March 26 & 29, 2026 | Vancouver, Canada
Application Deadline: March 15, 2026
Purpose & Background
The International Society for Gerontechnology (ISG) is committed to graduate and post-graduate education as a way of increasing the development and application of technology in the service of older persons. Towards that end, we are pleased to announce the 10th ISG Master Class in Gerontechnology.
The ISG Master Class provides a unique opportunity for individuals at the Master’s, Doctoral, Post-doctoral and Early Professionals level who are currently conducting or planning to conduct research in the area of aging and technology to interact for several days with world-class experts in gerontechnology. These experts will present information about new developments taking place internationally, but in large measure, the focus will be on you and your ideas, as reflected in a poster you will bring to the class. The experts (“Masters”) will encourage you to view the project described in your poster from many angles and planes, from theoretical and methodological perspectives that you might not have thought of before. The objectives are cross-fertilization and to maximize the impact of your work.
The Master Class will be held at the conference venue, the downtown Vancouver campus of Simon Fraser University, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 5K3. It will start at 8:30 am on Thursday, May 26th. The Master Class will conclude at 4:15 pm on March 29th, with the Masters’ and Participants’ choice of the “Best Gerontechnology Posters” and why.
Master Class participants will have the opportunity to:
1. Learn from international leaders in the field of Gerontechnology;
2. Engage in sessions that critically examine and place their research in larger contexts;
3. Take an active role in assessing fellow participants’ work;
4. Learn about Gerontechnology research taking place around the world;
5. Network with international participants and leaders in the field of Gerontechnology.
Expectations of Participants
Each participant must prepare a summary of their work, bring a poster outlining their research, and be prepared to present their poster. Posters will be assessed by both the Masters and fellow participants. The poster requirements can be found HERE.
A reading list will be prepared by the Masters to help you prepare. It is expected that you will have read some of these materials before you arrive. A reading list will be posted on the ISG2026 website on the Master Class & Student Information page.
Benefits
Successful applicants will receive the following:
- Two years of free membership in the International Society for Gerontechnology (this will enable you to register for the conference at the student member rate)
- Lunches and coffee breaks on March 26th and 29th
- An evening Master Class social event
- Exposure to the best and brightest in the Gerontechnology field internationally
Eligibility
The ISG anticipates that participants will reflect a diversity of disciplines, sectors, and institutions. There is no restriction on the disciplines that are eligible to apply.
- Applicants must be enrolled in a Master’s or Doctoral program or hold a Post-Doctoral position (or equivalent) or an early career appointment (within 5 years of achieving PhD or equivalent) at a recognized university or university-affiliated health care institution.
- For students, the program must have a strong research requirement (i.e., the program is not solely course-based).
The following table lists the required sections (with page numbers) of the application.
| Section | Details | Number of Pages (maximum) |
| 1. Application Form | Note: Must be signed by the applicant and supervisor | 1 |
| 2. Research Description | Research Prospectus | 1 |
| Timeline | 1 | |
| 3. Support of Application | Letter of Support from Supervisor | 2 |
| Total | 5 |
Section Details
- Application Form
- The cover page of the form can be found HERE. All fields must be completed.
- The applicant and their supervisor must sign this form.
- Research Description
- Research Prospectus: A brief description of the applicant’s research directions and interests (500 words).
- Timetable: A timeline of the student’s training for the degree currently being pursued or post-doctoral research.
- Support of Application
- Letter of Support from a supervisor. This letter must include the supervisor’s acknowledgement and support of the applicant’s attendance at the Master Class and statements about the applicant’s abilities and characteristics as they pertain to his/her potential for success in research.
Application Format
To be eligible for review, all materials for the sections “Research Description” and “Support of Application” must adhere to the following instructions for presentation and content:
- Arial font (regular; minimum 11 point) or Times New Roman (regular; minimum 12 point)
- Single-spaced text, pages single-sided, page numbers
- 2.54 cm (one-inch) margin on all sides of each page
- A header on each page with the applicant’s name in the top left-hand corner
Adjudication
Adjudication of applications will be by the ISG2026 Master Class Masters.
