Comments from Course Partcipants - Students and Lecturers

* From: Onur Goksel
Sent: 10 March 2003

It was a beautiful experience as well as an honor for me to attend the first ESCTS in Bergamo last week. Prof. Parenzan and the other most respected lecturers were not only very helpful, but also very inspiring for all young surgeons.

Therefore , I would like to thank you for your kind assistance in all steps to enable me to attend such a fantastic course. I am looking forward to second level of the course which I really hope I can attend.

I wish to hear from you soon and would like to know when the second course will be given. I understand that I need to apply both for the registration and the scholarship again.

Yours Sincerely,
Dr. Onur Goksel

* From: Waleed Awady
Sent: 11 March 2003

Many thanks to you, I took the course in 2-8 March and it was very nice one.
Hope to hear news from you for the second one. Thank you,

Thank you for a great professional and humanitarian experience that the first Cardiac Course in Bergamo.

Excellent organization and very high level of educational program. I really enjoyed it!

I was attending the cardiac course in Bergamo (2-8 March 2003 - Level 1) and I have to say it was a great event. I would like to ask you if there are 3 places left for Thoracic course 11-18 May 2003 Level 1. My two colleagues and me, we want also start a thoracic part of the School. So, would you like to answer if it is possible to do a Level 1 in May or when is the first date for us. It is important for us to do a course together because we travel to Bergamo with one car. If your answer is positive we will send you immediately our registration forms.

I have just arrived home after ESCTS at Bergamo. I am writing to you at the Secretariat this short mail still full of wonderful impressions from the School. Everything was just lovely!

Organisation, atmosphere, lectures, time and place! Prof. Parenzan's temperatment and engery are something without this school would be simply different. Mrs. Mariani was always ready with solution to every problem! The comments and lectures from Prof. Deverall were also something to remember for the rest of my career. Of course not every lecturer were of the same quality, but I think all of them gave everthing from themselves to contribute to the School's standards! I just would like to congratulate you for the wonderful idea and to wish you to keep this pace for the next Course Weeks to come.

* From: Borys Kravchuk
Sent: 2003-04-06 to Prof. H G Borst

Dear Prof.Hans G.Borst!

For a long time I can not see You. It was really pity did not meet You during first Cardiac course in Bergamo.I would like to thanks You for Your support in this really great opportunity to attend the mentioned Course. I can say only "happy way" for this School and for Your great ideas. I really have in Bergamo one unforgettable week.Thanks always active Prof. Parenzan, thanks Prof.Stark and Prof.Alfieri and others teachers who really made great input in our knowledges and our ideas.I already attended a lot of courses and workshops, but in Bergamo I think we have really new and it is most important untraditional mode of teaching.
I hope You are OK now after traumatic incident. All the best for You and Your family.
Sincerely Yours
Borys Kravchuk

Først of all I want to thank you for the wonderful time in Bergamo.I have been talking about the course since I got back. You did a great job. Ivy and I talked a lot about the time In Bergamo on the way back to Denmark and we were convinced that it has been the best cardiac surgery course we have ever attended at.

* From: Filip Pekar
Sent: 30 December 2003 09:27

I wish to express my sincere thanks for having the opportunity to visit and attend European School for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery in Bergamo. I greatly appreciated organization, scientific programme, lectures and lecturers as well. I want to thank to all organizers and people involved in this project, getting people of the same proffession from different cornenrs of the Europe together and creating basis for the level of unified knowledge, if not the attitudes towards the future.

This experience leads me to apply for the second level of the School, organized in term June 14-19, and most probably for the third level, too, however I am not sure about the date right now.

Finally, let me wish you all the best in the forthcoming year 2004.
Sincerely Yours
Filip Pekar
Cardiac Surgery Department
F D Roosevelt Hospital
Nam L Svobodu 1
97517 Banska Bystrica

* From: Dimarakis, Ioannis [mailto:ioannis.dimarakis@imperial.ac.uk]
Sent: 07 April 2004 09:01

Dear Miss Naughton,

I just returned from Bergamo with the finest impressions from the course. The quality of tuition as well as all other aspects was excellent, exceeding my expectations to be honest. I am very keen to complete as many levels as possible while I continue as a research fellow. It is not that difficult at present to arrange educational leave.

We were informed that the June Level 2 Cardiac Course has no available places so I would wish to attend the October one. I would also be interested to find out when the next Thoracic Level 1 course is planned for.

Besides a fresh application form would you require copies of all other documents again?

I want to Thank you and all the staff of the EACTS and of the ESCTS for the very good quality of the scientific course of the level 1 and for the wonderfull logistic organisation of the level 1.

* From: Alexander Bankier, Universitätsklinik für Radiodiagnostik
Sent: Thu, 03 Apr 2003
To: "Klepetko, Walter"

1) The group of students was great: they were attentive, interested, and highly cooperative. It was a joy to see on site how well the "European Idea" can be put into practice!

2) From my perspective, the formula of the course (beeing on site, all lectures at the Villa) is a great idea, too.

3) The local organization was perfect, the are not even minor criticism to be made. Marina is to be lauded for her exceptional efforts !!!