interview with our managing director and co-founder.

1.Why did you choose to study Ageing at the University of Melbourne?

I own a Senior Move Management company that assists seniors transition into retirement living, residential aged care or ageing in place.

After hearing a presentation during the Global Welfare Summit on the Gold Coast in 2016 from Lena Gan, an academic from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, at the University of Melbourne (UoM), I was genuinely inspired. It was in that moment I was convinced to enrol in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to study the subject, Rethinking Ageing. Following that experience, I well and truly caught the study bug. I was encouraged by the quality of the course content and applied to study the Master of Ageing online through the UoM.

No other university in Australia offered such a multidisciplinary course in Ageing.

2.What has been your favourite aspect (or subject) of the course so far?

Dealing with End of Life Issues and Ethics of Ageing have been two areas within my studies that I have found most interesting, but in the same context, also very confronting. I would describe myself as a very transparent, ‘black or white’ individual with a strong moral compass and someone who has a need to ensure that justice prevails. But in my learnings in these subject areas, it has been confronting to see how ethical issues are often opaque and complex and I am now better informed when I might in the future be confronted with an ethical and/or end of life issue.

3.How have you applied what you have learnt to your existing role, or how has this course helped you assist seniors transition into aged care or retirement living?

The course content has given me wonderful insights into emerging practices in the Ageing sector and many of these concepts I have already been able to adopt and integrate into our business systems to enhance the health and wellbeing outcomes for our senior clients.

Now having specialized academic credentials in the Ageing Space, I feel more confident in my communications with medical practitioners and allied health professionals when discussing client needs and outcomes.

4.Tell us about your experience of online learning

I hate computers and everything IT. I have spent much of my later business life surrounding myself with experts to handle everything to do with that so that I don’t have to! So online studies was a confronting experience for me.

But I soon learnt that I wasn’t alone. The most valuable part of studying at this level is the interaction you have online with fellow students. At masters level of study, all students are there by self-motivation and the variety of professional backgrounds brings a rich tapestry of opinions and life experiences to each class. When you commence your tutorials and interact with fellow students on the discussion boards, it’s like going to a conference and chatting about a relevant topic with a professional you have just met.

5.What are some of the other benefits of studying this course?

I have been taken out of my comfort zone. An online medium necessitates completing tasks in an online format such as producing a recorded, narrated slide presentation rather than delivering a presentation live. Being forced to participate in this manner has forced me to learn new digital skills that otherwise I mightn’t have needed. The online learning experience has been tremendous, with the course content expertly delivered in multiple formats to cater for a variety of learning preferences. Whilst I have continued to struggle with the volume of readings that has been necessary, having them available at just a click of a button makes it much easier to resume such readings at short notice when family and work-life permits.

The value associated with interacting with high caliber like-minded individuals and having the ability to network with same, has already produced measurable financial returns for my business, which whilst unintended and unexpected, further crystalizes the investment value of my studies for me.