The policy attention to research on ageing has grown considerably as a result of rapid population ageing and has resulted in an appreciation of the need for greater capacity building efforts in this area. A number of recent international capacity building initiatives have been established, such as the Australian Building Ageing Research Capacity (BARC) project and the UK's Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity (SPARC) programme. Understanding the PhD student's experience is important to inform capacity building initiatives, particularly students' motivations, supervision experiences, challenges in establishing career paths in ageing research and future intentions.

However, research into these areas is not well developed, with most studies focusing on the health and social care professions rather than on academic or research careers (e.g. Hughes & Heycox, 2004; Kane, 2004; Lee, Reuben & Ferrell 2005), on undergraduate degree students (e.g. Schiller Schigelone & Ingersoll-Dayton 2004; Fitzgerald et al 2003) or Masters students (e.g. Cummings & Galambos 2002, Lawrence et al 2002), and students' attitudes and interests, and intentions to work with older people (e.g. Menz, 2003; Lieff & Clarke, 2000). In addition, the research largely originates from the USA (e.g. Ewin, Watkins and Bowles, 2006; Kane, 2004; Schiller Schigelone & Ingersoll-Dayton, 2004) so caution has to be exercised in transferring any findings.

The Australian National Emerging Researchers in Ageing Study (NERAS) was undertaken with support from the Australian Research Council Research Network on Ageing Well. Its focus was on doctoral (PhD) students researching ageing with particular attention to issues of retention in the field of ageing research. A sample of 267 doctoral students in ageing was identified (current students in 2005 or recently graduated after 1st September 2004) from across the disciplines in 29 Australian universities. They were asked to participate in a web-based survey which explored attitudes to ageing, experiences of the PhD and support received, intention to remain in the field and career ambitions. The response rate was 60% (161).

In general, the PhD students had very positive attitudes to older people and most respondents (78%) had an interest in ageing or older people before they began researching in the field, although 22% did not. While an interest in ageing or older people was an important motivator to entering the field of ageing research (75.2%), it was not the only reason given. Respondents were also motivated to contribute to an under-researched area (80.1%). For some, these factors were less important, and they stated that it was 'opportunity/circumstance' (67.7%) that caused them to enter the field. Additional verbatim comments emphasised the importance of circumstances and the provision of opportunities: "I didn't consciously choose ageing as an area of research but am glad I did. . luckily for me, I got caught up with the tide".

Respondents received varying levels of support to develop their expertise in ageing. While a majority had one supervisor in the field (53%), and around one quarter had two (26%), 22% stated that neither of their main supervisors had a background in ageing research. Of concern is the fact that over a quarter (26%) of respondents did not feel that they received enough support to develop their expertise in ageing. Participants elaborated on this stating that they had been "left to go it alone" or that they had to "learn everything from scratch".

In an ideal world, 75% of respondents would like to stay in the field of ageing research post PhD. However, in reality only 57% actually intended to remain in the field. An actual intention to remain in the field was related to several factors including a pre-existing interest in ageing and older people, supervisory support, and other avenues of support such as conference attendance.

The disparity between the proportion of PhD students who desired to remain in the field, and those that actually intended to remain is of concern and suggests there are various factors constraining PhD students' preferences. While attitudes and interest are important factors, they are not prerequisites to entering the field of ageing research. Individuals may not have an interest in ageing or an intention to enter the field, yet accident or opportunity may still result in them becoming involved in this area.

The findings also suggest that emerging researchers do not necessarily receive the support they require to fully develop their expertise in ageing research. This is especially concerning considering that support was found to be an important factor in the retention of researchers in the field.

The findings offer some insights for future capacity building efforts. In particular they suggest that efforts should be directed at providing more career enhancing opportunities and increasing specialist support. Age will also need to be taken into account given that the percentage of students over the age of 40 years was much higher in his sample than the overall national PhD student profile.

(A full version of this paper will be published in the near future. Please check the Australasian Centre on Ageing website for details http://www.uq.edu.au/aca/ )

Cummings, S. M., & Galambos, C. (2002). Predictors of Graduate Social Work Students' Interest in Aging-Related Work. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 39(3), 77-94.

Ewin, H.H., Watkins, J.F. & Bowles, S.L. (2006). Gerontology Doctoral Training: The Value of Goals, Program Perceptions, and Prior Experience Among Students. Educational Gerontology, 32, 757-770.

