October 19, 2022

Collaboration – Focus during the 2022 NEAR workshop

Karl Michaëlsson SIMPLER, Elisabeth Engberg SWEDPOP, Patrik Magnusson STR, Laura Fratiglioni NEAR, Hugo Westerlund REWHARD, Mikael Hjerm CORS. Photo: Maja Rudolphson

On 18-19 October, 60 persons from 12 different universities gathered at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm for NEAR’s annual workshop. This year’s workshop focused on collaboration. More specifically the purpose was to create more opportunities to work together, learn more about other infrastructures’ work, and what we can learn from each other. The workshop was chaired by Debora Rizzuto, Scientific Coordinator at NEAR, Laura Fratiglioni, Director of NEAR, and Scott Hofer, Professor at Oregon Health & Science University.

After a welcome from NEAR’s Director, Laura Fratiglioni, and Karin Dahlman Wright, Professor from Karolinska Institutet, the workshop continued with an update about research infrastructure from a national and future perspective from the Swedish Research Council.

Several representatives from five other research infrastructures were invited to the workshop to present their organizations: SIMPLER, CORS, STR, SWEDPOP, REWHARD*. There was also an interesting discussion from an international perspective to learn more about infrastructures outside Sweden.

On the second day, the workshop focused on an update on ongoing NEAR projects. The day ended with a team activity that challenged participants to find opportunities for potential work projects within NEAR. In addition, participants were challenged to find projects that could be linked to any of the other infrastructures represented on-site.

During the two days of conversations, discussions, presentations, and interesting questions, NEAR met the purpose of the meeting. The workshop resulted in several creative proposals for development, collaboration, and concrete ideas to optimize research infrastructures. These proposals can contribute to better health for older adults.

* Swedish Infrastructure for Medical Population-based Life-course and Environmental Research (SIMPLER); Comparative Research Center Sweden (CORS); Swedish Twin Registry (STR); Swedish population databases for research (SWEDPOP); RElations, Work and Health across the life-course – A Research Data Infrastructure (REWHARD).