by Prof. Irena Rektorová, EAN Education Committee Chair
Dear EAN Members, colleagues, and friends,
It is my pleasure to address you for the second time as EAN Education Committee Chair and to provide you with some updates on current EAN education activities.
As many of you are already aware, we are immensely proud to have launched the EAN Leadership Programme, which emphasises the EAN’s priority to invest in future leaders in neurology, and is aimed at aspiring leaders in neurology. I am delighted to say we received plenty of applications and are now looking forward to the kick-off event, which will take place on 30 June, one day prior to the EAN annual congress in Budapest. During its two-year course, the programme will give participants enough time for self-development, learning and applying new skills, as well as gaining valuable knowledge and insights from leadership experts and senior neurologists on important leadership topics in neurology. Participants will have the opportunity and time for networking, self-reflection, discussions and more.
Further to this new career development programme, we strongly encourage early career neurologists to enrol in the EAN Mentorship Programme. We would also like to invite senior neurologists interested in participating as mentors, to help guide and strengthen the next generation of neurologists by supporting, on an individual basis, the development of a mentee’s clinical and scientific skills. After the first year, the EAN Mentorship Task Force and Education Committee have reviewed the process and from 2023 on there will be one ‘matching deadline’: 15 September.
As in previous years a workshop is planned during the EAN annual congress, and we can only encourage all interested to watch the webcasts on developmental mentoring.
Find out more about our programme and register here.
We are proud to announce that the EAN has enlarged its portfolio of education events designed to enhance links to our National Neurological Societies Members. In addition to Regional Teaching Days (former EAN-Days) and the three-day Regional Teaching Courses, we are now offering three-hour Regional Teaching Sessions during national neurological society meetings. Find out more about this new initiative here.
The Regional Teaching Course in Sub-Saharan Africa is an important part of this range of events, and I am pleased to report that the EAN Task Force ‘Neurology and Africa’ and the African Academy of Neurology are working together on the next Regional Teaching Course, which will be held in Tanzania in autumn 2023. More details will be available soon here.
Another thriving success for the Education Department is our online e-learning platform eanCampus, which since its launch has attracted 4810 logged in users who have completed 1743 completed modules between them.
The eanCampus offers a plethora of content for all 29 EAN neurological topics at three levels of expertise, with the new content, podcasts, webinars, and masterclasses being constantly uploaded. In January, we also announce the User of the Month and User of the Year awards for eanCampus learners. Not only will the winners of these titles be recognised on social media, but the Users of the Month will each receive a 30% discount on registration for the following year’s EAN congress, and the User of the Year will receive EAN congress registration completely free of charge!
Also within the eanCampus, our podcast, eanCast, is bringing in growing numbers of listeners every Monday, covering new neurological topics every month, so make sure to tune in and join the expert moderators and guests in reviewing, discussing, and debating various neurological topics. Furthermore, make sure to look out for our updates on the Virtual Masterclasses, with four planned for spring 2023 and four for autumn.
As you already know, our Spring and Autumn Schools are back as in-person events. The Spring school will take place on 17 May 2023, in the beautiful hills surrounding Vienna. Seeing the record number of applicants proved once again the value of meeting in person and starting great networks of colleagues. The reviews are currently underway, and the grantees will be notified by the end of March.
We are heading to the seaside for the Autumn School, which will be held in Loutraki, Greece and dedicated to clinical neurologists in training who have not yet completed their residency/clinical speciality training. Applications will be open soon (1 April – 1 June) and our Greek speakers will try their best to bring patients to come and demonstrate symptoms in real-life case scenarios, which will give the participants hands-on learning experience.
For our most junior colleagues we offer the Student Teaser Fellowship. The applications are open until 31 March, and with this fellowship we hope to encourage and give the students the possibility to gain insight into neurology in general or in a specific neurology domain of interest and to immerse themselves in daily practice in neurology. The grant is worth €1000 and should cover a four-week stay to visit a neurological university unit.
Alongside this, there are two other fellowships directed towards more advanced neurology residents, with a minimum of two years’ experience: Clinical Fellowship and Research Fellowship.
Last but definitely not least, I can only encourage and wholeheartedly invite all of you to come and join us at the EAN Annual Congress in Budapest, where, besides a fantastic scientific programme, the Teaching Course Sub-Committee has prepared a very well balanced and highly educational programme with 53 sessions in six categories. With so many different opportunities, there should be an ideal format for everyone, from typical Teaching Courses (three hours) to hands-on courses in small groups (up to 60 people). At least 50% of those sessions cover parts of the ETRN (European Training Requirement in Neurology).
There is one highlight you should not miss at the congress: our own EAN Brain Challenge quiz, where two teams (one international, one local) battle over 16 interesting (and sometimes quite difficult) cases – with active audience participation.
I wish you all a lovely spring ahead, and I look forward to seeing many of you in Budapest!
Best wishes
Irena Rektorová
EAN Education Committee Chair
