The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre – Paving the way forward in online dementia education

Dementia has been described by the World Health Organisation as the public health issue of the 21st century. The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre (Wicking Centre), part of the Faculty of Health, has developed a Dementia Education Program integrating two fully online courses: the Understanding Dementia Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and the Bachelor of Dementia Care (BDemCare). This unique program is designed for non-traditional students who often have low technical literacy and non-academic backgrounds. The BDemCare is the world’s first fully online, Bachelor of Dementia Care. Launched in 2012, it now has more than 2000 students who are predominantly a non-traditional university cohort, and exemplifies an inclusive and supportive approach to online education that links the biological basis of dementia and related illnesses to symptoms and care. The MOOC is a free online course that was developed to address the international need for comprehensive, quality, evidence-based information about dementia. Launched in 2013, it is the world’s first global initiative in dementia education, attracting more than 24,000 registrants from around the world, across two deliveries. In its first iteration, the 9-week course finished with one of the world’s highest completion rates (King et al, Nature, 2014). A specialised entry pathway was created between the MOOC and BDemCare for students to gain formal university accreditation for their study, and to widen their knowledge base around understanding dementia. The Wicking Dementia Education Program demonstrates how technology-enhanced learning can be used to transform knowledge to address significant local, national and global needs.