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Calendar
What to expect
- The format of this school will differ from year to year, but usually there are 3 days of intensive meetings, then a gala dinner on the evening of day 3
- On the last day of the 4-day course, there is a one-day symposium open to all interested paediatricians in the host country.
- Keynote lectures are given by experienced ESPE members and paediatric endocrinologists from Caucasus and Central Asia, with the aim of covering main topics in paediatric endocrinology.
- Lectures are supplemented by small group sessions to discuss teachers’ cases.
- Each student is asked to do a case presentation.
- The course also includes an introduction into clinical research.
- Students are encouraged to present their research projects.
- Small group teaching: Student and teachers clinical case and research project presentations
- The course is held in Russian, with English and Russian slides, and simultaneous Russian translation for English-speaking lecturers.
Before the School, fellows will be requested to register at the ESPE e-learning website, where main topics will be available in both Russian and English. Self-study of the e-learning programme prior to the course is highly recommended.
Criteria
The School is designed for paediatricians from Central Asia and Caucasus countries who have entirely or partially completed their basic paediatric training and who are now either established in, or intending to develop a deep and continuing interest in paediatric endocrinology and diabetes.
Costs
There is no registration fee for the C&CA School.
Accommodation and meals will be provided free of charge, and travel grants will cover a train or reasonably priced plane ticket to the host city (tbc) railway station or airport. Travel fees will be remunerated by the ESPE treasurer.
Participants who apply for membership for the year immediately following their attendance at a school will be entitled to one year’s free ESPE membership. Please note that this does not apply to existing ESPE members.
History
It was Prof Franco Chiarelli, then ESPE’s Secretary General, who in 2013 had the idea of starting a teaching school in the Caucasian and Central Asian (C&CA) countries. While ESPE Winter School (1995-) had proved highly successful in promoting teaching in Eastern Europe it was recognised that general knowledge of English was limited in the C&CA countries. A possible solution to this problem was to offer parallel teaching in English and Russian since although each C&CA country has its national language, Russian is the second official language in most.
Moreover, the establishment of ESPE Maghreb School (2011-), conducted entirely in the French language, had created a precedent for a further non-English-speaking ESPE School. Preparations for the first ESPE C&CA school began 2014 when Malcolm Donaldson (UK), Rasa Verkauskiene (Lithuania) and Jan Lebl (Czech Republic) from ESPE met with Rima Bazarbekova (Kazakhstan), Gulnara Rakhimova (Uzbekistan) and Gunduz Ahmadov (Azerbailjan) in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The inaugural C&CA School, generously sponsored by Ferring, took place in October 2014 with the faculty comprising Bazarbekova, Rakhimova, Ahmadov, Verkauskiene, Lebl, Franco Chiarelli (Italy), and Stenvert Drop (Netherlands). This and subsequent C&CA schools, was conducted in Russian but with dual Russian and English slide projection, and simultaneous translation of lectures by the non-Russian-speaking teachers into Russian. The annual C&CA schools continued until 2019, when the Covid pandemic restrictions resulted in cancellation in 2020-21 and when instability of the local situation in Armenia together with transport problems related to the Russian conflict with Ukraine caused postponement in autumn 2023.
Schools 2015-2019
Following the successful school in Almaty (2014), two further schools were held under Rasa Verkauskiene’s leadership in Azerbaijan (2015) and Uzbekistan (2016). In 2017, Stenvert Drop was replaced by Malcolm Donaldson, and Alina German took over as coordinator for Tajikistan. In 2018 the school was held in Kyrgyzstan, when Malika Alimussina replaced Gulnora Rackhimov. The following school was in Nur Sultan in 2019. At this meeting, the student faculty consisted of 21 doctors from Armenia (1), Azerbaijan (3), Georgia (1), Kazakhstan (10), Kyrgyzstan (1), Russia (2), Tajikistan (1), Ukraine (1) and Uzbekistan (1). At each C&CA school there has been an excursion and an opportunity for the whole faculty to enjoy the cultural richness of the host country.
2023 School
Report on 7th ESPE Caucasus and Central Asia School, held in Yerevan, Armenia from Wednesday 19th to Saturday 22nd April 2023.
