On 12 and 13 February, the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) hosts the seventh edition of SCALPEL, a medical congress targeting students who wish to promote a vocation in surgery. The congress is organized by the Gimbernat Surgical Society (AQG) -made up of UPF medical students- and is supported by Hospital del Mar and the University. “One of the unique aspects of SCALPEL is that it combines presentations by top surgery professionals with workshops where participating students can practise and improve their skills operating”, says Júlia Lasarte, chair of the AQG. 

The seventh edition of SCALPEL has an ambitious programme that kicks off with a presentation on the future of leadership in surgery and continues by reviewing the arrival of AI to the profession, transplants, and neurosurgery, not forgetting humanism, an essential quality for the practice of medicine. 

“We aim to promote the exchange of knowledge, innovation, academic growth, and work on the human values of future surgeons”, explains Matthew Hopkins, who co-chairs the AQG with Lasarte. For this reason, apart from the presentations, the congress includes more than 30 practical sessions involving some 200 participants. 

“SCALPEL VII is the result of great teamwork by a group of students who are passionate about surgery and medical training”, Lasarte acknowledges. “It offers a unique opportunity to experience a symposium on surgery in an enriching environment that gathers students and leading professionals in their specialities from around the world”, Hopkins adds.

Thanks to its strong international component, this year eighty students from some thirty countries and almost all continents will be attending the congress. 

Due to the current weather conditions, the activities on the 12th will be held online, and those on the 13th will take place at the Ciutadella Campus as planned. 

About the AQG 

The Gimbernat Surgical Society (AQG) was founded in 2011 by students pursuing a degree in Medicine at the UPF Mar campus. It is composed of students from the UPF Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences and its honorary president, Dr. Manuel Pera, a full professor at the University and head of the Gastrointestinal Surgery Unit at Hospital del Mar. The AQG seeks to foster a passion for surgical knowledge by organizing events and activities targeting students.