Please scroll down for the English version - Gold medal winning team committed to improving quality of life for the elderly.

除臭口罩、卧床排泄便盆……2022刚刚开启，“智养天年”项目团队已经在紧锣密鼓地筹划新的产品了。他们希望研发一套应用于老人排泄场景的产品组合 ， 进一步提升失能失智老人家庭的生活质量。

作为宁波诺丁汉大学创行青年协会的明星项目，“智养天年”致力于为高龄老人家庭搭建全链条支持体系，解决失智失能老人的照护问题。去年，项目团队相继研发并上市了防呛喂水器与行动提醒器。目前，产品已服务近3000名失智失能老人、逾600位高龄老人照护者，而这一数字还在不断增长。

值得一提的是，这群宁诺创行青年还带着“智养天年”一路闯入了“善创未来”社会创新赛道全国总决赛，从200多个高校团队中脱颖而出，一举拿下全国冠军。同时，项目还赢得了渣打银行、松下电器特设的“未来企业家精神奖”全国冠军和“松下·美好生活关护奖社会创新赛事”全国亚军。

■宁诺创行青年协会（原名“赛扶”）成立于2007年，致力于通过社会创新解决联合国可持续发展目标下的社会问题，培养面向未来、富有企业家精神的青年领袖，是培养兼具社会情怀和商业素养的青年领袖成长平台。团队成员既包括学校不同专业的在校生，也有已经毕业、活跃在各行各业的宁诺校友。“智养天年”就是宁诺创行青年团队目前正在进行的项目之一。

起源：“怎么才能给外婆一个

更加安全舒适的生活空间？”

“智养天年”项目的发起人毛子涵，是国际学专业的学生，也是一名阿尔兹海默患者的家属。她的外婆罹患阿尔兹海默症已经七年了，目睹衰老与遗忘给亲人带来的痛苦、怀着对家人深切的爱，子涵想要深入了解这一社会隐疾。“我怎么能给外婆一个更加安全舒适的生活空间呢？”“我怎么能让家里人照顾得更轻松一些？”“当我变老后，我想要生活在一个在怎样的环境里呢？”...... “智养天年”项目组便是在这一系列困惑中踏出他们的脚步。

2020年7月，“智养天年”在宁诺创行青年协会正式立项。来自学校不同专业的13位项目初创成员、再加上已经从宁诺毕业的4名创行理事会成员，这个多元化背景的项目团队开启了社会调研与产品开发的漫漫长路。他们花了大量时间，阅读了480篇文献，对147户家庭和8个养老机构开展了为期两个月的田野调查。从国家级数据库到社区活动中心，从家中到养老机构，从教授的办公室到与行业专家讨论的会议室，他们运用专业的社会学工具研究老人和照护者的真实生活与核心诉求，以便更好地改善他们的生活环境。

项目成员拜访社区与养老机构

落地：“一个小小的产品

便能创造改变”

“项目刚启动时，我们不知道该往何处去，阿兹海默症议题的庞大让我们愈发清晰地意识到自身能力的边界。直到在养老院里，我们切身体会到照顾者一整天面临的种种困境，才终于意识到：一个小小的产品，只要它能为这些照顾者提供时间和劳动上的便利，减少患者们面临的病痛与伤害，它便能创造改变。” 设计成员曾靖淳（工业设计专业毕业生）如是说。

于是，2021年初，项目组通过对13款预备产品的竞品分析与可行性研究，最终选择了防呛喂水器与夜间行动提醒器两款产品进行设计与研发。

“通过对市面上已有产品的分析研究，我们发现这两款产品能够填补空白。现有的老人喂水杯要么不能很好地控制流速，容易发生呛咳，要么不方便照顾者喂水，容易洒出；而提醒器一般都过于智能化且价格昂贵，不便于照顾人员和养老机构使用。我们希望自主研发出的产品能够解决这些痛点难点。”王韧奇（金融财务和管理专业毕业生）说。

此后，项目组辗转于烟台、杭州、宁波、上海和嘉兴，从生产工厂走到实验室，从养老机构走到高龄社区，为更加贴合使用需求，还邀请了医疗机构和医护人员参与产品改进。

学校一直很鼓励校园里的创业创新实践，从项目设想到最后落地，我们获得了源源不断的支持。比如团委办公室、李达三孵化园、Ingenuity Lab等部门，还有郭庭魁、阮奕、周是今、孙煦、刘炳建、Vladimir Brusic、Christian Mueller、周海波、Grant Dawson等宁诺众多专家教授给予了我们很多鼓励和指导。他们不仅传授创业知识和产品指导，还引导我们参加创新比赛，帮助我们申请项目资金等等。”王韧奇回忆道。

