Keio-Cologne Lecture Series
Winter Semester 2020/21

Aging, Medicine and Society –
Understanding, Shaping, Managing Longevity

Japan and Germany share the experience of a particularly apparent demographic change. With a life expectancy of 85 years in Japan and 81 years in Germany and an almost identical average age of 47.2 years of populations in both countries, Japan and Germany share common chances, problems and questions.

As a result, constantly rising life expectancy and an increasing variety of different lifestyles pose new challenges in terms of content and structure in areas such as education, work, health care, housing and culture. At the same time, new technologies and insights into the biology of aging make the promise of ever-higher human age seem as much in reach as never before.

• But how should we react to demographic change? Are our societies prepared for the needs of an aging population?
• How can we use the medical advances in order to not only prolong life, but also ensure a high quality of life in old age?
• How can we ensure dignified aging, and how can areas of our lives be adapted to meet the changed structures?

These and other questions are the focus of this joint lecture series on Aging by Keio University/Tokyo, and the University of Cologne who share particularly strong research fields dedicated to aging-associated issues. The lecture series will present different perspectives including medicine, economics, psychology, gerontology, care, ethics, and law. Each lecture will be held jointly by a German and a Japanese expert, giving insights into ongoing or recently completed research projects, and can be viewed on demand and at your discretion. Students in both countries are invited to actively participate in the discussion by submitting questions which will be answered by the experts in a follow-up Q&A recording.

Procedural Notes

The individual sessions will be made available for on-demand viewing in ILIAS by 10 a.m. on the scheduled date. We are looking forward to your questions and contributions to the sessions. Please post them on ILIAS within one week after the session has been activated. Your contributions will then be sent to the speakers collectively and answered in a Q&A session, which will be available as an additional video on ILIAS two weeks after the event.