SSIF Award Introduction
Jean-Daniel Baki is the Secretary of the Board of Directors of Serono Symposia International Foundation.
We asked him about the new SSIF Award in biosciences:
Why is the SSIF Award such an important initiative for Serono Symposia International Foundation?
Medical education has never been more important than today so the SSIF Board of Directors feel that it is important to focus on the true core of medical education - the people who are doing excellent work in teaching and making sure that the medical profession receives the best possible continuing education.
For that reason the SSIF Board of Directors decided to establish this prestigious award that will recognize and reward excellence in medical education.
This year the award will honour excellence in education in neurology, and we are privileged to be working with the European Neurological Society. The award will be formally announced and opened at this year's ENS meeting in Rome, and the winner will receive his or her award at the ENS meeting in 2012.
What will the winner of the award receive?
We are trying to find an individual with wide-ranging talents and great potential to be involved in the future of medical education, so we have created three components to the award. First, the winner will receive a trophy, a beautiful object that they will be able to display as a constant reminder of the recognition they have received. Secondly, as a contribution to their ongoing work, they will receive a cash award of €10,000. And finally, they will become a member of the SSIF Advisory Committee.
Who is eligible to apply for the award and how will the candidates be assessed?
If I try to imagine the kind of person who will win this award, I think of someone who is young but already making a significant impact in medical education. They will be 35-50 years old and will already have been teaching as a lecturer or professor. They will be active at live educational events, where they may be organizing meetings and speaking or tutoring. They will also be sharing their academic work with a good track record of publications in journals and books. Most importantly, I see this person as forward looking and innovative: they will have been active in online courses and developing new approaches to continuing medical education.
When will the award be presented?
Applications can be made through this website between May 28th 2011 and February 20th 2012. The winner will be announced at ENS 2012 in Prague at a dedicated ceremony.
Will there be more awards in the future?
The Serono Symposia International Foundation Award will take place each year. The first award was for excellence in reproductive medicine, and this year's award recognizes achievements in neurology.
