ISLAND Campus

Are you already a Campus participant or considering studying in 2026? If so, we have compiled some information you may find useful.

ISLAND Campus

We know that early-life education can reduce your risk of dementia, and we also know that participating in later-life education can build your cognitive resilience to brain ageing and reduce your dementia risk. Building on this, ISLAND Campus offers free university tuition to all ISLAND members.

To study in 2026, make sure you complete the October 2025 ISLAND surveys and express your interest at the end. If you are unsure, submit an EOI and we will invite you to the below webinar, so you can find out more information prior to signing up.


Results so far

The results of the 2020 intake of the Campus Study highlight the potential of later-life education to enhance cognitive reserve and reduce dementia risk, promoting healthier aging. Participants showed significant improvements in working memory and modifiable risk factors for dementia. The study also found that those with prior university education benefited the most, suggesting future interventions should target individuals with lower educational backgrounds. 

Here is a link to the full paper: Frontiers | ISLAND Campus: a fee-free formal university educational intervention in mid- to later-life to reduce modifiable risk factors for dementia and improve cognition


Upcoming Campus webinar

When: December 2025

Where: online (RSVP link to come)

What will be covered: We will discuss the research behind Campus, as well as the requirements and benefits of study.  We will also have a student advisor present on studying at university and the supports offered. There will be time for questions at the end.


2026 courses offered

  • Diploma of University Studies - specialisations include arts, business, education, engineering, health science, science, nursing foundation studies, paramedicine foundation studies,  psychology and social work). This is unit is perfect for those of you who are new to University.​


If you're enrolled in a different course at the University of Tasmania and would like to receive the Campus surveys, please email us with your name and student number so we can include you. While fee waivers are only available for the courses listed above, your participation would still make a valuable contribution to our research on education in later life.


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Where did Campus come from?

ISLAND's Campus research initiative is based upon a decade of research with the Wicking Dementia Centre’s Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project (THBP). The THBP is a long-term project, started in 2010, which investigated the potential of university-level education to reduce an individual’s risk of dementia. Recent results suggest that later-life education may protect against dementia, making the ISLAND Campus study an exciting endeavour!

Research indicates that engagement in early/mid-life education, career attainment and intellectually stimulating activities can reduce your risk of dementia. We know that the more you learn in early-life, the less risk of dementia you will have in later-life, but why is this the case? A growing body of research suggests the protective effect of education may be due to building your brain’s resilience to physical changes in brain ageing, a concept known as ‘cognitive reserve’. By taking part in intellectually stimulating activities, you are reinforcing your brain’s ability to cope with the biological changes that precede dementia. This theory suggests that taking part in education builds your cognitive reserve, thereby reducing your risk of dementia.

Wicking Dementia Centre’s THBP was established in 2010 to investigate whether this theory held true for later-life education. Researchers offered 500 Tasmanians aged 50-79 years the opportunity to enrol in subsidised university-level education at the University of Tasmania. All THBP participants were followed up every year, with comprehensive tests on their cognition, lifestyle, social, physical, well-being and medical status. Ten years later, Wicking researchers were interested in the cognitive function of those who did and didn’t choose to undertake university-level education. Results indicated that people who undertook later-life education had improved cognitive function compared to those that didn’t. From all the cognitive domains, participant’s verbal and language memory showed the greatest improvement. In this world-first study, participants that enrolled in university-level education experienced a cognitive benefit, suggesting that later-life education may enhance an individual’s cognitive reserve and therefore reduce their risk of dementia.