The innovation
There currently exist several courses and seminars on how to prepare for retirement.
Most of these, if not all, focus on securing your retirement financially or preparing for a healthy aging. The former are mostly given by financial institutions that deal with savings and investments. The latter is emphasized through health and social organizations. Several companies and institutions arrange short seminars for their employees.
It seems, however, to be rare that early preparation for retirement is encouraged. The project presented here focuses neither on health issues nor on financial security, although both are important factors for the ability of enjoying your retirement, your “third age”.
The innovative aspect of the project lies in the aim to develop and test recommendations and ways to engage retirees in a culturally and intellectually stimulating and productive learning environment, thus adding value to life in the “third age”, with a emphasis on early planning well ahead of retirement age, and at the same time enabling society to benefit from the vast pool of competences and experiences of this rapidly growing part of the population.