Hello, it’s me again! Following my recent blog post, I think having a final wrap-up about my participation in the Age-friendly VIP this year would be good. This post also marks my tenth instalment on this journey. Hip, hip, hooray!
After the workshop on 26 April, our team met in early May to discuss the end-of-semester poster presentation. All VIP posters were showcased at the EduFest Networking event on 16 May. Like what we did in semester one, we prepared a poster which captured the progress of our work. Since the deadline for the poster submission was close to the end of semester two (I know that was literally the name of the presentation), my teammates expressed some concerns over meeting different deadlines, be they coursework and assignments or final exams. Seeing the worrying faces, I let them know that I could take up more work as I wasn’t catching any deadlines. Seeing Pat’s and Ref’s relieved faces did make my day.
I volunteered to create a poster and put together different sections. Pat helped with suggestions for the VIP plans. Ref was responsible for summarising the workshop feedback. Beth would prepare an introductory paragraph for the VIP. And Hannah would present on the day. That was the plan! Unfortunately, I coughed up blood the other day. It was my very first time testing positive for Covid-19 in the past three years. Some rough days did slow me down. While I managed to rest for a few days and got back to the poster, it wasn’t quite ready to go yet. But I was genuinely thankful to have such a supportive team. All teammates did their assigned parts, and Beth kindly helped finalising the poster. I love her rainbow timeline!
Apart from this dissemination opportunity, Fiona invited us to present at the Healthy Later Living Network meeting on 25 May. As Hannah, Pat, and Ref had a conflict of schedules, they couldn’t join. When I asked if Beth could make it, she made a lovely remark, saying that she had presented at the meetings a few times before, and wondered if they would be ‘sick’ of her (with a smiley face). I’m sure we all love Beth! After our presentation, there was a brief Q and A session about disseminations and how to maximize our work's impact. The questions were not easy, but we were glad to receive some positive comments from the attendees.
Speaking of disseminations and impact, I was elated to know that the VIP Operational Team has recently launched a new funding scheme for established VIPs. This exceptional opportunity enables VIP teams to apply for funding of up to £500 per application to experiment with their innovative ideas and maximising reach to community partners or stakeholders. For those who have been on a VIP, do consider taking your project to the next level by applying for this fund. More details can be found here. For those interested in finding out more before you apply, please join an information session on 26 September 2023. The applications for Sem 1 AY2324 will close on 10 October 2023; apply here.
I started my blog post this year with a picture of me feeding the ducks on campus. As in this wrap-up of the year, let’s slide into summer like these two adorable giant rubber ducks.
The Double Ducks floating in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour
See you next semester!
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