UCC engages with and supports the older student community through its Mature Student Office, and promotes life-long learning through Adult Continuing Education (ACE).  UCC also engages with students from primary school upwards through the UCC+ office to raise awareness of the impact of education on improving career and life opportunities: https://www.ucc.ie/en/uccplus/schools/

Following on from the launch of the proposal that UCC become an Age-Friendly University as part of Equality Week 2018, it has been incorporated into UCC’s EDI PSD Action Plan, with a view to increasing our efforts to further include older people (staff, students and others) in the life of the University, with a view to joining the Age-Friendly university global Network.

UCC also is home to an ISS21 intersectional research cluster on Ageing, which brings together researchers with interests in social aspects of ageing, from a wide range of disciplines, including Adult and Continuing Education, Applied Social Studies, Architecture, Economics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, Occupational Sciences, Medicine and Music.  More details are available here: https://www.ucc.ie/en/iss21/clusters/ageing/

Useful links

Students

UCC is committed to making real the concept of lifelong learning, and a number of offices and initiatives exist with this purpose in mind:

https://www.ucc.ie/en/mature/ Mature Student Office

https://www.ucc.ie/en/ace/ Adult Continuing Education

https://www.ucc.ie/en/aboutlnucc/ Learning Neighbourhoods UCC

https://www.ucc.ie/en/learningneighbourhoods/llf/#d.en.847371 ACE event listing for 2018 Lifelong Learning Festival

https://www.ucc.ie/en/ace/acecommunity/ Adult and Community Education

https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/undergrad/flexioptions/ Undergraduate Flexi-options

https://www.ucc.ie/en/ace/springboard2018/ Springboard

Staff

Our staff too can enjoy employment and career development opportunities up to and beyond the age of 65 (our senior academic staff may be granted the title Emeritus/a, which allows them the opportunity to continue to contribute in a meaningful way to university life beyond normal retirement age.

Research is ongoing into making UCC a more age-friendly university, and possible areas for exploration include administrative, technical and non-professorial staff who may wish to continue working past the age of 65.  To learn more about this area, Equality Week 2018 addressed this in UCC as an Age Friendly University.

Publications

William Fry Employment Report 2016: Age in the Workplace (William Fry, 2016)

Age in the Workplace: Lessons and Guidance for Employers (William Fry, 2017)

Retirement and Fixed Term Contracts Guidelines (IHREC, 2018)

Organisations

IHREC

Age Disrimination Info

Further Links

Age Action Ireland

Age & Opportunity

National Council on Ageing and Older People

National Youth Council of Ireland