Junior Research Group
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The junior research group brings together the two megatrends "digitalization" and "demographic ageing" and examines them in the context of competence management. Digitalization not only has an impact on the way we work – for example, due to the Corona pandemic, increasingly digitally and from one’s home office – but also on the way we learn: e.g. via online platforms or in workshops that are held digitally with the help of videoconferencing tools. However, this raises the question of whether this "new digital learning world" corresponds to the learning habits and preferences of older workers. Research has repeatedly shown that older workers are not less capable to learn than younger workers, but they do it differently. Contrary to their younger counterparts older workers prefer learning concepts that are linked to practical knowledge and that anchor learning in the process of work. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how digital learning environments need to be created in order to be age-inclusive and meet these preferences.
Furthermore, the junior research group investigates the role of negative and age-discriminating perceptions (“ageism”) regarding the digital competences and learning ability of older workers. If, for example, it becomes apparent that ageist ideas of older workers capabilities are influencing how digital learning settings are set up at company level, the risk of excluding older workers from digital learning settings – and with that lifelong learning opportunities – might rise. Against this background, the junior research group aims to address the following research objectives:
The research work of the junior research group is divided into three work packages that use different methodological approaches within the framework of an innovative mixed-method concept. In addition to data analyses based on the German Ageing Survey (DEAS), an employee survey, qualitative case studies and interview studies as well as participative methods with older employees are planned. The junior research group is based at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and cooperates with the University of Dormtund, Department of Social Science, the Demographie Netzwerk (ddn) and the QualiService Bremen. |
News
Juliy 2026 We are happy to welcome our new PhD student, Felix Fankhänel, to the BeKomIng Digital team. We look forward to working with you! June 2026 The BeKomIng Digital research group contributed to a policy dialogue with German Federal Minister of Education Karin Prien on the role of AI in vocational education and training. The discussion highlighted the importance of including older workers in digital learning and AI-related qualification strategies. New publication: Our article “Digital learning for old(er) workers: A systematic review of age‑appropriate vocational education and training” has been published in Educational Gerontology. March 2026 BeKomIng Digital goes conferences: This year we will present our work at several national and international conferences, including ISTP 2026 (New York), the IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics (Amsterdam), ESPAnet 2026 (Lisbon), as well as the DGGG conference in Frankfurt and the DGS conference in Mainz. November 2025 It’s a wrap! Over 300 people joined ‘Zukunft Digital: Chancen für die Generation 50+’. Thanks to our partners Bundesbank, AOK Hessen, and Lufthansa for sharing their digital learning insights. October 2025 Thrilled to share our new BeKomIng Digital Publication in the Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, exploring self-directed ageism and its effects on CVET participation and late working life. September 2025 I’m honored to join the 10th Aging Report Commission, ‘Education and Learning in Later Life’, to help shape recommendations for lifelong learning and active aging. August 2025 Our three-part digital event series with Demografienetzwerk Deutschland — "Zukunft Digital: Chancen für die Generation 50+" — is starting! More info: Link June 2025 Selina Staniczek presented recent research on age stereotypes in CVET from an organizational perspective at the 2025 ISA Forum in Rabat, Morocco. Great work, Selina! Link to News Archive |