Senior Academy
A senior academy is a relatively young institution of learning for seniors . Many senior academies are derived from the university and in some cases have an organizational connection with it. Others are affiliated with the local adult education centers. Senior academies can also be understood as a subgroup of the citizens' university. There are also those with a European approach: the European Seniors Online Academy in Berlin, the German-Polish Seniors Academy at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt an der Oder and the European Seniors Academy in Ahaus , as well as a Seniors Academy in Bavaria . In order to meet the growing demand from older people for (further) education, more and more private academies are emerging. They implement the concept of lifelong learning and thus contribute to the education and participation of seniors in social life.
Carriers and goals
A list of German senior academies shows that they pursue very different approaches to educational work. The affiliation to a university is often already clear from the special sponsorship of an academy, e.g. B. at the German-Polish Seniors' Academy, which is supported by the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt an der Oder . Some of the senior academies or their sponsors, as conveyed in the title formulation as a registered association , do not claim a specifically oriented educational approach, while some others emphasize their function as meeting places. In contrast, a specifically oriented research approach at the Institute for Stress Research and Holistic Further Education in Meerbusch-Osterath becomes clear in its title.
The Association for Female Diakonie e. V. Barmstedt is apparently the sponsor of a (local) gender- oriented academy. The academy in Ilmenau , which is subordinate to the Technical University of Ilmenau , is more technically oriented . Many of the senior academies are denominational or church-based, or non-denominational , such as the academy of the Hannover City Church Association. The Winckelmann Academy Munich , which is supported by the Academy for Art History for people over 50 , is artistically oriented . The Seniorenakademie Bayern , founded in 2014, sees itself - as an exception - as an institution with educational institutions spread across Bavaria.