About Us

Ageing@Coimbra is a consortium which aims to enhance the role of the elderly in society and the application of best practices that benefit their general well-being and active and healthy aging. Its main goal is to improve the lives of senior citizens in the Centro Region of Portugal through better social services and healthcare, as well as the creation of new innovative products and services and the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

In 2012, the European Commission launched a public call for the admission of new partners through the European Partnership for Active and Healthy Ageing. In this context, the University of Coimbra made commitments to the implementation of intervention programs in the field of aging, which served as the basis for the application by Coimbra region and the Centro Region of Portugal to become a European reference site for active and healthy ageing.

The activity, expertise and innovation of Ageing@Coimbra were duly recognised by the European Union (EU) through the classification of the Centro Region of Portugal as a 2 star rated European Reference Site for Active and Healthy Ageing, a unique status within Portuguese territory. At this stage, the European Partnership for Active and Healthy Ageing recognised 32 Reference Sites.

Coordinated by the University of Coimbra (UC), this application was made through the Ageing@Coimbra consortium as an institutional partnership with the Coimbra City Council, the Coimbra Hospital and Universitary Centre, the Regional Health Administration of Centro and the Instituto Pedro Nunes.

As an active member of the European Partnership for Active and Healthy Ageing, which aims to increase the healthy life expectancy of European Union citizens by two years by 2020, Ageing@Coimbra operates through the following action groups: adherence to therapy; fall prevention; fragility prevention; remote health monitoring; and elderly-friendly services.

As a European reference site, the Ageing@Coimbra project should identify, implement and replicate projects and innovative best practice programs in the field of active and healthy ageing. The best practices identified by reference sites can be replicated elsewhere in Europe, creating space for social innovation and for strengthening the competitiveness of innovative European industries within the field of geriatrics and support for the elderly.

In the 2016 evaluation process, the progress and work performed by Ageing@Coimbra allow it to achieve the 3 star ranking, becoming that year 74 Reference Sites throughout Europe. In 2019, the Ageing@Coimbra was awarded with 4 stars, the highest score in the 3º call for Reference Sites, launched by EIP AHA. By 2029, there were 77 Reference Sites in Europe, 4 of them in Portugal. In june 2019, by decision of the Ageing@Coimbra Founding Members, the Members Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional do Centro, Cáritas Diocesana de Coimbra and Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra were integrated in the new Corsortium Agreement of Ageing@Coimbra, forming a new figure of the consortium, the 8 Nuclear Members of the Ageing@Coimbra.

The Ageing@Coimbra consortium aims to be a facilitator for the genesis of innovative projects in the field of active and healthy aging and, equally, to be a stimulus for the economy and youth entrepreneurship around health services.

Partners