ITI World Symposium 2014 draws more than 4,200 participants

The International Team for Implantology (ITI), a leading academic organization dedicated to the promotion of evidence-based education and research in the field of implant dentistry, welcomed more than 4,200 participants from 84 countries to its global flagship event, the ITI World Symposium.

Held under the heading "Knowledge is key", the meeting took place in Geneva, Switzerland between April 24 and April 26, 2014.

After a brief excursion into outer space, presented by keynote speaker Claude Nicollier, Switzerland's first and only astronaut, the scientific program guided the audience back down to solid ground with a practically oriented offering of lectures, presentations and panel discussions. The latest scientific findings aligned to the ITI philosophy of evidence-based treatment served as the basis for all the presentations that came under the three main topics: "Digital implant dentistry", "Prevention and management of biological and technical complications" and "New approaches, challenges and limitations in esthetics".

The scientific program was supplemented by a half-day Pre-Symposium Corporate Forum presented by industry leaders Straumann, Morita and Geistlich as well as a research competition and an attractive social program that offered ample opportunity for networking and a chance to talk to key opinion leaders. An extensive industry exhibition with 50 exhibitors allowed participants the possibility to find out about the latest products related to their daily work.

"Our main theme 'Knowledge is key' underlines the importance the ITI assigns to evidence-based information for use in daily clinical practice," said Dr. Stephen Chen, Chair of the Scientific Program Committee. "This applies not just to the ITI World Symposium, but also very particularly to our new e-learning platform, the ITI Online Academy, which we were able to showcase during the meeting for the first time."

ITI Online Academy

The ITI World Symposium 2014 provided a tailor-made opportunity to present a preview of the soon-to-be launched ITI Online Academy – planned to be the most innovative and complete e-learning platform worldwide. With its user-oriented approach, the ITI Online Academy offers a broad and continuously expanding curriculum of learning modules designed for every level of expertise. It is supplemented by cases, videos and lectures as well as a wealth of free content, such as assessments geared to identifying individual strengths, weaknesses and gaps in knowledge.

"We are very proud of our new e-learning platform as we believe it goes further than any other offering currently available," commented Professor Dr. David Cochran, ITI President. "Not only does the curriculum cover implant dentistry in its entirety, but the system is also designed to adapt dynamically to the user and propose further learning pathways based on the gaps and weaknesses identified."

Twelve demo workstations were available to participants of the ITI World Symposium 2014 to test-drive the ITI Online Academy and provide valuable user feedback. The ITI Online Academy will be launched later this year. The next ITI World Symposium takes place in 2017.