Design for dementia course wins national award for innovative teaching

A new postgraduate teaching initiative from the University of Stirling has won a national award for its innovative approach to interdisciplinary learning and digital studio teaching.

The postgraduate course Design for Dementia and Ageing won in the Innovative Use of Technology category in The Herald Higher Education Awards 2026. 

Launched in 2025, the course brings together students from a wide range of professional and cultural backgrounds – including healthcare, design, housing, and social care. The only qualification of its kind, the course explores how environments, products and services can better support people living with dementia and age-related impairments. 

Key tool

A key digital tool has been Miro – a collaborative multimedia online workspace that supports many of the reflective and interactive features associated with a physical design studio.

Students’ work is reviewed by peers and tutors during live ‘open studio’ sessions and through ongoing digital commentary and critique. Students are also encouraged to use artificial intelligence (AI) in their coursework to create imagery, which removes the requirement for any previous design skills. 

The University was a finalist in three categories of The Herald Higher Education Awards, presented last night (Wednesday, 20 May) in Glasgow. The other finalists, selected from a record 200 entries, were: University of Stirling International Events Symposium, for the Enhancing Student Learning award; and 'Help Us Help You': a campus that talks, for the Supporting Student Wellbeing award. 

The University of Stirling is at the forefront of healthy ageing research and teaching, with designing for dementia a key focus. It is home to the world-renowned Dementia Services Development Centre, a knowledge exchange centre dedicated to improving the lives of people with dementia through research, design, education, and practice. Stirling also runs the first module in the UK to include dementia design for undergraduate nurses and paramedics.

Level playing field

Professor Lesley Palmer, of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and part of the team behind Design for Dementia and Ageing, said of the course: “The online design studio and the combination of collaborative digital tools and AI-supported approaches help create a more level playing field for all students from very different professional and educational backgrounds. The course encourages creativity, critical reflection, and interdisciplinary collaboration, while helping students explore how emerging technologies can support more inclusive approaches to ageing and dementia design. We are delighted to receive this award and recognition, especially with such tough competition.” 

For more about the course visit here.