Dear EAN Members, colleagues, and friends,
It is a great pleasure for me to introduce myself to you as the Chair of the EAN Education Committee. I have had a very rewarding first eight months in the post and am happy to give you an overview of the EAN’s current range of educational opportunities.
In January, we were delighted to be able to extend access to most eanCampus content to all EAN Associate Members (members of national neurological societies who are institutional members of the EAN). This step underlines the EAN’s constant effort to make neurology education more accessible, inclusive, and engaging for all..
Online learning is a crucial part of what we offer, and we are very proud to host more than 2,000 pieces of peer-reviewed content, from congress webcasts, to interactive modules and cases, capstone exams, and guidelines, as well as the podcast eanCast: Weekly Neurology on the eanCampus. Live events such as webinars and masterclasses are held on a regular basis, providing insights into dedicated topics and opportunities to interact with the faculty.
We have many other popular educational programmes, and I would like to highlight the learning opportunities we offer at every stage of a neurologist’s career, from student to mid-career neurologists – you are the main target of our learning campus – and beyond. In line with our education motto “We provide the path – you make the move”, I invite you to seek out what is the most interesting to you, or your peers.
To enhance educational and intercultural exchange, we offer three types of fellowship grants for every stage of learning and various timeframes – with the help of more than 90 participating neurology departments and more than 500 mentors enrolled in our list of approved host departments. Amongst these grants, the Research Fellowship allows up to 12 months mobility dedicated to research for those who are willing to engage in an academic career.
Our educational schools in spring and autumn provide participants with three days of dedicated learning topics in attractive locations with extensive time to learn and interact with senior professionals and each other.
For our national neurological member societies we offer the chance to apply for support in organising various types of regional events, from sessions at national annual congresses to standalone three-day courses. We provide not only financial support, but also administrative expertise, pre-defined documents, and templates. These events offer a fantastic way to bring together neurologist at all levels of expertise to learn and network in their local surroundings.
Following the call of our Residents and Research fellow section (RRFS), career development is a big agenda point and the EAN made several efforts to fulfil this request by launching dedicated mentorship, leadership, and advocacy programmes.
We strongly encourage early-career neurologists – as well as senior neurologists interested in participating as mentors – to sign up for the EAN Mentorship Programme, now in its fourth year, and we are happy to announce that mentees enrolled in the current programme will also receive free EAN Congress registration for the chance to meet up with their mentors onsite and attend the workshop. New welcome webinars and documents to facilitate progress have already proven to be of great value to the matched pairs. Anyone interested should check out our mentorship workshop during the EAN annual congress and learn more by reading the roadmap for mentees or mentors.
The first round of the two-year EAN Leadership Programme, which offers a nice balance between online modules and peer group meetings, will end at the forthcoming congress, and since this programme has proved to be a great hit, the next round will start immediately afterwards.
On a similar note, the EAN Advocacy Training for Neurology and Brain Health is also about to start its second round, following a highly successful first iteration in 2024.
We are already looking closely at the topic of integration of artificial intelligence into clinical neurology. The EAN has established a dedicated Task Force to find the best ways to handle AI, embrace its opportunities, and spot pitfalls that could arise. This taskforce is already active. We will keep you posted on further developments.
Last but certainly not least, the EAN Congress is a crucial brick in our educational wall, and I am greatly looking forward to our upcoming congress in Helsinki in June 2025. The Teaching Course sub-Committee strives every year for a perfect balance of topics across our broad range of session types, from three-hour teaching courses to hands-on courses. The selection of sessions and faculty is always guided by the European Training Requirements for Neurology (ETRN) containing a core curriculum for European residents in adult neurology, co-created by the UEMS-Section of Neurology and the EAN. The ETRN also provides the basis for the annual European Board of Neurology Exam, which will next take place in May.
As you can see from this rundown of educational activities, we have a wide variety on offer. To explore them in detail, please visit the LEARN section of EAN.org, and if you have any questions or would like to meet the team behind the scenes, stop by the EAN LEARN booth at EAN 2025 for a chat!
Please also look out for the next edition of our quarterly education newsletter EAN Education Voice in April, which compiles all the news from the last three months, plus important upcoming deadlines and announcements in the education sector.
In the meantime, our education committees will continue to increase the accessibility of the opportunities and benefits we offer, reach out to students and mid-career neurologists, and try to spark interest and contribute to the improvement of medical training for neurologists in the field we dedicate our daily work to.
I wish you all a glorious spring ahead, and I look forward to seeing many of you in Helsinki!
Best regards
Nathalie Nasr
EAN Education Committee Chair
