Cog@Work is a program that focuses on research and networking in order to enable employers to provide affordable, sustainable and inclusive workspace models for employees with mild cognitive impairment and dementia (MCI|Dem).
About us
Cog@Work is an AGE-WELL funded research group led by Dr. Arlene Astell, Dr. Jennifer Boger, Dr. Josephine McMurray, Dr. Catherine Burns, and Dr. AnneMarie Levy. AGE-WELL is a federally funded Network of Centres of Excellence accelerating innovation and technologies to improve aging.
AGE-WELL recognizes that to encourage the flow of ideas from universities to industry we must develop supportive infrastructure. Cog@Work is a program that focuses on research and networking in order to enable employers to provide affordable, sustainable and inclusive workspace models for employees with mild cognitive impairment and dementia (MCI|Dem). With an aging workforce and earlier detection comes an exponential rise in the number of workers who will develop MCI|Dem on the job. To provide supports to workers with MCI|Dem, we build stakeholder partnerships in preparation for a real-world proof-of-concept, and progressive development of relevant supporting technologies that will emerge from the developmental evaluation of annual outputs. The impact of continuing employment for this “invisible” group of workers will support their rights and citizenship, and positively impact the overall economy while reducing costs to the social support system.
News
open, an agewell supported startup, tackles cognitive disabilities by improving accessibility and facilitating connections.
Open is a one stop shop which provides a unique and innovative platform for the co-creation of solutions for more inclusive communities. It connects persons living with cognitive disabilities (CD) with technology developers, accessibility specialists, researchers, and public organizations. Their cutting-edge protocol exceeds existing national and international standards for testing the cognitive accessibility of technology, services and built environments. Open encourages the social inclusion of persons with CD by actively collaborating with and employing persons with cognitive disabilities. Open believes in a world where people of all cognitive abilities can function to the best of their potential and its team which includes current faculty and students of CRECS look forward to continuing to uphold the mission and values of Open.
AGE-WELL story: https://agewell-nce.ca/archives/11678
Dr. Nicole Didyk, Cog@Work Advisory Board member, nominated for Oktoberfest Rogers Women of the Year Award.
We are delighted to announce that our very own Dr. Nicole Didyk, member of the Cog@Work Advisory Group, has been nominated for the Oktoberfest Rogers Women of the Year Award in the Health & Wellness category. This category recognizes women in the region, who promote and help others to achieve and promote mental, physical or spiritual well-being in her career or community involvement.
In her day job, Nicole is a geriatrician at Grand River and St. Mary’s General hospitals, and the Canadian Mental health Association, in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. By night, she becomes the warm and melodious voice behind The Wrinkle, a videocast channel and blog, that aims to demystify aging and break down the stigma of age-related decline. She addresses everything from immune system challenges to urinary incontinence incorporating patient experiences and content from prevention to therapies. Her forthright and compassionate stories are the culmination of a life dedicated to listening to people as they age, and are both informative and entertaining.
We are privileged to have Dr. Didyk’s expertise on the Cog@Work team, and are delighted that her work has been recognized with this well-deserved nomination for Woman of the Year.