EFP Alumni project gathers pace as executive committee approves future structure

The EFP Alumni project, the new network based around students and teachers at the 16 EFP accredited postgraduate programmes in periodontology, is gathering momentum.

The recent executive-committee meeting in Frankfurt (October 13 and 14) approved a five-member board structure for EFP Alumni and appointed Filippo Graziani, elected board member, as official co-ordinator.

The board that manages EFP Alumni will be formally constituted at EuroPerio9 in Amsterdam in June 2018.

As well as Prof Graziani, who will be co-ordinator until EuroPerio10 in Copenhagen in 2021, the board will include the chair of the postgraduate committee (Moshe Goldstein) and the “second year” elected member of the executive committee (who will be Xavier Struillou by the time of EuroPerio9).

The final two members will be graduates of the accredited programmes who will be chosen at elections held during the First EFP Alumni Symposium which takes place on the opening day (June 20). They will hold office for three years, until EuroPerio10.

In addition to graduates of the accredited programmes, membership of EFP Alumni is open to past and present members of faculty at these programmes, and members of the current or a previous EFP executive committee.

Prof Graziani explained that it made sense to involve the elected member of the executive committee during his or her second year: “The second year is the ‘jobless’ year. In the first year as elected member, you are a member of every single committee, and in the third year you are president-elect, but in the second year you don’t really do much.”

Already 40% of people eligible to join EFP Alumni have registered.

Looking ahead, a big step forward has been taken by the recent creation of a database of current students on the accredited programmes. This means that once these students pass the EFP-accredited exams and graduate, their names and details can be transferred automatically to the register of EFP Alumni.

Perio Talks deadline

The first big event organised for EFP Alumni is the “Perio Talks” session and First EFP Alumni Seminar at EuroPerio9.

Perio Talks involves a series of short talks, demonstrations, and performances (of 10 to 12 minutes) about what has inspired the speakers’ professional careers, such as a training programme, a research project, a patient case, a conference, a specific technique, or any other brilliant idea that inspired their life.

All current students, former students, and members of faculty at EFP-accredited programmes can apply to be a Perio Talks speaker.

Those who would like to speak in the Perio Talks session are reminded that the deadline for online applications is Wednesday, November 15. Full details are available at the Perio Talks section of the EuroPerio9 area of the EFP website.