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I visited at the Ģ��ֱ�� (JYU)’s Center of Excellence in Research on Ageing and Care (CoE AgeCare) for six weeks between September 1 and October 15, 2021. My visit was made possible by a recently established JYU Visiting Fellow Programme that offers grants to potential candidates who had been previously collaborating with JYU researchers. In my view, this selection criterion was important and proved successful. From the outset of my visit, we had a clear idea on what to work on during my fellowship and how to take profit of each day.

While applying for the grant, my point of contact at the JYU was Research Group 4 (RG4) of CoE AgeCare which deals with “New Technologies, Ageing and Care”. We had collaborated before on various topics related to ageing and the use of communication technologies. This group is led by Associate Professor Sakari Taipale, who also hosted my visit at the Ģ��ֱ��.

The aim of my visit was to work together with RG4 on the data set we had previously collected a part of a longitudinal and cross-national study on older Internet users. This so-called ACT longitudinal study (see here details about this unique study ) is about media use of older people (60+), who are all Internet users, in seven countries (Romania, Finland, Canada, Spain, Israel, The Netherlands, and Austria). The data consists of three waves (2016, 2018, and 2020). In practice, we have interviewed the same older Internet users for four years, and we recorded dynamics, patterns, and changes in their media use. What we promise to do during my visit was to write a draft of two manuscripts which could be submitted to scientific journals, focusing on specific research questions and using ACT data base.

I must say that the CoE AgeCare and the Ģ��ֱ�� made my visit a success. The facilities supported genuine collaboration with the local scholars and other visiting fellows. During the six weeks, we worked together in an efficient by creating the opportunities to meet one another regularly and had enough time to discuss in depth about each step of our data analysis. We had also a chance to organise a writing workshop for the entire research team at Konnevesi Research Station. Moreover, in various research seminars we presented and discussed our research ideas, met with other visitors and provided feedback for early career researchers. Ultimately, all this fostered our future collaborations.

Personally, I appreciated these opportunities and even more the relaxing and friendly atmosphere at the Department and within the CoE AgeCare. The fact that visitors were fully integrated in the activities run by the Center is a plus to make our visit meaningful, to enrich visitors’ experiences and get insights about the Finnish culture and society.

The academia and research are more and more a space of interconnectivity and networking. Also from this perspective, I experienced this visit as a successful one. Looking forward to future collaborations with researchers from the CoE AgeCare at the Ģ��ֱ��.