Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic: Learning experiences of an online Sino-Nordic doctoral summer school on aging

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of Higher Education, necessitating a rapid shift from in-person to remote teaching and learning. This study investigates the experiences of doctoral students in an online Sino-Nordic summer school on aging, implemented during the pandemic. A survey was conducted to collect and analyze data on participants’ experiences and perspectives. Findings reveal three thematic areas: doctoral students’ learning needs and preferences, contextual factors affecting their learning experiences, and their adaptations to online summer school. Student participants gained diverse insights and expanded their networks, but also faced challenges such as limited social interaction and scheduling conflicts. While some students embraced the online format, most preferred in-person participation as a supplementary or alternative approach in future summer schools. Recommendations for future improvements are creating an empowering learning environment, improving strategic planning and communication among organizing institutions, involving students and stakeholders in training design and implementation, maximizing the use of online features and tools, and optimizing time management.

the doctoral level.These models can be adapted to suit the needs and contexts of students in different countries.
While there have been opportunities for doctoral students to develop and share knowledge on aging-related issues internationally, Western societies and developed economies have been the primary focus of these efforts.To broaden the perspective, the Nordic Centre at Fudan University launched the first-ever Sino-Nordic doctoral summer school on Aging.Its goal was to deepen students' understanding of population aging in China and Nordic countries and inspire innovative methods for studying and tackling aging-related challenges in these societies.This pioneering summer school forms the context of our current study.It is a project to advance educational activities at the doctoral level in the participating countries in the future involving Chinese, Finnish and Swedish academic partners (five Finnish universities, one Chinese university and one Swedish university).The summer school was implemented between 2021 and 2022 virtually due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.The training involved national and international scholar lecturers, thematic group discussions among students and scholars and group assignments.In addition, the summer school was carried out under the framework of the Nordic Centre at Fudan University.
The Sino-Nordic summer school had several goals.First, the summer school aimed to foster international collaboration and interdisciplinary research by supporting the networking of doctoral students to find new initiatives and evidence for how to support a good life for older people and their families.Second, the goal was to facilitate the participants of the summer school to better understand the situation on the spot in all three countries involved in the project and to equip them with new approaches to study and solve aging-related challenges in their own countries as well.Third, the summer school aimed at supporting students to take advantage of best practices and new ideas emerging in both geographical areas to develop better-customized services for older people.To achieve those goals, a one-week summer school was originally planned to be held in Shanghai, China in the spring of 2020, but due to the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the implementation of the program had to be changed.The original program included various forms of activities, including lectures given by the participating lecturers and professors, students' presentations and small-group work, reflective discussions, panel discussions and visits to local facilities providing services to older people in Shanghai.The reformulated summer school program was provided virtually during 2021 and the program was implemented via eight online meetings, which included activities such as teachers' lectures, students' presentations, and group discussions.In addition to the online meetings, the students and teachers were divided into four thematic groups based on their preferences, which had their own virtual monthly meetings to discuss research topics under the given theme.The four principal themes of this training program include the digitalization of older adults' lives, the provision of services for older adults, social relationships and interactions of older adults, and societal responses to the process of aging.
Focusing on this Sino-Nordic summer school on aging, our study aims to understand how doctoral students experienced learning that took place online over a long period of time during the COVID-19 pandemic.Teachers' perspectives and insights are also considered to enhance our understanding of students' learning experiences.This study addresses the following specific research questions: (1) What are the perceived benefits of this summer school on aging among doctoral students?(2) How did doctoral students experience the contexts of learning, with a focus on the online arrangement and cross-national dimension of this summer school?(3) Whether and how did doctoral students adapt to changes in summer school given the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic?
We conducted a survey in which the experiences of 12 students and 7 teachers were collected from summer school participants.Thematic analysis was performed to identify and compare students' learning needs and preferences, experiences of learning and expectations toward future doctoral summer schools.The findings of this study are expected to inform and support others who would like to engage in similar efforts.

