From a huge entry of close to 200 entries, fifteen finalists have been shortlisted for the AAL Smart Ageing Challenge prize, which is offering €50,000 for the best innovation that uses the Internet of Things to empower older adults to achieve the quality of life they aspire to, socially and independently. After receiving so many fantastic ideas from all over Europe, the judges whittled down the entrants to the fifteen best, who will now move on to the next stage of the competition. This will involve going to an exciting Innovation Academy in Brussels, where they will receive advice about their technology and business mentoring, while they seek to impress the judges further and make it to the grand final,...Read More

We are pleased to announce that jazz and blues legend Othella Dallas will be performing at this year’s forum. AAL has this year booked a singer who has proven that age is no barrier when it comes to putting in a show stopping performance. Othella Dallas is a grand old lady of jazz, blues and funk. Born on September 26, 1925 in Memphis, her dancing career started when she was just five years old. She continued dancing and acting after moving to New York and toured the world with the Dunham School of Theatre and Dance. Inspired and encouraged by her husband, who is also her manager, Othella began her second career in singing in the jazz clubs of Paris. This opened...Read More

The chance to enter the first ever AAL Smart Ageing Challenge Prize has now passed, but after receiving so many fantastic ideas from all over the world we are confident that the eventual winner will be a real game-changer.  The AAL Smart Ageing Challenge Prize is offering €50,000 for the best innovation that uses the Internet of Things to empower older adults to achieve the quality of life they aspire to, socially and independently.   The judges were looking for ideas that use the Internet of Things in an innovative way while at the same time taking into account the needs of the users. Judges were also looking for ideas with a clear business plan that would see the innovation to...Read More

AAL Smart Ageing Challenge Prize – Lekshmy Parameswaran: Judge’s view The AAL Challenge Prize is offering €50,000 for the best innovation that uses the Internet of Things to empower older adults to achieve the quality of life they aspire to, socially and independently.  Lekshmy Parameswaran is Director of Research and Strategy at design consultancy fuelfor, and one of the judges for what is the AAL’s first Smart Ageing Prize. As part of our series of interviews with the prize judges, she provides insight into what she will be looking for from the winning entry. Click here for more details on how to enter the AAL Smart Ageing Challenge Prize What do you consider to be the challenges older people face in today’s...Read More

Karina Marcus of the AAL invites you to enter this valuable competition, which is offering a €50,000 top prize for the best Internet of Things innovation that will enable older people to live the best possible lives. This is a fantastic opportunity to kick-start your business and get your IoT product to market – and there is still plenty of time to enter using our simple online application form. There is little doubt that the Internet of Things (IoT) is going to revolutionise the way we live, helping individuals, business and society as a whole, providing better services and boosting the global economy. It’s already started. One area where IoT has the potential to have the greatest impact is in...Read More

Karin Weiss is the Deputy Managing Director and Head of Grants at the AGE Foundation. She is also one of the judges for the AAL’s first Smart Ageing Prize, which is providing €50,000 to the winning IoT innovation designed for older people. In the first of a series of interviews with the Prize judges, she provides an insight about what she will be looking for from the winning entry Q. What do you consider to be the challenges older people face in today’s world? K.W – We are moving towards a more aged society, which means that, collectively, we face new structural needs and challenges in professional and low-threshold care and we need to adopt a completely new understanding about...Read More

Smart buildings and environments have the potential to help older adults and those with disabilities stay independent in their homes for longer. Technologies using sensors and other devices that are integrated into the building itself can both assist the resident and monitor them. This is an area that is rich with potential for possible ideas for the AAL Smart Ageing Prize, as a recent meeting in Brussels between some of Europe’s most influential entrepreneurs showed. The EC’s DG Connect and DG Grow hosted Neighbourhoods of the Future, a “meeting of minds” focusing on creating smarter new build and retrofit home environments, with a view to empowering older adults to live more meaningful, independent, connected lives with dignity and autonomy. Around...Read More

The AAL Award is one of the main highlights of the forum, in which three projects present their goals and business case in front of a panel of judges and the audience. The award is intended to recognise the most promising project of the AAL Programme. The winner must show that it demonstrates great promise in terms of innovation, a human-centric approach to development, and excellent market potential. The format of the award is conceived in an effort to enable the project’s coordinator and consortium to work with a more market-oriented attitude. The final contest is inspired to the style of the “Dragon’s Den” where each project pitches to convince the panel of evaluators and the audience. Each presenter has five...Read More