The increase in longevity during the 21st century is a challenge for our current society. In recent years there has been growing concern among politicians, practitioners and theorists for analyzing the consequences of the aging population and, especially, how it impacts on both public and private organizations. Demographic changes, along with the tendency in state policies to delay the retirement age, are forcing organizations to rethink their career plans and ensure not only coexistence but, above all, knowledge transfer among older workers and the younger generations. Not surprisingly, one of the European Union priorities, consistent with the plan proposed in 2002 by the United Nations to achieve a society for all ages, is to promote collaborative learning between different generations.
University institutions do not escape this situation and represent a case of special study interest since the profound changes that have been taking place in the universities in recent decades have modified the context and the references of their staff, generating new dynamics and new challenges. In this context, statistics show on the one hand a clear trend towards the aging of teaching staff (PDI) and, on the other, a slow but permanent renewal of its staff. Both generations have different qualities, competencies and cultural references, although the promotion of collaboration and learning, in this intergenerational case, among all members of the organization can promote significant synergies and different levels of personal, group and organizational development.
The present project tries to combine research and innovation, so we propose to analyze intergenerational learning (IGL) processes on the one hand among university teachers and, on the other hand, to validate an IGL model among teaching staff that contributes to organizational learning and development.
The first general objective is approached, under a multiple case study design, from a sequential mixed methodology, combining a first quantitative phase, with a second phase that contemplates quantitative and qualitative strategies. The second general objective is posed from a qualitative perspective. Considering the link among IGL processes and university innovation and quality, cases are selected considering their presence in the main university rankings, as a usual indicator of the quality of these institutions. Ten public universities present in the first quartile of 8 international rankings are selected.
The results obtained must not only allow a deeper understanding of the development of intergenerational learning in our universities, as well as their link to informal, organizational and knowledge management, but also provide guidance and tools that facilitate taking decisions and allow an effective development of intergenerational learning proposals in universities, contributing desirably, to an improvement in their functioning and, ultimately, to an increase in the quality of our higher education system.
