, Ulrike, for the encouraging comments! We have partnered up with the Seniors University (Zurich) in order to tailor their course content into a user-friendly online format. We are currently brainstorming about efficient solutions for the upcoming Fall semester. We are also in discussions with other possible partners. It will be great to keep in touch with you about the developments!
Johannes Schneider says:
Thank you so much for the answer. Right! Usability (and accessibility) is the key and common ground of our target group. We want to offer a wide range of courses, but at the same time keep the options uncluttered for the individual user – based on his/her interests. „Adaptive Learning“ combined with a bit of AI (Artificial Intelligence) will be key for that.
To make sure that our content fits the needs, we will surely not rely on AI but on the experiences of our target group. A peer-to-peer approach of testing, user centric design and an ambassador program will teach us how to create and permanently optimise the platform.
Yasmine Inauen says:
Viel Glück für euer Projekt; es ist ein sehr wichtiges Thema!
Johannes Schneider says:
Liebe Yasmine, vielen Dank für Deine Glückwünsche. Wir erkennen selbst jeden Tag erneut und verstärkt, dass das Thema wichtig ist – und auch viele Facetten hat, die wir alle gerne gemeinsam mit unserer Community beackern wollen. Wir haben bemerkt, dass wir auch und besonders einen *positiven* Effekt des Älterwerdens adressieren: Das vitale Interesse an Weiterbildung (LLL im besten Sinne!) ohne unmittelbaren Verwertungsdruck des Wissen in seiner beruflichen Anwendung. Wenn wir hier etwas aufbauen können, dann können wir vielen Menschen einen Quality-Boost in ihrer zweiten Lebenshälfte ermöglichen.
Zeynep Goker says:
Very interesting and timely project, good luck with it, looking forward to its development.
Burcu Demiray says:
Thank you Gülru, we will keep you all posted!
Katalin Sattler says:
Viel Gülck für euer Projekt!
Burcu Demiray says:
Vielen Dank Katalin!
Johannes Schneider says:
Vielen Dank Kati! Willst du beim Testen der Plattform mitmachen?
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
genau dafür haben wir ja den Wettbewerb so konzipiert – super, dass ihr das strategisch nutzt! Ich hoffe ihr findet hier den einen oder anderen freiwilligen Tester!
Katalin Sattler says:
Ok, ich werde es probieren.
Adrian Obrist says:
GOOD LUCK!!!
Arda Dogan says:
hi! such a lovely project. i don’t think that you need a marketing person (nobody actually needs one, it’s totally overrated). good luck!
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
I love what you write about marketing people. I do think that they have some valuable skills, but for a project like this one real passion is much more convincing!
Johannes Schneider says:
I like your approach 😉 and also what Holger says – and yes, we are passionate about this project – but there is a need for strategy in that field also, and need to keep an eye on the organisation and what to do when…