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.

INTERDEM Academy travel Fellowship 2026-2027 – welcoming applications

Call INTERDEM Academy travel Fellowship 2026-2027 –  welcoming applications

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. In 2026, a special call was offered. Now, we are pleased to announce that we hereby open the regular call of the annual INTERDEM Academy travel fellowship for an exchange in 2027!

This year’s fellowship covers expenses for travel and housing for a research exchange for 1-3 months, up to a maximum of €3500. The exchange should be scheduled to start in the calendar year 2027. Participation is open to early-stage researchers who are a member of INTERDEM Academy. We define early-stage researchers for this fellowship as current PhD students, post-docs or other positions, who are at a maximum of 3 years after receiving their degree.

Applications for this call are welcomed until Monday the 2nd of November 2026 (06.00PM CET).

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.

For more information about our current Fellowship, including eligibility criteria and application form, please send an email to: interdem-masterclass@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Time schedule:

Call open: Monday 14 September 2026

Deadline applications: Monday 2 November 2026 (6pm CET)

Announcement of winner: December 2026

Start of fellowship: January – December 2027

INTERDEM Academy previous Fellowships

The 2026 special edition of the Travel fellowship was awarded to Zsofia Zekeres for her project “First steps towards an international citizen science active ageing programme”! This one month exchange aimed to establish opportunities for knowledge exchange and future collaboration between researchers at the Centre for Health, Activity and Wellbeing Research (CAWR), Cardiff Metropolitan University, and the PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity (PROFITH) Research Group at the University of Granada.

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

Invitation for INTERDEM Academy members:

Join our In-person multiple day Workshop ‘Evidence-based innovation in Health’

On behalf of Prof Dr Martina Roes

Location: in-person, DZNE/Witten, Stockumer Str. 12, Witten/Annen-Nord, Germany (Room 58)

When: 17th until 21st of Aug, from Tuesday – Thursday,  (arrival/ leaving on Monday / Friday possible)

Costs: The workshop is free of charge, but traveling costs need to be covered by the attending people.

 

Summary: This workshop emphasizes innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, and evidence-based practices in healthcare, with an aim to develop interprofessional problem-solving skills. The overall focus is on health innovation, with the goal of building capacity among participants to address healthcare challenges and promote innovation ecosystems. The proposed course will cover approximately 20 to 30 teaching hours, engaging participants in a series of interactive sequences on topics such as wicked problems, ideation techniques, value propositions, design thinking, PESTLE and SWOT analyses, customer discovery, testing and prototyping, and pitch presentations.

The workshop includes:

  • Teaching sequence in the morning,
  • Interactive session in the afternoon
  • Working in interdisciplinary teams, addressing different problems, one topic over the whole timeframe
  • On the last day, each team will present their problem/ critical reflecting/ solutions, with some kind of‚ critical reflection / questioning‘ from the audience.
  • At the end of the WS, each participant will receive a certificate.

Facilitators/ organizers:

 

Register here: https://terminplaner6.dfn.de/de/p/782b6a82ac18fd3434328d67d57723bb-1810558?authkey=830427c55c4acd7a86c99ee28fe3152294479f7acc5fec8…

If you have question about the program, please reach out to me directly (martina.roes@dzne.de)

If you need help with accommodation, please reach out to Sabine Moeller (sabine.moeller@dzne.de or viktoria-peters-nehrenheim@dzne.de)

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: November 26, 1-2.30pm CEST (12-1.30pm UK)

Taskforce: Inequalities in Dementia Care

More details TBA soon!

 

Previous Spotlight webinars:

  • Thursday, 7 May 2026 – Taskforce Social Health
  • Friday 5 December 2025 – Taskforce Palliative care
  • Thursday 5 June 2025 – Taskforce Prevention
  • Friday 7 February 2025 – Taskforce Inequalities in Dementia Care
  • Friday 14 June 2024 – Taskforce Technology
  • Friday 8 March 2024 – Taskforce Methodology
  • Friday 8 December 2023 – Taskforce Intercultural Aspects

For more information, please contact first person of contact Dr. Esther Loseto-Gerritzen (esther.loseto-gerritzen1@nottingham.ac.uk).

INTERDEM Academy Publication Award: 2025-2026

INTERDEM Academy Publication Award: Outcome 2025-2026

This year, we have two winners!

  1. Chatzidimitriou et al. (2025)
Chatzidimitriou, E., Chen, Y., Moraitou, D., Ioannidis, P., Aretouli, E., Kramer, J. H., Miller, B. L., Gorno-Tempini, M., Seeley, W. W., Rosen, H. J., & Rankin, K. P. (2025). The predictive value of social cognition assessment for 1-year follow-up functional outcomes in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. Journal of Neurology, 272(8), 526. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-025-13254-2
Huizenga, J., Tigchelaar, H., Doorn, E., Geurtsen, M., den Hartoog, R., Linskens, A., Van Tongerloo, G., Zwertbroek, F., Wilken, J. P., Bleijenberg, N., Scheffelaar, A., Keady, J., Van Regenmortel, T., & Bolt, S. R. (2025). “We Do This Together”: A reflective analysis on collaborative research with people with dementia. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069251394256
To read more about the winning articles, click here!

 

Outcome 5th INTERDEM Academy Publication Award: 2024-2025

 

Winner of this year:

  1. 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/


Members