At the symposium, experts discussed developments, opportunities and challenges in medical training, provided insights and outlooks from Switzerland and abroad and ventured a look into the future of medical studies. After the opening by the IML Director and a welcome address by the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Bern, Prof. Claudio Bassetti, the speakers Prof. Steffen Eychmüller, Prof. Henri Bounameaux and Lenja Flütsch provided spotlights from the areas of teaching staff, national organisation and students.

The symposium took place in a historic setting, namely the former vonRoll factory (now vonRoll University). Like the IML, the building has undergone a major transformation: From a foundry where printing discs were produced - to a hub for knowledge. Director Prof Sissel Guttormsen, who hosted the symposium together with Dr. Felix Schmitz, Head of Group Research at the ASCII department, sums it up in a nutshell:

A practical parcous with 9 stations gave visitors and IML employees an insight into current and past IML activities:

• The beginnings: A "live" reading with excerpts from the memoirs of IAE director and founder of the institute (forerunner of today's IML) Prof Hannes Pauli (poster biography), revived the early days of the institute and study planning (poster STPL). (see info box on the right/link podcasts to the reading)
• Media history: From the slide carousel to web-based learning programmes showed the development of learning media from the origins of the Visaudio set with teaching videos or slides with sound to the first e-learning programmes with laser discs, to today's modern e-learning programmes.
• Learning media: The remarkable technological evolution of electronic learning media over the past decades was illustrated and shown by means of in-house productions (MedSurf in DE)
• Simulation OSCE: A concrete case with a simulation patient in combination with moulages, so-called artificial wounds, showed the use and importance of simulation in medical studies
• Medical didactics: Insights into innovative teaching methods were provided by the part-time medical didactics MAS programme MME Bern
• eAssessment: At this station, visitors will find out how IML eAssessment tools simplify the examination process for students and lecturers and what role intuitive operation ("usability") plays
• A research exhibition showed selected PhD research papers in the form of posters and IML research topics from the last decades
• Moulages: We vividly demonstrated the role that moulages can play in simulations and the added value they offer.
• Usability: What do we actually mean by "usability" and "user experience"? How can you develop a product that is intuitive to use? Overview of stations

At the concluding panel discussion, external speakers Prof Anne Herrmann-Werner, Dr. Monika Brodmann Maeder (via Zoom), Dr. Silke Biller and Dr. David Gachoud described their view of the IML from the outside. The heads of department, Prof. Sören Huwendiek and Dr Kai Schnabel, moderated this part of the programme. The questions from the audience showed that the importance of medical teaching has increased rather than decreased. The symposium was evaluated and given a very positive overall assessment.

Prof Guttormsen concluded by summarising some of the key points of the symposium:

• Medical teaching is constantly evolving, and developments in content and technology never stand still. The IML's task will always be to adapt to the state of development and to offer suitable, innovative and feasible solutions for teaching at all times.
• Medical teaching should not forget the most important tasks of medical professionals, namely to prevent, cure and alleviate illness (as emphasised by Prof. Bounameaux). Medical didactic quality and innovation always aim to optimise patient care.
• For teaching staff, appreciation in terms of individual initiatives - effort and commitment - in teaching is rarely provided by the organisation. However, it should be the task of the organisation (faculty, institute or clinic) to create appreciation in the form of incentives, visibility and time.
• Students represent the future of the healthcare landscape. Motivating and listening to them is not only important, but also useful. Students sense new developments early on and want to be optimally prepared for their task.
• Last but not least, services, development and research in medical teaching depend on cooperation at all levels. We would like to thank our employees, partners, clients and colleagues for their excellent cooperation!

The IML 50 project - aim and ambition

The IML50 project was launched in November 2019 in view of the Institute's milestone anniversary in the 2021/22 academic year. It is a special responsibility to remember the history of medical education in Bern and in its national perspective. We looked back at the beginnings and the history of the Institute for Medical Education (IML). Who were the driving forces? What challenges had to be overcome? Is the IML equipped for the challenges of the future?

To this end, we analysed minutes and work reports, researched the history of our origins in the early 1970s and the (university) political entanglements of the time, and digitised hundreds of slides from our collection to make them accessible to posterity. Our findings are recorded in a commemorative publication. You will find selected articles on our fields of activity over five decades; historically embedded in milestones and in key statements by key people. We were supported in our search for clues by contemporary witnesses from the founding period, among others, whom we were able to interview. These interviews are very valuable, as the direct impressions of the historical figures convey the IML story in great detail. Parts of these interviews are integrated into the commemorative publication and can be experienced audiovisually with a QR code or directly via a link on our website. Our sincere thanks go to all those involved for their commitment and benevolent support.