幸运的是，2021下半年，产品落地并开启了首批生产。“智养天年”也在一个个困难的解决过程中，变得越发完善、成熟。

未来：为失智失能老人家庭

搭建全链条支持体系

目前，“智养天年”已成立宁波柏遂梧幽健康养老管理有限公司，正式入驻宁诺李达三孵化园。

现在，项目组成员正不断根据用户反馈和市场动态，调整迭代产品设计，搭建适老化产品集群和全链条失智失能老人家庭支持体系。这一群在养老行业乘风破浪的宁诺学子秉承初心，砥砺前行，在社会创新的舞台上留下了青年的声音，在“老龄群体”中融入了青年的身影。

项目产品规划的部分资料

解决现实问题、成就更美好的未来生活，是宁诺的战略目标之一，也正是在这样开放、创新、多元的校园环境中，“智养天年”项目得以萌芽、诞生和发展。项目组坦言，他们希望这个“养老梦”越走越远，愿每一个中国的高龄家庭，都能拥有有尊严的生活，拥有温暖而充满希望的明天。

Gold medal winning team committed to improving quality of life for the elderly

The YEAction student team at University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) is now developing a product bundle of daily necessities such as deodorant, mask and bedpan for the elderly members of the community, hoping to contribute to and improve their quality of life. This is another initiative from the “Rest for Love” project by YEAction, following previous innovations such as the water cup which prevents choking and the sensor which alerts caregivers. So far, the “Rest for Love” bundle has benefited around 3,000 elderly people and more than 600 caretakers, and the number continues to grow.

In 2021, the YEAction student team won the national championship, competing with more than 200 college teams in the "Youth for Greater Expo" Social Innovation Track National Final with their project focusing on caring for the elderly "Rest for Love". Founded in 2007, YEAction (formerly known as "SIFE") is committed to solving social problems and cultivating young leaders who are both socially minded and have strong commercial skills. "Rest for Love" is one of the ongoing projects of YEAction.

Zihan Mao, a third year student reading International Studies, is the founder of "Rest for Love" inspired by her grandmother, who has suffered from Alzheimer's disease for years. "How can I provide my grandmother with a safer and more comfortable living space?" she asked herself. With the aim of caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease like her grandmother and improving their living quality, in July 2020, Zihan and other members from YEAction started the project.

To better understand daily life and the essential needs of the elderly and their caregivers, the "Rest for Love" team did a large amount of research and conducted long-term fieldwork in various households and nursing homes. "At first, no one could think of where we should go to start. But once we arrived at a nursing home, we experienced the various difficulties that caregivers face all day long. We finally realised that even a small, useful product could ingeniously make a difference," said Jingchun Zeng, the design member of the team.

In early 2021, after prolonged brainstorming, analysis and feasibility studies, the project team eventually decided to develop a water cup which prevents choking, and a sensor that detects unusual movement and alerts caregivers. “From solutions to product implementation, ‘Rest for Love’ experienced numerous difficulties. What we wanted was to accurately grasp the most urgent needs of elderly families suffering the most from dementia and other disabilities, and then provide them with high-value solutions,” explained Renqi Wang, a graduate of Finance Accounting and Management.

Meanwhile, the team cooperated with professional medical institutions to initiate disease awareness campaigns and screening for Alzheimer's disease in Ningbo’s elderly community. So far, the “Rest for Love” project team has established a health technology company, and has settled in the Li Dak Sum Incubator at UNNC.

“UNNC has always encouraged entrepreneurship and innovative practices. The team has received continuous and strong support from the University's Youth League Committee Office, Li Dak Sum Incubator, Ingenuity Lab and other departments, as well as guidance and encouragement from professors such as Professor Vladimir Brusic, Dr Grant Dawson, Dr Vincent Kuo, Dr Bingjian Liu, Dr Christian Müller, Dr Yi Ruan, Professor Xu Sun, Dr Haibo Zhou and Dr Steven Zhou. They not only supported us with entrepreneurial experience and product design, but also helped us to participate in innovation competitions and apply for funding,” explained Renqi.

Currently, members of the team are adjusting and updating the new iterations of the products, taking into account market trends and consumer feedback. Their intention is to create a product offer and a family support system in order to effectively care for the elderly, using their youthful energy to serve the elderly members of the community.

Solving problems and improving lives is one of the strategic goals of UNNC. It was under such an open, diverse and innovative campus atmosphere that student projects like “Rest for Love” could develop. In the future, “Rest for Love” plans to continue to combine the most pressing user needs, build a product group suitable for the elderly, and build a full-chain family support system for the disabled elderly and those suffering with dementia, all the while continuing to give hope that every family with elderly loved ones in China can have a dignified life and hope for tomorrow.

文字来源 | NUBS China, Nico，李熙涵

图片来源 | 王韧奇，毛子涵

Copyright

转载或进一步了解

宁波诺丁汉大学品牌与传媒办公室

commsandmarketing@nottingham.edu.cn

宁波诺丁汉大学

中国第一所中外合作大学

卓越学术 精彩未来