International School of Neurological Sciences - S. Servolo - Benvenuti

The idea of an Epilepsy Summer Course was conceived in 2001 and was immediately supported by several friends attending an Epilepsy Conference in Venice, Italy. A founding committee composed by Giuliano Avanzini, Marco de Curtis, Francesco Paladin, Yehezkel Ben Ari, Pete Engel, Uwe Heinemann, Istvan Mody, Nico Moshé, Tim Pedley, and Peter Wolf met in Venice in the same year to design a strategy, under the patronage of the International School of Neurological Sciences in Venice (ISNV), affiliated to the Venice International University. The organizers were concerned that there were not enough next generation basic and clinical researchers entering the field of epilepsy. To provide a forum in which these students and postgraduate trainees received a solid introduction to epilepsy and epilepsy research, the founding committee developed a general plan for training courses primarily aimed at young researchers and clinicians with an established interest in epileptology. The general outline included formal lectures, tutorials, practical sessions, journal clubs and special interactive lectures aimed at developing a link between clinical and basic epileptology. The most innovative idea was to ask groups of students to develop, with the assistance of senior tutors, a research project that was presented evaluated in a friendly competition at the end of the course.