EUSP’s knowledge exchange during the pandemic & after

Prof. Vincenzo Mirone Chairman EUSP Napels (IT)

mirone@unina.it

Prof. Axel Merseburger Chairman Elect EUSP Lübeck (DE)

axel.merseburger@ uksh.de

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic imposed restrictions on our daily lives. However, it did not dissuade the pursuit for learning. We at the European Urological Scholarship Programme (EUSP) recognise that stimulating clinical research and skills development during this time is crucial. Learning and scientific exchange should not come to a halt but we’d rather use these challenging times as a catalyst to equip young urologists with new and improved knowledge for better patient care and clinical practice.

Since the majority of international urological events are held virtually this year, face-to-face deliberations and comprehensive coverage of highly-specific topics are put on hold (e.g. discussions after a poster session). Thanks to the newly-adapted EUSP scholarship programmes, the personal interaction will continue and important topics not usually covered in Plenary Sessions will still be covered in-depth.

Newly-adapted EUSP programmes The EUSP recently redesigned its two scholarship programmes Clinical Visit and 1-Year Scholarship in order for young urologists to still refine their skills in the time of the pandemic, this time, at leading certified host centres in their own countries.

• The redesigned Clinical Visit programme will offer scholars observership and opportunities to finetune their skills under the guidance of experts at certified local host centres. The duration of this programme is from six weeks to three months.

• For the 1-year Scholarship, the EUSP scholars will search for and contact local host centres where they can set up basic research projects. In the future when the number of host centres further increases, the EUSP plans to establish a platform where host centres and the EUSP can publish upcoming projects. Interested scholars can then choose which projects they would like to participate in.

For more information on the requirements and how to apply for the scholarship programmes, please visit https://uroweb.org/education/scholarship/how-toapply/.

Certified EUSP host centres In order to guarantee the highest educational level, EUSP host centres need to meet a certain number of criteria. Thanks to the Certification Programme of EUSP host centres, the certification process for training centres hosting the scholarship programmes is streamlined.

At present, there are 56 outstanding European institutions that are certified EUSP host centres (please refer to the list found on this page). Prof. Merseburger’s institution, the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck (UKSH), is one of them.

UKSH is generally focused on understanding urologic cancer including prostate cancer and performing clinical work from localised treatment to clinical trials in advanced disease. Last year, the UKSH co-authored and published a paper for the New England Journal of Medicine and their paper on advanced metastatic prostate cancer was recently accepted by the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Having this profile is an ideal basis for the Department of Urology at the University of Lübeck to welcome and accommodate EUSP scholars in the future.

The newly-certified host centres also include the distinguished institutions General University Hospital of Patras in Patras, Greece and the Institut PaoliCalmettes in Marseille, France.

Company Specialty

Medical University of Vienna Medical University of Vienna Medical University of Vienna Medical University of Vienna OLV Ziekenhuis Aalst-Asse-Ninove OLV Ziekenhuis Aalst-Asse-Ninove OLV Ziekenhuis Aalst-Asse-Ninove OLV Ziekenhuis Aalst-Asse-Ninove OLV Ziekenhuis Aalst-Asse-Ninove Stone Disease Prostate Cancer Renal Cancer Urothelial Cancer Female urology and incontinence BPH Prostate Cancer Renal Cancer Urothelial Cancer

KU Leuven KU Leuven KU Leuven Neuro-urology Female urology and incontinence Prostate Cancer

KU Leuven Institut Paoli-Calmettes Institut Paoli-Calmettes Institut Paoli-Calmettes University Hospital La Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital La Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital La Pitié-Salpêtrière Eberhard-Karls-University Heinrich-Heine-University Heinrich-Heine-University Heinrich-Heine-University Heinrich-Heine-University Ludwig Maximilians University Munich Ludwig Maximilians University Munich University of Bonn Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Paediatric Urology Urothelial Cancer Renal Cancer Prostate Cancer Neuro-urology Prostate Cancer Renal Cancer Urothelial Cancer Prostate Cancer Renal Cancer Testicular Cancer Urothelial Cancer Prostate Cancer Urothelial Cancer Neuro-urology Prostate Cancer

