The iCONNECT project aims to support the social engagement of students in higher education institutions (HEIs) in parallel to the social inclusion of older people with dementia by bringing them together in an intergenerational creative approach. The iCONNECT project will be able to contribute to the goals of dementia friendly environments.

Intergenerational contact between students and older people with dementia is established through an innovative creative learning program that combines theatre, poetry and music, tapping into the long term memory of older people with dementia.The project included a piloting of a blended learning format pilot module that commenced on 2017 and completed in 2020 and informed the eventual design of the module. This program is designed in a blended learning format, combining innovative online and classroom methods and supporting transnational exchange experiences between students. Students will gain new competences and knowledge and bring new skills into practice related to communication, empathy and creativity, while they make contact with people with dementia. People with dementia will be able to use their long term memory.