Introducing profiling areas: Longevity challenges societies and we need new thinking
It is predicted that half of those born at the beginning of the millennium will live to be over 100 years old. Life expectancy has changed rapidly.
The Century-Long Lives (CLL) profiling area studies long life as a phenomenon that affects the entire society. The goal is to create new ways to understand and examine longevity. Societies must change structures that were designed for much shorter lives.
Professor Anu Siren, who leads the CLL project, and coordinator, postdoctoral researcher Katariina Tuominen, say that the challenge of longevity can no longer be solved merely as an end-of-life phenomenon, which would only be seen, for example, as a concern for the dependency ratio. A more comprehensive perspective is needed. The CLL profiling area aims to find new ways to research the longevity society.
“The ageing society has been discussed for a long time, but the strong increase in longevity we are witnessing now has not been anticipated. In the CLL project, we have a clear vision that the question is not just about ageing. The phenomenon must be addressed from multiple angles at both societal and individual levels. We want to create a genuinely new conceptual understanding of long life”, Professor Siren says.
Individuals also need to adapt to a long life
The mindset advocated by these researchers takes a broader view of how long life affects societies and individuals throughout the life course in the context of the Nordic welfare state.
“We look at society through the lens of long life. It is not just about health and social services provided in old age, but also about education, working life, and housing throughout the long lives,” Siren points out.
Long life in all areas of society brings together research from several fields at Tampere University. Currently, the core group of the project includes some 20 researchers from 5 faculties.
Individuals also need to adapt to the idea of a long life course. New ways must be found to understand long life and manage the opportunities and risks that increasing longevity brings. One of the future changes in everyday life is dementia.
“Age is the biggest factor influencing the onset of dementia. The more people live to an old age, the more will live with dementia, either as patients or as relatives,” says Tuominen.
“The perspective of long life is becoming visible, and long life can also be thought to involve increased risks. Therefore, social debate must consider how we approach not only the new opportunities brought by a long life course but also the associated risks and uncertainties,” Siren notes.
Adaptation of individuals and societies to longevity (PROFI 7)
Century-Long Lives: Individual, Structural, and Cultural Adaptation to Longevity (CLL)
- One of Tampere University’s profiling areas from 2023 to 2028.
- Studies the longevity society that must reform its structures and mindset to adapt to the development.
- Long life is addressed from perspectives such as health promotion, continuous learning, cultural change, environment, working life, social security and insurance, and history.
- Researchers from the faculties of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Management and Business, Education and Culture, Built Environment, and Social Sciences are involved.
- The project is funded by the Academy of Finland with a grant of approximately €500,000 for the period of 2023–2028.
Research Council of Finland’s PROFI7 Funding
- At the beginning of 2023, the Research Council of Finland granted funding to nine Finnish universities in the PROFI7 call. Sustainable development and resilience were emphasised in the themes of the applications. The aim of the funding is to accelerate the strategic profiling of Finnish universities and based on international peer review support the improvement of research quality across the university sector.
- The committee granted Tampere University €8.2 million to enhance strategic research profiling.
- Tampere University’s key areas of technology, health, and society fund four profiling areas:
- Century-Long Lives: Individual, Structural, and Cultural Adaptation to Longevity (CLL)
- Sustainable Security Practices (SUPRA)
- Sustainable Biomedical and Toxicological Research (SUSBIO)
- System-on-Chip and Wireless Technology for Intelligent Machines
Read more about PROFI7 funding on the Research Council of Finland’s website