Research design and methods
This study used a case study approach.There are different definitions regarding case study methods and our study approach is based on Simons (2009) definition, which states that case study is an indepth exploration from multiple perspectives of the complexity and uniqueness of a particular project, policy, institution, program or system in a 'real life' context regardless of data collection methods that it employs.In our study, the case was a summer school program that was implemented during unique circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The survey was selected as a data collection method as it allowed easy access to research for all summer school participants regardless of their location.The case study approach has been seen to be effective in studying human affairs because it can provide descriptive outcomes on topics that can be complex involving many factors that could be intertwined (Stake, 2009, pp. 18-19).In this study, the complexities in implementing the summer school program were due to participants' different cultural and scientific backgrounds and who were at different stages of their academic careers.In addition, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the virtual implementation of the program was challenging as the participants lived in different time zones.The data collection was conducted by using a survey research method.Survey research is defined as "the collection of information from a sample of individuals through their responses to questions'' (Check & Schutt, 2011, p. 160).This type of research allows researchers to utilize various strategies to explore participants' responses to questions (Ponto, 2015).In this study, the survey includes both closed and open-ended questions, designed to delve into participants' experiences in the summer school that they had attended.
The survey was implemented by using an online questionnaire tool provided by one of the involved universities.The method was chosen as it was easily accessible for all participants regardless of their geographic location and time zone.Yet there are some issues relating to online surveys that researchers should consider, such as informed and sufficient consent, anonymity, data storage and security (O'Brien et al., 2014).For the current study, consent was asked from the participants on the first information page of the questionnaire which contained a link to the comprehensive data security and storage statements from the researchers.Ethical approval was waived by the ethical board of University of Eastern Finland which is responsible for conducting the survey.
Two questionnaires were prepared, one for the students and the other for the teachers (see Supplementary Materials 1 and 2).All authors collaboratively designed and iteratively refined the questionnaires.The content of the questionnaire was partly the same for both groups of participants.For example, a question regarding the online implementation of the program due to COVID-19 was included in both questionnaires as it was anticipated to affect participants' willingness to study or teach in summer school.The questionnaires also included some specific questions for either teachers or students as their roles in this summer school were different.The students' questionnaire included closed questions related to students' background (e.g., age, the status of studies, gender, etc.) and their overall satisfaction with the summer school, and open-ended questions as to the relevance of the summer school for students' research, the impact of online implementation on students' willingness to participate, the impact of English language in students' learning experiences, students' suggestions on content and arrangements of future summer school programs.The teachers' questionnaire also included closed questions related to the overall satisfaction with summer school and open-ended questions related to the relevance of summer school for teachers' research and education, experiences and challenges of the cross-cultural aspect of summer school, and experiences of online implementation of summer school.
The questionnaires were disseminated via the administrative coordinator of the summer school at Tampere University to students and teachers involved in the summer school in spring 2022.The purpose was to get students' reflective feedback on the content and implementation of the summer school.A scheduled reminder was sent to respondents, encouraging them to complete the survey 10 days after the initial survey request.However, as there were about five months after students' completion of summer school, the response rate of participants was not high.12 out of 29 (41%) students and 7 out of 13 (54%) teachers filled in the questionnaire.The response rate of students varies by country, specifically in China (33%), Finland (50%), Sweden (75%), and Norway (0%).Additionally, the survey received responses from all Swedish and Chinese teachers, whereas only 25% of the Finnish teachers participated in the survey.The responses still provide novel and diverse views from students and teachers regarding their experiences of this Sino-Nordic online summer school program during exceptional times.
The survey participants consist of twelve students (aged 26-55, five female, seven male) and seven teachers (five women, two men, aged 36-65).The participants were from different disciplines (e.g., special education, social and behavioral sciences, health science, technology science, and food studies).Most of them had about 50% of their doctoral studies done.Student participants were from China (4), Finland (5) and Sweden (3); teacher participants were from China (4), Finland (2) and Sweden (1).
Our study focuses on the responses to the open-ended questions to gain insights into students' learning experiences.
In addressing the open-ended questions, some participants provided shorter responses of 1-2 lines, while others shared thoughts in the form of a short paragraph.These variations did not significantly impact the overall findings of our study, as we were able to capture different perspectives and meaningful insights from our participants despite the limited text volume.The straightforward and informative nature of the responses conveyed the participants' points clearly.