Submission
You may submit your application by regular mail to:
ISG 15th World Conference Secretariat
Centre for Technology Adoption for Aging in the North
University of Northern British Columbia
Prince George, BC, Canada V2N 4Z9
ATTN: ISG Master Class 2026
OR by email to: isg2026conference@unbc.ca
Subject: Master Class_YOUR LAST NAME
| The Master Class fee is $150 CAD. Instructions for payment of the Master Class registration fee will be provided to successful applicants prior to the Master Class. If you have any questions, please contact the ISG2026 Secretariat. |
Preliminary Program: ISG2026 Gerontechnology Master Class
Thursday, March 26th 2026
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 8:00am | Registration and poster installation |
| 8:30 am | Welcome and introduction of Masters — Master TBA |
| 9:00 am | Master Lecture 1: Introduction to Gerontechnology — Speaker: TBA |
| 9:30 am | Participants present their posters and explain their projects |
| 10:15 am | Break |
| 10:30 am | Explanation of Assignment 1: Viewing your project in the goal and application domain — Master TBA Reference: Matrix on goal and application domain in Fig. 3: van Bronswijk (2014) Reading: Bouma, van Bronswijk, Fozard (2001) |
| 10:45 am | Assignment 1: Master Class participants select the best cell for placement of their projects in Matrix on goal on application domain in Fig.3: van Bronswijk (2014) |
| 11:30 am | Feedback on Assignment 1 by Masters and participants |
| 11:45 am | Master Lecture 2: The two faces of aging—a person’s chronological aging and technology changes within and between successive birth cohorts — Speaker: TBA |
| 12:15 pm | Lunch |
| 1:00 pm | Explanation of Assignment 2: Viewing your project with respect to calendar age and birth cohort — Speaker: TBA Reference: Matrix on age and technology generation (Fig. 3: van Bronswijk, 2014) Reading: Fozard and Wahl (2012) |
| 1:15 pm | Assignment 2: Master Class participants select the best cell for viewing your project with respect to calendar age and birth cohort. Matrix on age and generation |
| 2:00 pm | Feedback on Assignment 2 by Masters and participants |
| 2:15 pm | Master Lecture 3: Assistive technologies and the four goals of gerontechnology — Speaker: TBA |
| 2:45 pm | Explanation of Assignment 3: Viewing your project in the context of the cross-fertilization of technology and gerontology — Speaker: TBA Reference: Matrix on cross-fertilization (Fig. 3: van Bronswijk, 2014) Reading: Bouma, Fozard, Bouwhuis, Taipale (2007) |
| 3:00 pm | Assignment 3: Master Class participants select the best cell for viewing your project. Matrix on cross-fertilization |
| 3:45 pm | Feedback on Assignment 3 by the Masters and participants |
| 4:00 pm | Master Lecture 4: Geriatric medicine and gerontechnology — Speaker: TBA Reading: Franco, Bouma, van Bronswijk (2014) |
| 4:45 pm | Discussion of Master Lecture 4 by the Masters and participants |
| 5:00 pm | Closing Remarks, preview of Day 2 |
Friday, March 27th 2026
| 7:00 am | Attend the Master Class hosted social event (location TBA) |
Sunday, March 29th 2026
| 9:00 am | Master Lecture 4: Building Interdisciplinary R&D teams in gerontechnology: Some collected war stories and descriptions of strategies used by Masters. Panel discussion by the Masters. |
| 10:00 am | Comments on the Panel Discussion by Master Class participants |
| 10:15 am | Break |
| 10:30 am | Explanation of Assignment 4: Viewing your project’s needs for interdisciplinary input — Speaker: TBA Reference: Matrix – Embedding project in existing knowledge panel in Fig. 3 (van Bronswijk, 2014) Reading: Fozard & Kearns (2015) |
| 10:45 am | Assignment 4: Master Class participants identify cell(s) that best identify their project’s interdisciplinary needs and describe how they would obtain them |
| 11:15 am | Feedback on Assignment 4 by the Masters and participants |
| 12:00 noon | Lunch |
| 1:00 pm | Master Lecture 5: Methods for evaluating if a gerontechnology works as expected — Speaker: TBA Reading: Kearns, Fozard (2016) |
| 1:30 pm | Discussion of Master Lecture 5 by the Masters and participants |
| 1:45 pm | Assignment 5: Master Class participants present the current version of their projects, summarizing the changes and the reasons for them |
| 2:00 pm | Announcement of winners and runner-ups by the Masters and participants |
| 2:45 pm | Feedback on Assignment 5 by the Masters and participants |
| 3:00 pm | Break |
| 3:15 pm | Explanation of Assignment 6: Selection of the best poster by the Masters and Master Class participants — Speaker: TBA |
| 3:15 pm | Assignment 6: Master Class participants and Masters separately select by vote and consensus the best Master Class poster and 2 runner-ups |
| 3:45 pm | Announcement of winners and runner-ups by Masters and participants |
| 4:00 pm | Presentation of certificates of participation to Master Class participants |
| 4:00 pm | Closing Remarks |
Travel funding for ISG2026
ISG/Herman Bourma Foundation Travel Grants: This fund, established in honour of ISG Grandmaster Herman Bouma, will provide up to 10 travel grants of 500 Euros for students and early career professionals attending ISG2026. Priority will be given to individuals registered for the Master Class and/or with an accepted abstract. Deadline for submission of application is March 1, 2026. Click HERE for an application form.
Other possible sources: https://buildyourfuture.withgoogle.com/scholarships/google-conference-scholarships#!europe
Early career travel grants – https://ecrcentral.org/travel-grants
Many universities offer conference travel grants to graduate students who are presenting at international conferences. Check with your department and the Faculty of Graduate Studies at your university.