Based in Berlin, the Digital Urban Center for Aging and Health (DUCAH), an AgeTech Collaborative™ (ATC) enterprise participant, is a cooperatively organized network that aims to tap into and harness the potential of digitization for the social and health economy. In order to achieve this goal, DUCAH connects stakeholders from politics, science, health, social, real estate, finance and the digital economy.
We talked with DUCAH scientific coordinator Annika Ulich, who told us about DUCAH, its mission and a groundbreaking partnership it has formed with the University of California, Berkeley, to explore the potential of digital technologies to improve the lives of older adults.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Please tell us about DUCAH.
DUCAH is a cooperative that was founded in 2022. We’re a network with companies from tech, finance, health, and social and non-governmental organizations. Our aim is to help people live longer, better. We have a large network that includes universities and hospitals in Berlin.
We organize a variety of events. One of our most important is a quarterly conference held in Berlin, where we talk about perspectives, trends and changes in the health and social sector in Germany and worldwide, which our network can then respond to and find ways to address.
It sounds like there are a lot of parallels with the AgeTech Collaborative™.
Like the Collaborative, we make connections, such as bringing together the scientific, public and social sectors. We also have member companies such as care homes that act as testbeds to validate digital and social innovations in the field.
We also work with startups, primarily through our quarterly conferences. Our June conference was about finding ways to address the shortage of skilled caregivers and staff in general, which is a very big problem. Our conference in September will be about digital participation for older adults and people who are in a care situation. We’re inviting startups who work in that field to attend — including any AgeTech Collaborative™ startups who might be interested.
DUCAH has partnered with the University of California, Berkeley on a special project. How did that come about?
A delegation from DUCAH traveled to California in the summer of 2023 and met with Californian partners that have some very interesting programs within the California Master Plan for Aging. We thought, “How can we transfer these ideas and good practices to Berlin?” We also have a vibrant startup landscape in Berlin, so we also wondered how we, in turn, could transfer our startups’ ideas to California and the US. So that’s how we came up with the idea for the GETA International project.
GETA stands for “Gegen Einsamkeit und für Digitale Teilhabe im Alter,” which means “Against loneliness and for digital participation in old age.” GETA International stands for the possibility of exchanging ideas and expanding the network. In 2024, a delegation with Franziska Giffey — Berlin’s Senator for Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises — and DUCAH traveled to the University of California, Berkeley and signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize the project.
What is the focus of the GETA International project?
The overall topic is digital participation among older adults. We know that people who are not digitally integrated have difficulty participating in social life and face loneliness, just because they don’t use smartphones and other forms of modern technology.
The goal is to build a bridge between the United States and Berlin and to make market entry as easy as possible for US-based startups that want to engage with the German market, and vice versa. Through this project, Berkeley helps us get to know the startup landscape in the US — which ones are involved in the topic of digital participation, and which ones are interested in having a presence in Berlin, to transfer their solutions to the German market. It also gives everyone an understanding of the burdens of market entry in both Berlin and the US. For example, we have more stringent data protection and governance requirements in Berlin than you have in the US. In this way, participants can find out what works well and what doesn’t, in both markets. The project is co-funded by funds from the European Union and the program Berlin Goes International.
What will this interaction look like?
We plan to hold two conferences, along with two speed dating events to promote partnerships between US-based startups and Germany-based startups. We will also be creating a guideline for digital participation projects in the US and Germany: What are the must-haves? What works, and what doesn’t work? This should strengthen the network of startup relationships, which we expect will outlive the time frame of the GETA International project itself. Furthermore, we want to find out which factors facilitate market access for startups in both countries.
What if someone wants to connect with DUCAH or the GETA International project?
Startups or anyone who’s interested in learning more or getting involved with DUCAH or the GETA International project can email me; I can be reached at annika.ulich@ducah.de.
To explore the DUCAH collaborative itself in more detail, visit its website.
#SpotlightOn