It’s that time of year when we try to look ahead at what’s coming up over the next few months, although if you’ve been following our blogs for a while you’ll know that things don’t always go to plan!
So without putting too much pressure on ourselves, here are a few of the things we think (hope!) will be happening. This doesn’t include our ongoing research projects and bespoke education courses, so it looks like we could be quite busy!
January
It’s the start of a new teaching semester, so several of our Postgraduate modules are starting this month. Four existing modules will be welcoming new cohorts of students, with two further modules running for the first time. We’d like to say welcome to all of our new (and returning) students, we’re really looking forward to working with you.
- MDEM3008 – The Admiral Nurse Competency Framework: Facilitating Professional Development
- MDEM4002 – Applying the Admiral Nurse Competency Framework
- MDEM4003 – Expert Practice in Delivering Person-Centred Dementia Care
- MDEM4004 – Supporting People with Advanced Dementia (please note that this will run again in September and remain in the September slot in the future)
- MDEM4006 – Engagement and Empowerment in Dementia Studies
- MDEM4007 – Dementia in the Family Context
There are plans to present at a few online events, such as the British Sociological Association Leisure and Recreation Study Group Annual Event and a research seminar for fellow University of Worcester colleagues. It should give us a chance to share our research findings and make people aware of our various projects.
February
Our exciting new online PALDem course starts at the beginning of the month, looking at ‘Championing the role of physical activity as a leisure choice for people affected by dementia’. You can find out more about it in one of our previous blogs.
The final round of applications to access funding to support opening a new Meeting Centre in Worcestershire will close at the end of February, so don’t miss out. More information is available here.
March
The next phase of our Meeting Centres UK research will be starting in March, with the ‘Embed’ project following on from the UK Meeting Centres Support Programme. As the number of Meeting Centres across the UK increases, we’ll be looking to make sure that all our previous research and resources are consolidated and embedded (see what we did there?!) into practice to keep supporting Meeting Centres in the future.
April
The next iteration of our online Meeting Centre training will take place, aimed at staff and volunteers involved in setting up and running Meeting Centres across the UK. You can contact meetingcentres@worc.ac.uk to find out more. There will be further courses in July and October, so if April isn’t right for you, there will be other opportunities!
(Heavily) Borrowing a gardening metaphor that our director Professor Dawn Brooker MBE used recently, a lot of what we’ve got going on at the moment is like having bulbs and plants under the ground – they are putting down roots, and with a bit of nurturing will soon start sending up shoots. Here’s to a colourful and bountiful 2022.
Connect with ADS on twitter @DementiaStudies and on Facebook @adsuow
Association for Dementia Studies Blog 