Prof. Joanna Ejdys from the Faculty of Engineering Management at Bialystok University of Technology – an expert in the COST programme

29-12-2022

Prof. Joanna Ejdys from the Faculty of Engineering Management at Bialystok University of Technology has become an expert in the COST programme.

Together with scientists representing research centres from all over the world, she will be responsible for measures to support older people in the labour market in the digital age.

The programme will run from 2022 to 2026.

COST – European Cooperation in Science and Technology is a funding organisation for research and innovation networks.

It is estimated that the proportion of older people in the EU (aged 65 and over) will reach 25% of the total population in 2030 and as high as 30% in 2070!
At the same time, the proportion of people of working age (aged 20 to 64) will decrease from 61% in 2030 to 56% in 2070!
These are alarming figures that show how demographic change will have a huge impact on the labour market. Digital developments will further widen the generational gap and force the need for older people to adapt to new technologies.

In the era of an ageing population, activities such as those implemented in the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) programme seem even necessary. Specialists from all over the world will be taking steps together to equal opportunities for older people in the field of professional activity. One of them will be Professor Joanna Ejdys, Head of the International Department of Logistics and Service Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering Management at Bialystok University of Technology.

COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding organisation for research and innovation networks. Its activities help connect research initiatives across Europe and beyond and enable scientists and innovators to develop their ideas in any field of science and technology through knowledge sharing.

– The participation of representatives of Bialystok University of Technology in the COST programme is an important element in building sustainable research networks. The very research subject of the COST programme concerning equalisation of opportunities of older people in the labour market in the digital age, on the one hand, is an interesting area of scientific research, on the other hand, it may in a real way contribute to improving the situation of the studied group in the labour market, – explains Prof. Joanna Ejdys, quoting data of the World Health Organisation, which forecasts that in the next decades the number of people aged 65 or older in the world will increase from about 1 billion in 2021 to 1.4 billion in 2030, and in 2050 to 2.1 billion!

The members of the working group, in which Prof. Joanna Ejdys will participate, will carry out activities that include:

preparation of syntheses of scientific material relating to the issue under study, which will then be made available to a wide audience;
development of theoretical concepts and models relating to the issues studied;
coordination of interdisciplinary research, both by collecting data from different countries and by using existing data;
organisation of scientific conferences in the area under study;
organisation of a discussion forum and a mentoring system;
development of a repository of good practice and innovative solutions in the area studied.

And how did it happen that a researcher from Bialystok University of Technology would be actively involved in a programme that could bring long-term global social benefits? The choice of a professor from the Faculty of Engineering Management was obviously influenced by her commitment, experience and the topic of her current research, which is about the relationship between digital technologies and older people.

– I submitted my application in response to the open call for experts that was advertised on the project website. I received information about the competition from a member of the COST Programme Management Committee from Mendel University in Brno, with whom we collaborate on other projects. This only confirms the effectiveness and desirability of international cooperation with other foreign universities to date. After submitting an application, consisting of a CV and a justification for my participation in the project, the Management Committee nominated experts within working groups, – says our expert from Bialystok University of Technology.

Congratulations!

A call for experts is currently open and runs until October 2023. Details on the programme website..