Catching up with SCO Chair Prof. Maarten Albersen
After giving us a sneak preview ahead of the congress, we caught up with Prof. Maarten Albersen (BE), Chair of the Scientific Congress Office on the final day of EAU26 to get his first impressions of how the many new formats were received.
Engaging
“Looking back at our last interview in November, ahead of the congress, the changes we ended up making, I think were well-received here in London. I heard from a lot of people, and got positive feedback that we are not only delivering the scientific content but doing it in a more engaging way.”
“Especially on the first two days, when the congress was at its peak in terms of visitors, there was a real buzz. It felt contemporary, modern. So that’s a first careful conclusion, based on my experiences these past few days.”
Further improvement
“There’s also immediately a couple of points of improvement: matching the right speaker to the right format. For the keynote speakers it’s important to choose someone who is comfortable in a setting like that, or perhaps making sure speakers get training ahead of time. But as a format it’s a good way to get the message across. From the (semi-) roundtable sessions we had, all the participants said it was a pleasant way to present and discuss topics: facing each other, not side by side.”
Guest speaker
“Stephen Fry was phenomenal, I don’t need to explain that. It’s nice to have a break from the hard science of urology in the afternoon, with a talk from an acclaimed public speaker who made people smile and laugh, everyone was relaxed. That’s something we want to explore for future editions: one key-note talk from a person who’s not directly in our field but can reach and inspire the audience.”
Live podcasts
“We had a couple of live podcast recordings: very good, even if the attendance was lower at the end of the day. The hosts are real professionals at this, we at the EAU could learn from them. That’s a common thing though, we’ve invited several people to London from whom we as the EAU can learn as well.”
Stage design
“The new stage designs helped achieve all of this: you can’t have a keynote talk without the catwalk, you can’t have the one-on-one conversation or podcast-style sessions without the two chairs up front making it more like sitting an intimate living room.”
Interview blocks
“The ‘interview’ blocks that we had in our Plenary Sessions, where an expert comments on the session that has just finished, serve to break it up a bit. It can be a little monotonous to have a two-hour session, however interesting they are. It can get a little static. The interviews are a break in between topics or sessions. You introduce a different setting, which gives dynamics and perspective.”
Prof. Albersen and the SCO have their work cut out for themselves for EAU27! Visit us again in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 19-22 March, 2027.