We followed established guidelines of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) for coding and identifying themes; meanwhile, we utilized the quantitative data as a reference point to support and enhance our qualitative analysis, providing additional insights and validation to our findings.Specifically, the thematic analysis was conducted by three authors of this article (**, ** and **).The analysis involved reading through textual data, developing and modifying the codes with an open coding approach, and identifying and refining the themes within the data (for a presentation of codes and themes, see Supplementary Material 3).The analytical focus was students' experiences and perspectives of this summer school on aging.The analysis was enriched by supplemented data from teacher participants, particularly looking into the factors that may affect students' learning experiences.The analysis of data from teacher participants helped validate some of the results from the analysis of data from students.Given that one student answered the questionnaire for teachers mistakenly, the answers from this student were taken out from teachers' answers and incorporated into the data of students.During the coding process, the divergencies in data interpretation were discussed among the authors, which led to the agreement and a final decision on the formation of codes and themes.

Results
We identified three thematic areas concerning students' learning experiences of this online summer school on aging.Results are presented under the following themes.

Learning needs and preferences among doctoral students
When students responded to the question prompt 'How has the training been beneficial for your studies and/or work,' the majority indicated that they derived benefits from the summer school by gaining knowledge and developing networks in the field of aging.All student participants reported this summer school widened their knowledge in aging research (27.3% very much, 72.7% relatively much).In addition, the qualitative data indicated that students benefited from this summer school in different ways; for instance, some students wanted to learn new perspectives, knowledge, different contexts of aging and solutions to local challenges, which was also the intended learning outcome among teachers.Several students reported that they developed a network of scholars and students which might be leveraged after the summer school from a future-oriented perspective.One student reported that sharing students' own research is a vital way of contributing to the summer school and group discussions, suggesting an active way of learning and knowledge development (Excerpt 1).
Excerpt 1: Beneficial in building networking and sharing my topic and viewing various approaches to the topic.(Student Participant 6) The students' diverse stages in their doctoral studies could have impacted their individual experiences and outcomes in summer school.As shown in their responses, students in the early stage of the doctoral study tended to obtain ideas in developing doctoral research while students with more years of research were likely to gain more views on their topics.These findings further suggested that students' learning was relevant to their own research development.
When students were prompted to 'describe the relevance/irrelevance of research to other countries based on your learning experiences during the summer school,' the majority positioned their own research in an international context.Most respondents identified the relevance of their own research to other countries (54.6% very much and relatively much).Students recognized the different contexts of aging in Nordic countries and China as well as identified the significance of their research in the context of global aging (Excerpt 2).These findings highlight the value of sharing knowledge and good practices at international summer schools on aging.
Excerpt 2: I have realised the level of organisation we have digital support in my country and the complexity of organising such things in countries like China.I have gotten a good push to my confidence about the relevance of my research and that it is quite unique also on a global matter.(Student Participant 3) From the perspective of teachers, the summer school was relevant for their own research and teaching (4 out of 7 teachers) while it also widened their knowledge of aging research in different contexts (2 out of 7 teachers).Specifically, teachers developed new knowledge about specific topics from others including students and established connections with students from other countries.Given this mutual learning aspect, the summer school could potentially be a student-teacher collaborative learning platform (Excerpt 3).
Excerpt 3: The school was inspiring as we could hear presentations from different countries and topics.In addition, participants from different disciplines made the conversations very interesting.(Teacher Participant 5) When students responded to the question prompt 'What are your expectations toward the organizers of future summer schools,' they conveyed their desire to acquire further knowledge on specific topics (e.g., North-South perspectives, diversity in aging, well-being, participatory methods) and develop transferable skills (e.g., translating research into policy, translating laboratory research into clinical practice).Additionally, students expressed wishes for a wider range of teaching methods in future doctoral schools, including more focused, realistic, and pro-student support as well as collaborative activities (e.g., more student engagement, actual work on research plans and joint publications, and more focused and in-depth group discussions).

