Interdem Academy

OUR KEY PROJECT

INTERDEM Academy is a European training network for early-and mid-career dementia researchers. INTERDEM Academy was established in 2014. The aim of INTERDEM Academy is to develop the careers and to build capacity of early-career researchers working on psychosocial interventions affiliated with INTERDEM seniors. INTERDEM Academy want to support junior researchers in their pathway to senior posts in the field. INTERDEM Academy has grown in recent years to around 350+ members from 20+ different countries.

The INTERDEM academy offers the opportunity to share expertise, create awareness for Academy talent and stimulate collaboration.

Executive office INTERDEM Academy: interdem-masterclass@maastrichtuniversity.nl

About INTERDEM Academy

The INTERDEM Academy has been founded in 2014 as part of the PRIDE project (PRomoting Independence in Dementia), funded by the NIHR/ ESRC (Ref ES/L001802/1WP5), led by prof Martin Orrell. This project aimed to identify how social and lifestyle changes may help reduce the risk of developing dementia and disability. PRIDE’s workpackage WP5 was to develop an INTERDEM Academy for the career development and capacity building of researchers in the area of psychosocial interventions and timely diagnosis in people with dementia, and to support the pathway to senior academic posts in the field. Maastricht University/Alzheimer Center Limburg was appointed the coordinating centre (prof Frans Verhey, prof Marjolein de Vugt). A postdoc was appointed for support in administration and organization. Prof Orrell, together with Dr Aimee Spector (UCL) and prof Esme Moniz-Cook were are also members of the initial organisation team.

To see our annual report of 2024, please click here.

Travel Fellowship - 2026 - Special edition! - Welcoming applications

INTERDEM Academy Travel Fellowship 2026 – Special Edition

The INTERDEM Academy offers annual travel Fellowships for Academy members, promoting them to gain experience at another psychosocial research centre, build their network, and stimulate career development. Due funding limitations, the call for 2025-2026 was pending. Now, we are pleased to announce that we can offer a special edition of the annual INTERDEM Academy travel fellowship for 2026! This edition comes with slightly modified conditions due to the shorter timeframe. We can also confirm that the regular call will open again in Q3 of 2026, for an exchange to be scheduled in 2027.

This year’s fellowship covers expenses for travel and housing for a research exchange up to 1 month, up to a maximum of €2000. Note that for the current application round, the exchange should be scheduled to start between July 2026 and April 2027. Applications for the call 2026 are welcomed until Thursday the 28^thof May (6:00PM CEST).

Note, the regular call for a research exchange of 1-3 months, covering up to a maximum of €3500 for travel and stay, is confirmed to open again in the fall of 2026, for an exchange to be scheduled to start in the calendar year 2027.

When assessing the applications, our reviewing committee will be specifically looking at:

Quality of the applicant
Quality of the research activity plan: Scientific importance and knowledge utilization of the research exchange and fit with INTERDEM mission.
Added value for the institutes involved: home and visiting institute(s); and added value to the broader INTERDEM network.
Added value for the applicant’s further career development.

Have a look at the documents attached, for more information about our current Fellowship, including eligibility criteria and application form.

Time schedule:

Call open: Monday 13 April 2026

Deadline applications: Thursday 28 May 2026 (6pm CEST)

Announcement of winner: End of June 2026

Start of fellowship: July 2026 – April 2027

Contact and more information:

INTERDEM Academy Executive office

Interdem-masterclass@maastrichtuniversity.nl

If you have any questions regarding this Travel Fellowship 2026, or the upcoming call of 2026/2027, feel free to reach out to us!

INTERDEM Academy previous Fellowships

The previous INTERDEM Academy Fellowship has been awarded to Marine Markaryan, PhD student at Maastricht University The Netherlands. She visited the Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) at Bangor University for 9 weeks.

Membership & Registration Form

INTERDEM Academy is a network of early- and midcareer researchers exploring psychosocial interventions for dementia under the supervision of INTERDEM members. Membership is free of charge and will enable you to take part in our events, and/or to apply for one of our travel fellowships.

Criteria for INTERDEM Academy Membership:

Are you involved in psychosocial research about dementia?
Do you consider yourself a junior researcher in the field?
Are you affiliated with or supervised by an INTERDEM member? *Not mandatory!*

If you’re in doubt about your eligibility to become an INTERDEM Academy member, please email us at interdem-masterclass@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Applications for membership of INTERDEM Academy can be done by filling out this FORM

(Note, by signing up for the INTERDEM Academy, you agree that your contact information will be stored on a secured server of Maastricht University, only accessible by the INTERDEM Academy executive office, for the duration of your membership)

INTERDEM Academy Masterclass

Next Online INTERDEM Academy Masterclass: Good Practice in Public Involvement in Dementia Research: An Appreciative Inquiry Workshop

Register now: Masterclass on May 12, online, 2-4.15pm CEST

This interactive workshop offers early- and mid-career researchers a practical and reflective space to explore good practice in involving people living with dementia throughout the research process.

What is Appreciative Inquiry? Appreciative Inquiry is a strengths-based approach to reflection and change that focuses on what is already working well, rather than on problems or deficits. By asking positive, generative questions, it helps groups identify their collective strengths, imagine new possibilities and co-design meaningful actions for the future.

Participants will use Appreciative Inquiry as a guiding framework, working through the 4-D Model (Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny) to structure discussions, surface what is already working well in public involvement practice and identify how best to strengthen and sustain meaningful engagement in their own research going forward.

By the end of this session, you will have:

Reflected on strengths and good practice in public involvement in dementia research
Explored strategies for engaging underrepresented and marginalised communities
Identified concrete actions to make your own research more inclusive and participatory
Experienced Appreciative Inquiry as a facilitation and research methodology

This session is part of the INTERDEM Academy Masterclass series, delivered by the INTERDEM Methodology Taskforce.

