AGE-WELL’s 9th Annual EPIC Summer Institute
Co-Creating Possibilities: Transportation & Mobility for Urban Older Adults
Toronto, ON | June 22 – 26, 2026
Applications will only be accepted through Forum
Canada’s population is aging rapidly, and the majority of older adults are living in urban environments. While cities offer density, services, and social opportunities, they also present complex transportation and mobility challenges. For many older adults, the ability to move safely, affordably, and confidently through their communities determines whether they can access healthcare, groceries, cultural activities, social networks, and essential services.
Mobility is more than transportation – it is independence, participation, and dignity.
Urban older adults face barriers including gaps in transit accessibility, poorly designed pedestrian infrastructure, traffic safety risks, limited first- and last-mile options, digital divides in app-based mobility services, and inequities affecting low-income, newcomer, and mobility-impaired populations. At the same time, rapid technological change – from smart transit systems to on-demand mobility platforms and connected infrastructure – creates new opportunities to design age-inclusive urban mobility ecosystems.
The 2026 AGE-WELL Summer Institute will focus on co-creating innovative solutions to support safe, equitable, and technology-enabled transportation and mobility for older adults living in cities.
#SI2026 participants will work in interdisciplinary groups alongside key stakeholders – such as older adults, caregivers, policymakers, and community organizations – to co-design practical and scalable solutions (technologies, technology-enabled services, and related policies) that enhance mobility and promote aging well in urban communities.
The 2026 AGE-WELL Summer Institute will take place in Toronto, Ontario (June 22–26, 2026).
Learning Goals
The AGE-WELL Summer Institute Co-Creating Possibilities: Transportation and Mobility for Urban Older Adults is an intensive, one week project-based learning experience. Multidisciplinary teams will tackle specific problem areas identified by researchers and stakeholders as a pressing concern where technology innovation could make a real difference. Teams will work through the design process from problem definition to brainstorming solutions, developing business models and implementation plans, to successfully pitching their projects.
The summer institute is aimed at building AGE-WELL trainee capacity to:
- Face the challenges of working in transdisciplinary teams;
- Engage with stakeholders to identify problems and develop solutions in the identified space;
- Design practical and innovative solutions (technologies and related policies or services) that have the potential to make a real-world impact;
- Explore non-traditional academic knowledge mobilization opportunities such as commercialization, policy formulation etc.;
- Communicate project potential in a persuasive and engaging manner.
Expected Outcomes
#epicSI2026 is, foremost, a learning experience. By the end of the week, each participant will have actively practiced a myriad of skills required to successfully co-create a meaningful solution to a real-world problem – from stakeholder engagement to prototyping and market research to business model plans. Throughout the week, teams will work together to design a slide deck and 5 minute pitch presentation. On Friday, teams will pitch their solutions for a chance to win cash prizes and additional in-kind support to continue developing the solution.
Eligibility
Applicants must be current AGE-WELL network HQP or EPIC-AT Fellows in good standing (e.g. have completed reporting requirements, returned all signed documents etc.) who have not attended a previous AGE-WELL Summer Institute.
Preference will be given to AGE-WELL HQP who have made measurable progress towards completing, or have completed, the Innovators of Tomorrow Certificate Program and to EPIC-AT Fellows who are on track to complete their courses.
AGE-WELL and/or EPIC-AT will cover the cost of economy travel, breakfasts and lunches for successful applicants. Accommodation will also be covered for those who are not based in the Greater Toronto Area. Successful applicants requiring international flights will be asked to cover the cost of their travel to/from Pearson International Airport.
Application Deadline: April 13, 2026 (via Forum)
Contact: training@agewell-nce.ca
Acknowledgements
We thank MIRA | Dixon Hall, the Faculty of Information (iSchool), Department of Geography and Planning, and the School of Cities at the University of Toronto, MaRs, and Parachute for their support and partnership.
Read about the 2025 AGE-WELL EPIC Summer Institute here.