The 29th Annual EAU Congress: Striking a balance

Preparations for the 29th Annual EAU Congress are at full speed, and the scientific programme is taking a clear shape as more and more speakers are confirming their participation. Abstract submission is closing today and the Scientific Congress Office and a large group of abstract reviewers will be making a gigantic effort to select the highest quality body of research to support the foundation of this leading event.

For many years, the EAU Congress has served as an all-round CME opportunity, but it is now actively taking the lead in the field of science communication, education and cooperation. It is an all-but linear event, and its many components make the congress a rich and high-value experience for all its participants – organisers, faculty, participants, as well as industry representatives and media.

Undoubtedly, science, being the key component of this experience, reserves the most attention from the EAU and its members.

“The main challenge is to have a balanced programme with all the relevant news for office urologists, clinicians, researchers - both medical and non-medical - as well as nurses and other non-medical professionals,” says Prof. Arnulf Stenzl, Chairman of the EAU Scientific Congress Office.

“This year, our aim is also to include more presentations from non-urological medical professionals in order to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and understanding.”

This approach meets today’s expectations of congress delegates, who are increasingly eager to acquire knowledge, which is applicable in the collaborative setting of their clinical practice.

“I expect a multidisciplinary meeting that can improve my understanding of the very complex disease process in order to improve its treatment – for me personally, it is the field of prostate cancer,” said Dr. M. Van Hemelrijck, who is based in the UK, and is one of the first delegates to register for the upcoming EAU Congress.

Congress organisers expect over 13,000 participants for the 2014 edition of this annual event.

“I appreciate a diverse approach that shows prostate cancer research from the aspects of cell biology, immunology, epidemiology, pathology, and patient care,” Van Hemelrijck explained.

The scientific programme will be organised in the traditional manner, with plenary and thematic sessions highlighting the most relevant research and discussions in the field of urology. Section Meetings will focus on highly specialist knowledge, whereas poster sessions will bring out the latest international research in the field.

“Our plenary and thematic sessions are interesting to a broad audience, but we make sure to pick out a very specific issue and develop it from various angles,” stressed Prof. Stenzl. “Our first plenary session deals, for example, with andrology in healthy ageing, which would include discussions on the current recommendations in male infertility, the impact of future demographic changes on urology, as well as on the challenges of preserving sexual function.”