On Wednesday 7 February 2024, ADI convened a virtual ceremony to officially award the Wicking Dementia Centre with accreditation for their and dementia courses. The Wicking Dementia Centre is a renowned in this sector for its educational initiatives in aged and dementia care, with over 500,000 enrolments in their Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) on dementia and participants joining from over 184 UN-recognised countries. The Wicking Dementia Centre truly stands as a leader in the field of global dementia education, and now has become Australia’s first educational provider to achieve ADI Accreditation.
During the ceremony Paola Barbarino, CEO of ADI, emphasised the critical importance of the ADI accreditation, highlighting the profound impact it will have on addressing the disparity in dementia care worldwide and the necessity for standards of excellence as well as innovative education providers to bridge this gap:
“ADI first started this accreditation programme, recognising the huge disparity in care provided to those living with dementia across the world. Too often care for those living with dementia is inadequate and does not address the complex needs of those living with dementia and of their families. It is through this award that we recognise the outstanding commitment and actions of the whole Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre in ensuring the dignity and quality of life of those living with dementia in their carers. We hope that through your actions, you will continue to demonstrate and educate others on the importance of these values and principles, ensuring that high quality care is delivered to benefit people living with dementia and family caregivers across the world.”
Professor James Vickers, Director of the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, reflected on the institution’s journey. He began by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, the Palawa people and the Aboriginal elders of Tasmania, emphasising Tasmania’s rich human history spanning thousands of years. Vickers traced the centre’s development from its inception in 2008, highlighting their mission to make a tangible difference in the lives of those affected by dementia. He recounted the introduction of educational programs, including MOOCs and formal undergraduate and postgraduate courses, designed to meet the diverse needs of participants and enhance dementia care globally and how these developments naturally aligned in applying and achieving ADI accreditation:
“Our goal here was to have a set of educational offerings as well as educational pathways that fit the needs of a particular participant and will assist them in the good work that they do in dementia. A really important step for our goals has been accreditation of our educational programmes with Alzheimer’s Disease International. We’re very excited about this accreditation because this will help ensure that the standards and quality of what we are offering are as good as they can be, but will also help in our continued development of what we do and with extending the reach to those who might benefit”
Professor Denise Fassett, Executive Dean of the College of Health and Medicine, further emphasised the significance of the accreditation in elevating the standards of education at the Wicking Dementia Centre and commended ADI for their thorough the accreditation process:
“As Australia’s first educational provider to have achieved accreditation by Alzheimer’s Disease International, this will ensure that the Wicking Dementia Centre is well placed to make an impactful contribution to building capacity in Australia, as well as across the world. I would like to thank sincerely ADI on such a comprehensive accreditation process.”
From Left to right: Denise Fassett, Joanna Sun, Alison Canty, James Vickers, Anna King, Kathleen Doherty.
The ADI Accreditation service has been designed as a collaborative process, offering insightful reports, knowledge exchange and personable dialogue between participating organisations and the ADI expert Global Review Panel, with the aim of involving people with dementia, and lived experience to drive innovation.
Nearing the close of the ceremony, Michal Herz, a member of ADI’s Global Review Panel, expressed gratitude and admiration for the Wicking Dementia Centre’s leadership and innovation in dementia education.
“It is a pleasure to acknowledge the journey that the Wicking Dementia Centre has taken with us and their role as global leaders in facilitating dementia knowledge and education. It is the application of ‘out of the box’ thinking at Wicking and how that is transferred to the field of dementia that demonstrates their willingness to be open and hands-on in the application of the learning. In this partnership, the accreditation body also learned a lot from the journey”
Herz concluded with anticipation for the future of the Wicking Dementia Centre’s courses, recognising their ongoing journey towards excellence.
Awarding the ADI accreditation to the Wicking Dementia Centre by ADI signifies a momentous achievement in dementia education. With a proven commitment to excellence and a global reach, the centre continues to pave the way for improved dementia care and education worldwide. At ADI, we greatly look forward to collaborating further with the Wicking Dementia Centre in the future, as they continue to innovate and act a source of transformative inspiration for other centres of learning in the dementia space.