An exciting day in Eindhoven – 18-09-2023 – By Hannah Christie
My name is Hannah Christie and I am a postdoctoral researcher at Alzheimer Center Limburg (Maastricht University). Together with Sil Aarts, I am involved in the daily supervision of Dirk Steijger, one of our bright young QoLead PhD students, supervised by Hilde Verbeek and Marjolein de Vugt. I am pleased to share a recap of our first QoLEAD Yearly Consortium Meeting, which took place in Eindhoven on 18 September. The meeting was a great chance to catch up with QoLead collaborators and learn from each other’s expertise and experiences doing research together on AI to enhance quality of life in dementia.
The day commenced with a warm welcome and introductions, helping us make connections among both familiar and new faces. Arlene Astell’s presentation was a particular highlight to me, as she made clear to me how many similar challenges and strengths are evident between our technology-based dementia projects. These include financial sustainability of technological interventions and navigating complex industry collaborations. Even more coincidental, Arlene discussed her Inlife project – at Alzheimer Centrum Limburg, we have developed an intervention with the same name! The presentation was inspiring and underscored the importance of involving people with dementia and other stakeholders in all phases of research.
The lunch break provided a relaxed atmosphere for networking and further discussions, fostering connections among attendees. In our WP3 team, we even identified an interesting connection between the work of this QoLead consortium and the SPREAD+ consortium concerning equity in technological innovations in dementia, which we are now exploring together.
Rens Brankaert’s presentation on co-design illuminated innovative approaches to enhancing the lives of individuals with dementia and building sustainable, reciprocal relationships with people with dementia in research. This will be a cornerstone of our next steps. The afternoon also featured a panel discussion moderated by Marco Blom, focusing on effective ways to connect with our QoLEAD care partners. This insightful conversation brought together diverse perspectives and experiences, highlighting the importance of encouraging QoLead partners to visit each other’s work contexts and learn by experience.
As the day drew to a close, the drinks session allowed for nice catch up chats. There was even a photographer who helped capture us from our best side, to liven up our QoLead website profiles. Looking ahead, I am excited about the continued progress and potential impact of the QoLEAD project. Thank you to the QoLead consortium members and its partners for this exciting day in Eindhoven, our ongoing fruitful collaboration and our shared commitment to doing person-centered dementia care research in this exciting new field!