University Hospital Cologne University of Leipzig

Urothelial Cancer Prostate Cancer University Hospital Schleswig-holstein, Campus Lübeck Prostate Cancer General University Hospital of Patras Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù Istituto Europeo di Oncologia Stone disease Paediatric Urology Prostate Cancer

Istituto Europeo di Oncologia Renal Cancer

Istituto Europeo di Oncologia National Cancer Institute Urothelial Cancer Prostate Cancer

Sava Perovic Foundation Fundació Puigvert Fundació Puigvert Fundació Puigvert Fundació Puigvert Fundació Puigvert Fundació Puigvert Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal IOR Institute of Oncology Research Canisius-Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis Máxima Medisch Centrum Radboud University Medical Centre Radboud University Medical Centre Radboud University Medical Centre Radboud University Medical Centre St. Antonius Ziekenhuis St. Antonius Ziekenhuis St. Antonius Ziekenhuis Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine North Bristol NHS TRUST North Bristol NHS TRUST Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation University College Hospitals London Reconstructive urology Prostate Cancer Female urology and incontinence Stone disease Urothelial Cancer Transplantation Renal Cancer Transplantation Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer Paediatric Urology Neuro-urology Female urology and incontinence Renal Cancer Prostate Cancer Urothelial Cancer Paediatric Urology Female urology and incontinence Stone disease Reconstructive urology Andrology

For more information on all the host centres, please visit https://uroweb.org/education/scholarship/ certified-host-centres/

Further EUSP programmes The EUSP also offers fellowships such as the European Robotic Curriculum, ESTU Fellowship on Kidney Transplant, and EULIS Fellowship in Endourology. The latest addition to the EUSP fellowship programme involves two COVID-themed projects. The EUSP recently collaborated with the EAU Section of Andrological Urology (ESAU) and ReproUnion to bolster pioneering research on the effects of COVID-19 on urological patients.

The consortium is searching for two residents/ post-doc/PhD fellows to take part in one of the two projects themed “Impact of the human virome on male reproductive health – lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic”. The projects will focus on research with the possibility of clinical/surgical training in andrology. The deadline for applications is 15 May 2021. The projects will commence on 1 September 2021.

For more information, please go to https://uroweb. org/call-for-applications-scholarship-for-pioneercovid-19-projects/. Country City

Austria Austria Austria Austria Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium France France France France France France Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Greece Vienna Vienna Vienna Vienna Aalst Aalst Aalst Aalst Aalst Leuven Leuven Leuven Leuven Marseille Marseille Marseille Paris Paris Paris Tübingen Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Munich Munich Bonn Dresden Cologne Leipzig Lübeck Patras

Italy Italy Italy Italy Lithuania Rome Milan Milan Milan Vilnius

Serbia Spain Spain Spain Spain Spain Spain Spain Switzerland

Belgrade Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Madrid Bellinzona The Netherlands Nijmegen The Netherlands Veldhoven The Netherlands Nijmegen The Netherlands Nijmegen The Netherlands Nijmegen The Netherlands Nijmegen The Netherlands Nieuwegein The Netherlands Nieuwegein The Netherlands Nieuwegein Turkey Ankara United Kingdom Bristol United Kingdom Bristol United Kingdom Sheffield United Kingdom London

programmes to train young urologists in various fields of urology and in other aspects as well such as leadership. For this, we aim to forge collaborations with the Young Urologist Office, the European School of Urology, the EAU Guidelines Office, and the EAU Research Foundation to name a few, and further develop programmes in urological subspecialties.

We also aspire to build strong relations with national representatives and develop a solid platform to further stimulate progress of urological science and care.