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Registration (free of charge):

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/interdem-masterclass-tickets-1987317905352?aff=oddtdtcreator

Note, we have a maximum of 16 spots available, so if you are interested to participate, make sure to sign up soon!

Pre-session materials and the workshop link will be shared 10 days before.

Previous INTERDEM Academy Masterclasses

HOMEDEM training school at University of Galway, Ireland, on May 21 and 22, 2025.

Theme: Advancing Dementia Research, Policy, and Care. Read more about it in the blog by Ajda Flisar, one of the HOMEDEM DC’s.

HOMEDEM training school at University of Aveiro, Portugal, on September 30 and October 1, 2024.

Theme day 1: Lectures on caregiving support and reminiscence + workshop on data visual representation
Theme day 2: Lectures on person-centered dementia care and economics of psychosocial care + workshop on evaluation in design research

HOMEDEM training school at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, on May 13 and 14, 2024
Theme day 1: Service design and care ecosystems
Theme day 2: Healthcare policy & design

INTERDEM Academy Café & SPOTLIGHT Webinar Series

INTERDEM and INTERDEM ACADEMY SPOTLIGHT SERIES

Join us for the INTERDEM Spotlight webinar! In this new webinar series the taskforces take the spotlight and will prepare an informative and interactive session for all INTERDEM and Academy members.

Stay up to date on the latest research and best practices;
Meet and learn from fellow INTERDEM members;
Network and build new collaborations!

Next webinar: May 7, 2-3.30pm CEST

Taskforce: Social Health

14:00-14:05 Welcome / opening

14:05-14:20 Presentation 1: Introduction to the Social Health taskforce (Prof Myrra Vernooij-Dassen)

14:20-14:35 Presentation 2: Introduction to the ENSURED project (Dr Sara Laureen Bartels)

14:35-14:50 Presentation 3: A Core Outcome Set of Social Health measures in the Context of Cognitive Decline and Dementia (Julia Misonow & Dr Karin wolf Ostermann

14:50-15:05 Presentation 4: Early-Career Social Health research (Dr Noortje Kloos & Dr Bryony Waters-Harvey)

15:05-15:25 Panel discussion (chair: Prof Rabih Chattat)

15:25-15:30 Close + evaluation form

Previous Spotlight webinars:

Friday 8 December 2023 – Taskforce Intercultural Aspects

Friday 8 March 2024 – Taskforce Methodology

Friday 14 June 2024 – Taskforce Technology

Friday 7 February 2025 – Taskforce Inequalities in Dementia Care

Thursday 5 June 2025 – Taskforce Prevention

Friday 5 December 2025 – Taskforce Palliative care

For more information, please contact first person of contact Dr. Esther Loseto-Gerritzen (Esther.Gerritzen@nottingham.ac.uk).

INTERDEM Academy Publication Award: 2025-2026 / CALL FOR ARTICLES

INTERDEM Academy Publication Award: 2025-2026

Dear INTERDEM Academy members,

We are proud to announce that the call for articles for the annual INTERDEM Academy publication award is open and welcoming submissions (articles published in 2025). The purpose of this award is to create a platform in which early career researchers inform each other and the senior INTERDEM network about their important research. The top 3 will provide a blog post on their contribution (to be published on www.interdem.org) and will be invited to attend the annual INTERDEM business meeting prior to the annual Alzheimer Europe Conference (Dublin, Ireland, 27-29 October 20256), where the winner will be asked to give a short presentation. Additionally, the winner will receive a €500, – prize. This money is meant for a course/conference/training to benefit career development.

If you want to participate, you can send in your first-author article (pdf), accompanying motivation letter, and if applicable, proof of acceptation by the journal, via email to interdem-masterclass@maastrichtuniversity.nl, before the 21st of April 2025, 18.00h CET. You will receive a confirmation of receipt by email. The top three will be informed about the outcome in July 2026.

To learn more about the winning articles of last year, go to https://interdem.org/?p=9247.

You are free to participate each year, so if you submitted a contribution last year, you are eligible to participate again (with – of course – a new article of 2025, and an original motivation letter). Note, we are happy to take any career gaps into account and discuss individual eligibility related on the early career criterium.

For more information and to tailor your motivation letter, please refer to this document. Feel free to reach out if anything is unclear (interdem-masterclass@maastrichtuniversity.nl).

Outcome 5th INTERDEM Academy Publication Award: 2024-2025

Winner of this year:

Kate Turley – Evaluating the Impact of a Daylight-Simulating Luminaire on Mood, Agitation, Rest-Activity Patterns, and Social Well-Being Parameters in a Care Home for People With Dementia: Cohort Study

The runners-up (in alphabetical order)

2. Janissa Altona – Instruments for Assessing Social Health in the Context of Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Systematic Review

3. Frank Spichiger – Intervention effect of person profiles for people with advanced dementia: Stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial

Blog winning articles:

https://interdem.org/?p=9247

The call for the next publication award (2025-2026) will open in Q1 of 2026!

Outcome 4th INTERDEM Academy Publication Award: 2023-2024

Winner:

Jacoba Huizenga – What matters most: Exploring the everyday lives of people with dementia

2 Runners-up (in alphabetical order)

Jem Bhatt – The development and validation of the Discrimination and Stigma Scale Ultra Short for People Living with Dementia (DISCUS-Dementia)

Naomi Thompson – Investigating the impact of music therapy on two in-patient psychiatric wards for people living with dementia: retrospective observational study

Blog winning articles:

https://interdem.org/?p=8840

Other information

One of the most crucial aspects of establishing a successful research career is securing funding. For early career researchers, understanding where to find funding can be the key to advancing your work. See below some links that may help you with this:

https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/