7 minute read
CHENNAI VISION The long-awaited inaugural international conference delivers
From left: Alastair Gibson, Phil Taylor, Rowan Parks, Michael Griffin, Pala Rajesh, Clare McNaught, Sudha Seshayyan, Claire Edwards, Amanda McCabe, Anna Paisley and Rekha Rajesh at the conference
Chennai vision
Sai Krishna Vittal and Pala Rajesh provide a flavour of RCSEd’s much-anticipated international gathering
he first ever
TInternational Conference of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh – Beyond COVID-19: Impact & Innovation – finally took place in Chennai, India, after an agonising wait of two years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The idea of organising an international conference of this magnitude is mind-boggling, and the credit for this vision should go to our Immediate Past President, Michael Griffin, and chief architect of the conference, Immediate Past Vice-President Pala Rajesh.
They were supported by our new President, Professor Rowan Parks (then Vice-President), and the entire College Council. Their vision was transformed into reality by a cavalry of College staff, headed by Tony Oxford, CEO; Michael Stitt, Director of Development and Partnerships; Scott Mitchell, Managing Director of Surgeons Quarter; Jan Cutting, Director of Membership, Marketing and Communications; and the driving force behind it all, Mariette practice in remote and rural settings. These few days provided an ideal environment for global networking, making new friends, and reestablishing and renewing links after the pandemic.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE The conference was inaugurated on 6 October by Mike Griffin with the lighting of a kuthuvilaku – a traditional Indian lamp – in the presence of Pala Rajesh, Rowan Parks and College Council members, along with the Vice-Chancellor of the Tamilnadu Dr. MGR Medical University, Professor Sudha Seshayyan.
This was followed by three days of fantastic plenary sessions and exciting parallel specialty sessions. Simultaneously, there were three days of symposia and a surgical skills course held at the premises of Tamilnadu Dr. MGR Medical University for surgical trainees.
Sai Krishna Vittal Consultant Endocrine Surgeon, Chennai; Convener of MRCS Exams, Chennai
Pala Rajesh Immediate Past Vice-President RCSEd Naud-Betteridge, Head of International Engagement, who served as the engine for the event.
The spectrum of surgical and dental specialties was highlighted by globally renowned leaders in surgery and dentistry in this academic conclave. We couldn’t have asked for a better world-class venue and facilities than the ITC Grand Chola hotel in Chennai.
This conference provided a platform not only to showcase academic excellence and futuristic innovations, but also surgical
Anna Paisley, Clare McNaught, Claire Edwards and Amanda McCabe don saris
and renewing links ''
Pala Rajesh delivers a speech at the Chennai 2022 Conference
On the first evening it was a privilege to witness the piano recital of world-renowned pianist Lydian Nadhaswaram with his sister, Varshini Nadhaswaram, on vocals and flute. It was an out-of-this-world experience to have been part of the audience.
It was also the first time that a College diploma ceremony was held in India – many new Members and Fellows received their diplomas on 8 October. The entire ceremony was executed to perfection by Head of Membership, Verity Hancock, and Membership Engagement Manager, Gillian Brymer, and their teams.
The diploma ceremony was followed by a gala dinner, where the President and both VicePresidents spoke and prizes were awarded to the best posters and presentations. The gastronomic delights of the dinner served us the globe on a plate and our tastebuds were in ecstasy.
The icing on the cake was music from Chennai band Roxygen, who provided a fitting finale to this exciting conference. One can only wish we had these academic extravaganzas and College engagements more often.
Hands across the water
PALA RAJESH
When I was appointed RCSEd Vice-President it was one of the proudest moments of my career. My remit was International and at the very first strategy session of my tenure I laid out my vision for the College’s international activity.
I wanted the College to reach out further and grow its membership overseas. Our office in Kuala Lumpur was in its early stages of development – my strategy was to use the office as a stepping stone to grow awareness and membership of the College across Southeast Asia.
To see the vision come to life we had to be there. The RCSEd is the most respected College in Southeast Asia. Edinburgh was the seat of medical learning for over 500 years and we have made our mark. We had to reach out and welcome our fellow surgeons and dentists overseas to our friendly College. DINNER, DANCING AND DIPLOMAS
FOCUS ON INNOVATION
My first ambition was to hold a multi-disciplinary conference in the seat of medical education in India and my home city of Chennai. I planned it for October 2020, but COVID-19 stopped us in our tracks. We postponed more than once, but finally organised it to take place on 6–8 October 2022. We pulled our top team together, as Sai has mentioned, and we set to work.
Michael, Scott, Mariette and I sourced the venue – the Grand Chola Hotel – and met with potential sponsors and partners in the city. The subject was set: Beyond COVID-19: Impact & Innovation. Mariette ably brought together the programme and set it all in motion. The team worked with a fabulous event company in Chennai to bring our ideas to life.
It was an amazing achievement and a huge success. My aim was to provide a unique opportunity for us to reflect and develop our thinking for a very different future than the one we expected to face in early 2020.
While we grappled with how to deliver the same quality of service during the pandemic, technology and its ability to support us came into sharp focus.
For me, the conference was a way of exploring how the rise of these new technologies have changed the way we work and created a lasting impact on the provision of healthcare.
We gathered together over 100 global leaders in surgery from all over the world – Argentina, the US, the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malta and many more countries – and, of course, from across India. We welcomed 700 delegates over three days and around 60 students from the
nearby Tamil Nadu University. More than 150 people presented posters and abstracts. The conference was a huge success. The event looked spectacular with professional branding and backdrops. We even had our own media partners in Medgate and visits from The Times of India and The Hindu. We began the conference with the first ever screening of our College song and video. Each evening featured entertainment. Lydian Nadhaswaram, mentioned earlier, is a pianist who won World’s Got Talent competition some years ago. We were lucky to hear him and his sister Varshini Nadhaswaram perform. This was made possible by my longest friend from medical school, Kalyan Subrahmanyam, and his wife, Shoba, with the help of another friend, Imthiaz Pasha. On the last night we had our gala dinner, after which Roxygen had us dancing. It was a truly inspiring evening where we felt like a family, connected with our fellow Members in India and from around the world. After two years of not being able to travel or meet together, this was hugely important. We also held our first ever diploma ceremony in India, welcoming over 200 attendees and 11 special guests who received their International Medal, Ad Hominem and It was an amazing eight Fellowships without examination. The event felt achievement and a very much like the diploma ceremonies we hold in Edinburgh. The most important aspect of the whole conference was the ability, huge succes '' after all these years of lockdown, to network, share ideas and welcome new friends, including 155 new Affiliate members, who were all excited to be part of the College. The conference was a very important first step in the College reaching out to the rest of the world.
