Aging has been coined as one of the major societal challenges. The fact that we simply live longer, is in itself not a problem but rather a triumph. However, this unprecedented demographic change significantly affects individual life histories through an increased number of e.g. lifestyle related chronic diseases. These extra life years, also have a massive imprint on the organization of welfare institutions and the financial sustainability of the welfare system.

This course will introduce you to healthcare innovation within the field of healthy living and active aging. By following two specific cases on diabetes and rehabilitation, this interdisciplinary course will provide you with key theories, tools and concepts for analyzing and developing viable innovative solutions for aging populations. The lectures will cover demographic, biological, economic, social and cultural aspects of active aging and healthy living, along with lectures on current innovation theories and methods. During the course you will meet leading researchers and experts from among others: University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School, Steno Diabetes Center in Copenhagen and Erasmus University of Rotterdam. They work with very different aspects of active aging and healthy living, from biomedicine to digital design, but what ties them together is the belief that an interdisciplinary approach to healthcare innovation will benefit the aging population. The course is part of the EIT Health Campus programme https://www.eithealth.eu/campus. We hope you will enjoy this course and equip yourself to take a more professional approach to healthcare innovation.