“When I talk about ageing research, it’s really more about people’s life course experiences. I’m interested in understanding how people travel towards old age.

“I want to know how we can create social conditions that enable all people in society to live a good life—whatever that means to them.”

Ági, a senior lecturer in Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Health, has a particular interest in the intersection between ageing and migration, and what defines ageing well for migrant communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The values, norms, and experiences of a migrant’s adopted country may vary greatly from those of their home country, and being able to negotiate this successfully, Ági says, is at the heart of ageing well for migrants.

Ági has a particularly strong understanding of the challenges migrants may face—she grew up in Hungary, and moved to Aotearoa in 2012. She moved here specifically to conduct her PhD in cross-cultural psychology under the supervision of Te Herenga Waka’s Professor Colleen Ward from the Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research.

When it came time to move into a postdoctoral researcher role, the options in Aotearoa were scarce—until Ági spotted a position focused on ageing at Massey University.

At that point, Ági’s research had been primarily focused on migration and culture—“I remember thinking, I don’t know anything about ageing!”—but she did have expertise in the longitudinal modelling with large data sets that was required for the role. She got the job, and it was there that she discovered her passion for ageing research.

She realised there was a huge gap in research into ageing well: there was almost nothing on migrant populations. She started thinking about how she could bring her passions for ageing and migration together, and in 2019, she received a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship to conduct research on the ageing experiences of migrant communities in Aotearoa.

Not long after, a senior lecturer position at Te Herenga Waka’s School of Health became available. It was, Ági says, a “beautiful full circle moment” to return here.

Though Ági now feels fully settled in Aotearoa, she found the move more of an adjustment than she expected.

“When I arrived, I realised it was quite different here from what I had been exposed to in Europe, both culturally and linguistically. I wasn’t used to the New Zealand accent—it just wasn’t something I’d ever been exposed to. I remember watching a lot of Shortland Street to get used to it.

“Culturally, there were some unexpected differences. In Hungary we don’t do a lot of small talk, so I had to practise. In the first year of my PhD, every time I went into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, I would think: Okay, I’m going to say something like, ‘Hmmm, it’s time for a coffee!’ or, ‘What a rainy day, it’s terrible!’”

Engaging in small talk is now so ingrained for Ági that she even tries it out on supermarket check-out operators when she goes back to Hungary—to reactions that are “surprised, but I think they appreciate it!”

Ági was aware, throughout her transition to life in Aotearoa, that she was living her research—after all, her PhD was on how identity changes when people move to a new country, and the strategies people use to negotiate this. It was interesting to work with people who were navigating a similar situation to her, Ági says, but she was also careful not to let her personal experiences dictate the direction of her work.

She is, however, interested in what her research can tell her about her own future, and the future of those around her.

“For me, the intersection of ageing and migration tells us so much more than what it means to grow old as a migrant. It tells us about our own futures living in a diverse society. As the world is becoming increasingly multicultural, I feel like it’s almost impossible not to think about how culture and diversity shapes our experiences and our lives.

“I want to make sure my work benefits the communities that I’m working with and is relevant for people in society. I hope that it will not only help shape policies in Aotearoa, but also help shape the future of coming generations.”