Older Swedes Reap Benefits from Late-Life Education through Senioruniversitetet
Senioruniversitetet is a national Swedish university for people over 55, operated in collaboration with Folkuniversitetet and featuring about 30 independent branches offering study circles, lectures, and courses.
Stockholm hosts the largest branch, founded in 1991, which runs across multiple venues with around 100 volunteers; weekly Tuesday lectures attract approximately 1,000 attendees.
In 2023, the network held 2,099 events with 161,932 participants, and projections for 2025 estimate 2,391 events with 177,024 participants.
Despite this growth in participation, government funding for Senioruniversitetet has decreased significantly, suggesting that the increase is driven by in-person social interactions rather than online activities.
Key drivers for participation include combating loneliness and a desire for learning for pleasure, with education serving as both social engagement and personal fulfillment.
The program is also viewed as having a broader social impact, potentially influencing democracy and family well-being, as members often share what they learn with their children and grandchildren.
Membership has reached an all-time high, though it faces criticism for being too homogeneous, prompting calls to broaden its reach to a more diverse audience.
Volunteering remains central to the program's model and is considered meaningful; participants highlight issues such as ageism in society and the value of contributing to a democratic project. Examples of offerings include Italian language classes and lectures covering topics like Nobel prizes and disinformation related to AI.
