Queen’s University Belfast & Dementia NI: 2025 Disruption Award Winner
Reimagining Dementia Education: A New Pathway Led by Lived Experience
This blog is the third in our three-part series spotlighting the winners of the 2025 Disruption Awards – our flagship programme to find and fund bold ideas that can change the future of dementia.
Spotlight: QUEEN’S uNIVERSITY belfast & Dementia NI
Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) is preparing to launch a new project: a taught university module in dementia, designed and delivered for people living with dementia. This module will sit within a wider MSc in Advanced Healthcare Practice and alongside this, they will also create a free course open to carers, people in social care, and anyone who wants to learn more.
The QUB team will work closely with a group of people living with dementia to co-produce a twelve-week postgraduate module.
They will design the curriculum
Help create teaching materials
Lead teaching sessions.
This accredited module will be aimed at healthcare professionals such as nurses forming part of the MSc in Advanced Healthcare Practice; equipping professionals with knowledge grounded not only in research and theory but also in lived experience.
WHAT MAKES IT DISRUPTIVE
In addition to this professional module, a free course which is accessible to all will be developed.
It will be designed for carers, people working in social care, family members, and members of the public.
It signals to others that dementia education should be shaped not just by professionals, but by those who know dementia best; lived experience is expertise.
This is incredibly important as dementia is so often talked about only in terms of decline or loss. This project shifts the focus to the strengths and contributions of those living with the condition.
Disruption, in the sense used by The Dementia Trust, means challenging assumptions and doing things differently. This project disrupts the way dementia education has traditionally worked. It moves away from a model where academics and clinicians alone define what is taught and instead, it hands leadership to people with dementia. They will not be side voices or case studies, but the authors and teachers of the course itself.
A Legacy Project
This is not the first time Queen’s University Belfast has been funded by The Dementia Trust. In 2018, support from the Trust enabled us to develop a dementia awareness serious game to raise awareness among the Northern Ireland public. That project was led by Dr Gary Mitchell under the guidance and mentorship of Professor Christine Brown Wilson, and it helped to build capacity and leadership in dementia research and education for Gary at the time. A young student intern on that project was Dr Steph Craig, who is now leading this new award. Today Gary, who has formally taken on Christine’s role, has supported Steph in preparing and leading this project, with Christine remaining involved as a valued mentor to both. This shows a story of succession planning and growth: from one generation of leadership to the next, and from one project to another.
“Part of our goal for this new award is not only to deliver innovative dementia education but also to continue building capacity for the future of dementia care.” - Dr Steph Craig
The difference this project will make will be seen across many groups. For healthcare professionals, this means a new kind of training that deepens their empathy and transforms their practice. For people with dementia, it offers the opportunity to lead, to teach, and to be recognised for their expertise. For carers and people in social care, the free course offers practical learning and reassurance. And for society, it offers a new way of thinking about dementia that is more inclusive, respectful, and imaginative. While rooted in the UK and Ireland, this model is already attracting interest from stakeholders in Europe. The project has the potential to set a standard for how lived experience can lead education, influencing approaches well beyond our borders.
“With support from the Dementia Trust, this project can be properly resourced meaning people with dementia can be paid for their time and expertise, workshops can be run, teaching materials created, and a launch event delivered that places people with dementia at the centre. But beyond the funding itself, the Trust’s support gives weight and recognition to the idea that lived experience is expertise.” - Dr Steph Craig
This project offers a chance to move from working for people with dementia to working with them. It means building integrity into teaching and ensuring lived experience is not just included but is at the heart of how we care for those with dementia.
Looking ahead, the professional module will become a permanent part of the MSc in Advanced Healthcare Practice at Queen’s University Belfast. The free course will remain open and inclusive, offering carers, families, and the wider public the chance to learn directly from people with dementia. Over time, this project will leave behind not only a new teaching module but also a legacy of confidence, leadership, and recognition for those with lived experience.
For the Dementia Trust, this project embodies what disruption should mean. It changes who teaches, who is heard, and who leads. It shows that people with dementia are not passive recipients of care but educators, innovators, and partners in change. The Trust believes this project can continue to disrupt the way dementia is seen and understood, and build a future where the voices of people with dementia lead the way.
ABOUT THE DISRUPTION AWARDS
The Dementia Trust created the Disruption Awards to back projects that do more than make small improvements – we look for ideas that shake things up. Our focus is on:
Fresh perspectives on everyday challenges of dementia
Co-creation with people who live the experience
Reaching overlooked communities who too often miss out
Sharing learning openly so good ideas travel fast
This year, we received 22 applications requesting over £400,000 in funding – more than eight times what we could award. Our Disruption Awards Panel, which included Professor Eddie Duncan, Dr Peter Murdoch, and our Advisor Sonia Mangan, carefully reviewed every submission on behalf of the Board.
“This year’s winners are more than great ideas — they are sparks of change. Each one has the potential to shift how we see dementia and how we support those living with it.”
— Prof Eddie Duncan, Vice Chair, The Dementia Trust
GET INVOLVED
The Disruption Awards are funded entirely through the generosity of our supporters. If you believe in backing bold ideas for dementia, here’s how you can help:
🔗 Read about all our winners: dementiatrust.org/disruption-awards/past-awards
💌 Sign up for updates: Hear how these projects progress and learn from their impact
💙 Donate or become a Friend: Help us fund even more breakthrough projects next year