Contextual factors affecting learning experiences of doctoral students
Given that the summer school was planned and implemented by an international team with the active participation of students and teachers from various countries, the cross-country/culture aspect is an important element of this summer school.When students were prompted to envision future Sino-Nordic summer schools on Aging and consider 'the types of content that should be included in the summer school programs,' study participants recognized that doctoral summer schools could be a learning platform that covers various issues of aging in different geographic areas.Most mentioned their inspiring cross-cultural learning experiences.Some of the experiences were related to the presentations from or discussions with someone of another culture, paying attention to differences in, for example, welfare policy for aging populations, political decision-making on aging issues, digital equity for older people in technology development, and service provision for older people, the culture of peer support in different societies.
Excerpt 4: The presentations revealed how different situations can be in different countries regarding the life of older people and the services provided to them.In addition, it is interesting to hear what topics are actual in different countries when it comes to ageing and services provided to older people.Overall, cross-cultural learning was inspiring as it helped to see things more critically.(Teacher Participant 5) From the perspective of teachers, the cross-cultural aspect was reflected in different ways of learning among students from various cultures, as well as in diverse teaching approaches.In particular, when teachers were prompted to provide an example of a beneficial or challenging cross-cultural learning experience, some mentioned cultural differences in group discussions among students.For instance, Nordic students actively and freely discussed topics with a fundamental understanding and without right or wrong answers, whereas Chinese students preferred straightforward answers.
Excerpt 5: It takes time for people to know each other and speak up about their real intention, which is quite beautiful to notice.For instance, I need to figure out what the students think fundamentally from their point of view about the care service delivery process in China after I illustrate an example, however, students talk quite openly but no right or wrong comments, while most of the Chinese students will say right or wrong in my understanding.(Teacher Participant 4) When teachers were inquired about how they 'acknowledge the cross-cultural dimension of this summer school' in their roles, especially concerning culturally relevant teaching approaches, almost all teachers mentioned their strategies for addressing this cultural facet in their teaching approaches.Given that research scenarios and technical terms may be used differently among people of different cultures and disciplines, teachers reported that they worked on addressing potential misunderstandings resulting from the cross-cultural aspect of this summer school.Their teaching approaches include creating a comfortable atmosphere for free discussions, initiating and supporting culture-related discussions, clarifying and explaining the cultural contexts of aging and older persons, and giving extensive background information in easily understandable English.
Given that English was the official language of the summer school and used across all sessions, it is an integral part of the cross-national aspect.During summer school, doctoral students presented different levels of English proficiency in academic discussions.When students were asked to describe 'How did using the English language influence your learning experience,' some students from Chinese universities reported difficulties in using English to understand fast-speaking lectures and accurately express opinions and attentively participate in group discussions, while students from the Nordic universities, including students originally from China, didn't report significant difficulties in using English.However, using English in academic settings has much more implications for students' learning and professional growth.

Students' adaptations to the online summer school
Despite that the students applied for the summer school in 2019 that was about to take place in Shanghai in person, the summer school was transformed from a face-to-face intensive summer program to an online mode.Thus, the changes in the implementation of the summer school raised doubts among teachers on the online implementation, such as how the summer school could be implemented, what emerging issues of aging can be discussed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what support is needed for learning and networking in this given situation.
Students expressed varying abilities to adapt to the changes in summer school and had different expectations for future summer schools.When students provided their responses to the query 'How did the online participation affect your learning experience,' they highlighted that the online format resulted in a combination of positive and negative experiences.Some of the students benefited from online participation as it was accessible, and it was possible to save time from traveling between China and Nordic countries.Communication among summer school participants was considered to be efficient.However, many students expressed critical views concerning online implementation.For example, one of the students had a significant decrease in their motivation to virtually participate in the summer school, which was due to the heavy workload of this summer school and a declining participation rate of peer students.In addition, some students had problems with a stable Internet connection, felt uncomfortable speaking if they connected online at student dormitories, laboratories, or libraries, and had difficulty coping with different time zones.
