A new Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre based at Monash University, Australia aims to boost research and training to nurture a holistic, preventative and user-empowered system to support Australia’s ageing population.

It is projected that there will be 10 million Australians over the age of 60 by 2060. Many Australian organisations are trying to meet this challenge by developing novel digital and robotics solutions to help older adults continue to thrive and actively contribute to their communities. However, the industry has identified a lack of trained graduates to meet the rising need in this sector.

Launched  by Dr Carina Garland MP, Member for Chisholm, the new ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Optimal Ageing will collaborate with emerging Australian industry and train the next generation of digital health scientists, with knowledge and practical experience in ageing, bioinformatics and data analytics, digital health commercialisation and end-user and stakeholder engagement.

The new Centre will focus on research and training around the main themes of enhancing cognition, promoting independence, and sustaining connectedness by developing and implementing digital, robotics and sensor-based technologies to enrich the lives of older Australians.

Funded for five years with a $4.58 million ARC grant, the new Centre is a partnership between Monash University, Federation University and 14 industry partners in the medical technologies, biotechnologies and pharmaceuticals (MTP) sector, as well as community organisations.