Mac engAGE 2026 connects older adults with research and learning

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The McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA) welcomed older adults to campus September 18 for Mac engAGE, an annual event connecting community members with researchers, learning opportunities and the broader McMaster community.

Co-hosted with the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging, Mac engAGE included a public lecture on navigating online health information, a research exhibition featuring emerging aging technologies and guided tours across campus.

“Older adults don’t always get to come onto campus, meet researchers and ask questions about the work happening here,” said Allison Dubé, project manager at MIRA. “Mac engAGE creates that opportunity, while giving researchers a chance to hear what people think about their work and what questions they still have.”

The day began with a keynote talk, Be WISE Online: Practical Tools for Navigating Online Health Information, presented by Irina Ghilic. Ghilic is the program manager of EMPOWrD, one or MIRA’s major programs of research, and learning architect at the McMaster Digital Transformation Research Centre.

In her presentation, Ghilic shared practical strategies for checking online health information and identifying misinformation, including examples that challenged attendees to distinguish authentic content from AI-generated images and stories.

The session addressed a growing concern as AI makes it harder to tell whether online information is trustworthy. It also highlighted MIRA-supported work through the EMPOWrD program to help older adults feel more confident using digital tools.

Irina Ghilic stands behind a podium on stage for her keynote talk

An auditorium filled with an audience of older adults

At the Future of Aging Exhibition, McMaster researchers, trainees and industry partners shared their current research on transportation, mobility, rehabilitation, social connection, care and digital technology.

Attendees could test an AI companion designed to support aging at home, explore tools that measure movement before and after joint replacement, and try technologies designed to support social connection and an augmented reality rehabilitation platform. Exhibits also invited visitors to provide feedback on the research.

Older adults gather around a booth during the research fair

Student volunteers led groups of older adults to sites across McMaster, including some usually not open to the public. Participants visited the McMaster Museum of Art, Biology Greenhouse, Thode Makerspace, W.J. McCallion Planetarium, McMaster Nuclear Reactor, anthropology labs and LIVELab. A two-hour nature hike brought participants through McMaster’s nature trails at the north end of campus.

Members of the Dixon Hall Community Advisory Group travelled from Toronto to participate. This group is made up of older adults who advise the MIRA | Dixon Hall Centre, sharing their experiences and priorities to help guide the centre’s work.

Sachi O’Hoski, scientific operations manager for MIRA | Dixon Hall, says the conversations that come from Mac engAGE often continue after the event.

“Our Community Advisory Group members come to Mac engAGE ready to learn, ask questions and share what they know,” said O’Hoski. “They get to see the research happening at McMaster firsthand and take those conversations back to their own communities.”

Mac engAGE is one way MIRA connects older adults with research and creates opportunities for community perspectives to inform work on aging at McMaster.