Excerpt 7: Online participation is still not as good as face-to-face meetings but this mode of study in the long term is more intensive with continuous discussion and online sources.(Student Participant 5) Many of the teachers reported similar challenges associated with online implementation in their responses.Teacher-student interactions were not considered to be as effective as they would have been in classroom teaching, particularly, given a lack of social interaction with students in a digital format.Teachers believed that students may be more motivated to participate and learn if the summer school had taken place in Shanghai.Few teachers said they preferred teaching on-site while remote teaching seemed the only option to be taken in times of restrictive public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When students addressed the question prompt 'What are your expectations toward the organizers of future summer schools,' most comments revolved around the online implementation of the summer school.For instance, one student expected future organizers to encourage students and teachers to take part in the planning and implementation of summer schools, supported by other students ask for more efficient planning of online summer schools.It may be beneficial to have timely arrangements and adaptation to changing circumstances, create a student committee that assists planning and implementation, and offer opportunities for informal discussions.Creating an open learning environment to empower students' learning was emphasized by both students and teachers.Suggestions from students included promoting students to reflect on learning with the support of learning diaries, improving students' interactions across and within countries with the use of different tools, and facilitating faster and easier communication between organizing institutions.From the perspective of teachers, it was suggested that lectures and thematic group discussions should be organized more strategically in order to facilitate learning, address the needs of students from different disciplines, and support network and research development among participants.

Discussion and implications
As emphasized in previous studies on multidisciplinary and international doctoral schools in aging, some doctoral schools can be of significance in extending knowledge and broadening research perspectives (Barbabella et al., 2016;Löfqvist et al., 2021).The findings of the current study resonate with this point, given that both students and teachers gained new research perspectives and contacts across geographic and discipline areas and identified the relevance of their own research to other country contexts during summer school.In this regard, the summer school of inquiry has shown potential for supporting knowledge sharing and exchange whereby participants could possibly further improve their understanding of certain research topics in various contexts, develop new research ideas, and learn about different approaches or solutions to aging issues.
Moreover, it is worth noting that student participants favored further collaboration such as joint research projects, joint publications, student exchange, cross-disciplinary workshops and seminars, and social events during and even after summer school.Thus, future summer school organizers are encouraged to consider setting forth a goal of supporting students in initiating collaborations, and guiding students in diving into certain interested fields and more in-depth conversations.To support students' initiatives, it can be helpful to strengthen their ownership of summer schools and build their capacity of leading and catalyzing collaboration.As suggested by previous studies on summer schools, the learning and teaching environment could be more supportive to strengthen the capacity for collaboration in multiple ways.For instance, Trechsel et al. (2021) and Löfqvist et al. (2021) highlighted the importance of a safe space characterized by peer learning, openness, and trust, as students may experience a learning edge and critically evaluate their mind-sets on the research topic in such spaces.As suggested by El Badawi El Najjar et al. (2016), collaboration capacities could be enhanced by developing multiple communication systems and tools if the systems generate more gratification with the process and more balanced levels of participation.Additionally, social support systems and networks can also be affecting the overall happiness and satisfaction with one's doctoral studies and therefore engage students more in academia (Cornér, 2020).These experiences and suggestions could be further considered to facilitate conversations, partnerships and collaborations.
Other important findings of our study are around the cross-national dimension of learning and teaching on aging issues.The study identified various culturally responsive teaching approaches in cross-cultural learning.These approaches have the potential to enrich the knowledge of both students and teachers, particularly regarding local contexts and students' research topics.It is important to consider the influence of teachers' beliefs and thoughts on the summer school experience in further discussion.Given the significance of the cross-cultural aspect of this summer school, it is recommended that teachers increase their knowledge and awareness of cross-cultural aspects and adjust their teaching accordingly for future summer schools.It is also advised that teachers and organizers collaborate with doctoral students from diverse backgrounds to ensure the incorporation of culturally relevant knowledge, learning resources, and opportunities.To support and facilitate such initiatives, Higher Education institutions could consider designating funds to bolster international collaboration in doctoral education and offering culturally sensitive pedagogical training for educators.