Fitzgerald, J. T., Wray, L. A., Halter, J. B., Williams, B. C., & Supiano, M. A. (2003). Relating Medical Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experiences to an Interest in Geriatric Medicine. The Gerontologist, 43(6), 849-855.

Folts, W. E., Martin, C. A., & Friedsam, H. J. (1991). A Descriptive Study of Selected Student Characteristics: Twenty Years of Gerontological Education. Educational Gerontology, 17, 257-268.

Hughes, M., & Heycox, K. (2004). Social Work Student Attitudes Toward Older People. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 23(Supplement), A11.

Kane, M. N. (2004). Predictors for Future Work with Elders. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 42(3-4), 19-38.

Lawrence, A. R., Jarman-Rohde, L., Dunkle, R. E., Campbell, R., Bakalar, H., & Li, L. (2002). Student Pioneers and Educational Innovations: Attracting Students to Gerontology. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 391(2), 91-110.

Lee, M., Reuben, D. B., & Ferrell, B. A. (2005). Multidimensionsal Attitudes of Medical Residents and Geriatrics Fellows Toward Older People. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 53, 489-494.

Lieff, S. J., & Clarke, D. (2000). What factors contribute to Senior Psychiatry Residents' Interest in Geriatric Psychiatry? A Delphi Study. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 45, 912-916.

Menz, H. B. (2003). The Influence of Geriatrics Education on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Career Aspirations of Podiatric Medical Students. Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association, 93(2), 124-130.

Schiller Schigelone, A., & Ingersoll-Dayton, B. (2004). Some of my best friends are old: A qualitative Exploration of Medical Students' Interest in Geriatrics. Educational Gerontology, 30, 643-661.

As part of the wider Sociology programme I have taught undergraduate students Sociology of Old Age for about ten years at Exeter University. The module is an optional choice for students in their second or third year. I regularly have between twenty and thirty students on the module. Most of the students are women aged between 20 and 21 years who set out on the module with very little idea of what to expect. The key challenge of this module is therefore to engage their interest in the challenging and diverse nature of old age and later life: an experience that often feels very distant from their own social worlds.

An important aspect of the module is for students to link their own experiences to the wider perspectives taught. These days there are less mature students. But in the early years of the module there were more mature women returning to higher education who frequently drew on their own experiences either as carers for older people or who talked about their own life experiences. This added an important dimension to the class discussion. A large proportion of the younger students do however have some personal experiences to draw upon. Some discuss their 'frail' grandparents and others are volunteers with Community Action who, amongst other roles, support voluntary services for older people in the City. Some of the more interested students are working in private residential care homes in the locality.

Frequently these personal experiences promote an image of old age associated with frailty, dependency, and institutional care. I therefore spend a lot of time trying to challenge and explore these expectations and stereotypes. This enables students to explore and understand the diversity of older people's lives; the intersections between ageing with gender, ethnicity and social class; and for students to gain important insights into the social worlds of people in later life.

The module is divided into five sections:

• Age as a social and structural feature - exploring demography; basic concepts of age and ageing, such as age, generation, cohort, life course; and making links with sociological theory in the wider programme.
• Age as an historical and cultural feature - to explore a variety of historical and cross cultural comparisons that I use to reflect upon contemporary changes that have impacted on the experience of being 'old'.
• Age as a bodily experience - an exploration of gender, the sociology of the body and death.
• Old age as political economy - where I open up critical perspectives looking at ageism, power, politics, consumerism and globalization.
• Finally to policy - where I explore health, pensions, social care and engage in a debate about chronological age and the rationing of health care.

Interestingly it is the third section on bodily ageing which really seems to fire the student's imagination. This is because they link these issues directly to topics they have studied in the wider Sociology programme, such as, gender and feminist approaches. The younger women in particular appear to relate directly to the dilemmas of negotiating a socially presentable body. However, a widespread phobia about statistics and numbers can lead students to freeze up when looking at demographics as well as a more understandable lack of comprehension about pension issues. This is a shame because it is important to get beyond the simplistic population time-bomb rhetoric that is so dominant in the media.

I find clear benefits from teaching in the field in which I research, and the students respond to my own enthusiasm for research and later life. They usually give me pretty good end of year feedback and some even comment that it surprised them by turning out to be the best module they have done.