Lab4Living’s Claire Craig and Helen Fisher in Australia engaging researchers in the 100-Year life project

The Lab4Living 100-Year Life project is a three-year research programme that recognises the potential opportunities that longevity offers. As part of this programme, Dr Claire Craig and Helen Fisher have travelled to the Southern Hemisphere to begin a programme of engagement in the research and establishing research collaborations with colleagues from a range of different sectors in Australia and New Zealand.

The beginning of the journey has seen Claire and Helen travel to Canberra. Claire is being hosted by the University of Canberra as a distinguished visiting scholar by Dr Fanke Peng, who is an award-winning designer and researcher with a research focus on digital fashion and health in the global creative economy. Fanke is discipline lead for the Masters of Design Strategies at the University of Canberra and has been instrumental in planning the work we are about to commence together.

Fanke has worked with global strategic design consultancy ThinkPlace to arrange a full day event comprising of a breakfast meeting with key strategists and policy makers, a workshop which engages individuals from across Third Sector Organisations, Higher Education, Design, Industry and health and finally a masterclass which will bring together groups from across the city with early career researchers and students.

We arrived in Canberra at 10.00 and at 2.00 we were in full flow in the meeting with ThinkPlace and Fanke planning the event. Watch this space!

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Claire Craig is Reader in Design and Creative Practice in Health in the Art & Design Research Centre (ADRC) and Co-Director of the interdisciplinary research group Lab4Living. Claire’s research focuses on the role of creative practices in improving quality of life and well-being for people living with dementia.

Helen Fisher is a Research Associate at Lab4Living. Follow Helen @HelenFisher_.