In our study context where English served as the official language but not the native language for all participants, concerns arose regarding the use of English in knowledge development and sharing related to aging.Our findings show that limited English proficiency hindered certain students from fully benefiting from and actively participating in group discussions.The effectiveness of the online format in facilitating communication depended on various factors, including user-friendly digital tools and the availability of language interpretation devices and technologies.These findings underscore the importance of fostering a supportive communication environment for students from diverse backgrounds.As found in an earlier study, students without sufficient proficiency in the instructional language are less likely to engage in conceptual development, deep comprehension, critical thinking, and knowledge construction (Hu, 2019).Also, not all students have equal access to English-speaking environments or the resources to achieve English proficiency.To overcome potential language barriers, future summer schools could consider solutions such as providing language translation equipment or interpreters.Additionally, optimizing existing language devices and technologies, like embedded language interpretation tools in platforms like Zoom, can enhance communication and improve the teaching and learning processes in international settings.Furthermore, the use of English language may shape students' understanding of aging issues.English serves as the predominant language in global scholarship and the scientific community focused on aging.Most of the prominent journals in aging research are based in the US and UK and publish papers exclusively in English, despite a small body of scholarship available in other languages.From a critical perspective, this reliance on English may have limitations in conceptualizing and theorizing social phenomena in non-Anglophone contexts.However, there are valuable contributions from non-English terms and scientific traditions in aging research that enhance global knowledge development, such as the concept of harmonious aging inspired by the Yin-Yang philosophy (Liang & Luo, 2012).Introducing and explaining these culturally rooted concepts to international students is helpful for broadening perspectives and expanding horizons in the field of aging studies.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prompted a rapid shift to online education, our findings on the experiences of students and teachers in the implementation of online summer schools, shed light on several factors to be considered.Summer schools typically follow an intensive, face-to-face format within a short timeframe (Celi et al., 2014).However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about significant changes, impacting the implementation and experiences of doctoral training programs.Existing studies on doctoral students' experiences during the transition to online summer schools due to the pandemic have generally shown satisfaction with the program content (Cullinane et al., 2022;Pina Stranger et al., 2022).Our study also found that students adapted to the online format to some extent but faced challenges consistent with previous research (Adnan & Anwar, 2020;Pina Stranger et al., 2022).The sudden shift to an online format reduced students' motivation for participating in discussions, a finding echoed in prior studies (Murphy et al., 2013).From the teachers' perspective, the online implementation of summer schools introduced complexities in achieving goals, managing time, supervising students, and fostering social interactions.Considering the accelerated digital transformation in doctoral education and the potential benefits of online training, online summer schools could be considered as an alternative or supplementary approach in post-pandemic times.However, additional support should be provided to help participants navigate and adjust to the online aspect of summer school, such as optimizing internet infrastructure to replicate face-to-face experiences.Our findings also suggest the need of implementing close monitoring and feedback mechanisms in online summer schools.
Our study findings support the notion that international doctoral summer schools provide opportunities for doctoral students and experts from diverse social and cultural backgrounds to establish relationships and networks for research and scholarship.As found in our study, the training offered participants the chance to derive insights and perspectives from transnational and transpersonal experiences, which might shape their current projects to some extent.However, the motives, goals, implementation methods and effects of conducting international summer schools may vary among teachers, organizers and participating universities, warranting further exploration.In regard to the potential impacts of summer schools in academia, Zukas and Andersen (2011) commented that summer schools should foster a democratic academic environment that values collaboration, respectful critique, mutual learning, and inspiration, providing an alternative to traditional university cultures.Barbabella et al. (2016) noted that summer schools should contribute to bolstering the scientific capacity of academic institutions and the infrastructure of participating countries by training the next generation of scholars and professionals.Given the recognized expectations for international doctoral summer schools focusing on aging, there is a need for additional research to explore their impact and potential benefits in both the academic community and the broader society.
Our study contributes to filling some of the knowledge gaps in the field of doctoral summer schools on aging by examining doctoral students' learning experiences, particularly on the multicultural and online dimensions.However, our study is limited by a small sample of study participants; however, it still captured a diversity of perspectives and insights from study participants.Our findings could potentially contribute to improving the understanding of students' needs, challenges, and ways of online learning at similar summer schools, deciding pedagogical choices for enabling learning environments and informing the Higher Education Institution policy related to online doctoral training in the field of aging.This article also provides a preliminary reflective discussion that aims to start a conversation about students' experiences and how to support students of various backgrounds in learning, developing and co-producing knowledge not only in the Sino-Nordic context but also at the global level.

Excerpt 6 :
This training experience gives me chances to practise my oral English.Using non-native language urges me to keep pace with the speaker more carefully because it makes it impossible for me to understand the speech if I have my head in the clouds.(Student Participant 7)