R&D focusing on adding two extra life years
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, has announced a major research initiative in Ireland to help increase life expectancy.
The ‘Collage’ (Collaboration on Ageing) project was announced during a visit to University College Cork and is led by the university and Louth Age Friendly County. The College of Medicine and Health has been recognised as a top reference site for the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Active and Healthy Ageing.
Making the announcement, Geoghegan-Quinn said: “The European Commission has identified active and healthy ageing as a major societal challenge common to all European countries, and an area which presents considerable potential for Europe to lead the world in providing innovative responses to this challenge. I believe that Collage, and Ireland, will play a key role in achieving a triple win for Europe by achieving the three key aims of this EIP.”
The EIP focuses on increasing the average healthy lifespan of EU citizens by two years by 2020. The partnership aims to “enable EU citizens to lead healthy, active and independent lives while ageing”; “improve the sustainability and efficiency of social and health and care systems”; and “boost…the competitiveness of the markets for innovative products and services, responding to the ageing challenge at both EU and global level.”
