Founding of the Digital Urban Center for Aging & Health (DUCAH): Institute of Medical Informatics - Charité

<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/">License: CC ShareAlike 3.0</a> | <a href="https://www.stiftung-internet-und-gesellschaft.de/ducah/">Source: DUCAH Homepage</a> — License: CC ShareAlike 3.0 | Source: DUCAH Homepage

The ageing of the population in Germany is a key feature of the country's demographic change. While currently just around one in five residents is 67 years of age or older, according to current estimates by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany this is likely to be one in four as early as 2040. This development brings numerous challenges for various stakeholders and the society as a whole and requires an interdisciplinary approach in order to develop concrete solutions for the different aspects of day-to-day life.

In order to study and shape health and aging in a digital and urban society, 21 leading German companies have now joined forces with the German government to establish the Digital Urban Center for Aging & Health (DUCAH) in Berlin. By bringing together the health, digital, finance and housing industries, the aim is to create the conditions for a new kind of innovation transfer and an interdisciplinary, interindustrial and intersectoral exchange.

The focus of all endeavours will always be on the individual. The research centre of the Foundation for Internet and Society, in cooperation with the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and the Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF), focuses primarily on the combination of practical application and research.