The 2023 ESPE Caucasus and Central Asia (C&CA) School felt particularly special. Following the highly successful meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2019, organisation of further C&CA school had been plagued with a series of difficulties relating to the Covid-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Because of Covid restrictions, the 2020 meeting was cancelled. In October 2021, a face-to-face meeting was still not possible and so two introductory webinars on Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes were held online for all the doctors who had applied to C&CA school that year. In 2022, the war in Ukraine had caused ESPE Council to request rescheduling C&CA school from Tbilisi in Georgia in September to Yerevan in Armenia because of Georgia sharing a border with Russia. A 2-hour Zoom meeting with the faculty was held in September in preparation for the Yerevan meeting, with focus on a new three-part series of Growth and Puberty Masterclasses, initially filmed in English with now with Russian text and subtitles. However, the late September meeting in Yerevan was postponed when air travel to Armenia from Central Asia became impossible owing to Russian citizens fleeing conscription, so that the airports were in chaos.
It was, therefore, a considerable relief when the rescheduled 7th C&CA school went ahead successfully in April this year. The 3-day meeting took place in Ramada Hotel in Yerevan, the ancient capital of Armenia which contains one third of Armenia’s 3 million population. As in Astana in 2019, the 4th day of the meeting was made into an open day for all interested healthcare professionals and was held at Muratsan University Hospital in Yerevan. The meeting was coordinated by Dr Alina German and hosted by Professor Elena Aghajanova from Yerevan State Medical University and Muratsan University Hospital who, with her team, showed great hospitality to all the participants visiting Armenia.
The faculty in Armenia comprised 21 students and 6 teachers (picture 1). The students were from Armenia (11), Georgia (5) and Kazakhstan (5). This year, there were no participants from Central Asian countries other than Kazakhstan, relating mainly to travel costs. Also, the ongoing disputes between Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan prevents doctors from the one country being able to enter the other.
The teachers were Alina German (Israel, coordinator), Rasa Verkauskiene (Lithuania), Jan Lebl (Czech Republic), Malcolm Donaldson (UK), Malika Alimussina (Kazakhstan but based in the UK at present), Franco Chiarelli (Italy, joining remotely) and Elena Lundberg, (Sweden).
In keeping with previous C&CA schools, presentations from teachers and students were given using dual projection with English and Russian text, the Armenian and Kazak students generally finding Russian easier, the Georgian students usually preferring English. Dual projection has its challenges but happily, once the ‘teething difficulties’ had been resolved, the programme went very well indeed.
This hybrid model of the school was a first experience for the faculty. This included watching excerpts from the previously recorded ESPE e-learning Masterclasses in Growth and Puberty (with Russian text and subtitles), and also a Zoom lecture by Prof Francesco Chiarelli.
Topics covered this year included Normal Growth and Puberty, Smallness-for-Gestational age, Growth Abnormalities including Growth Hormone Deficiency and Treatment, Congenital Hypothyroidism, Management of Thyrotoxicosis, Calcium disorders and Obesity. The lectures on Diabetes were particularly strong, with Rasa covering Monogenic Diabetes, Elena (able to lecture for the first time since joining us in 2020!) giving two lectures on the practical, “Real-life” management of Diabetes, including the use of closed loop systems, and Franco giving a Zoom lecture from Italy on the management of Diabetic Ketoacidosis.
A benefit of having a relatively small student faculty is that with four sessions of Teachers’ Cases, it was logistically feasible for all students to be taught by all the teachers during the 3-day meeting (picture 2). There were no student research projects this year, but each student presented a clinical case, and the standard was generally very high. The presentations judged the best were by Associate Professor Lusine Navasardyan (Armenia) on escalating and probably monogenic obesity; Dr Gayane Bayburdyan (Armenia) on two babies with neonatal diabetes and very different outcomes. A further presentation by Dr Sona Samvelyan (Armenia) on central precocious puberty, was recommended to be presented as an e-learning portal case.
The afternoon excursion on day 3 took the form of a coach ride into the hills beyond Yerevan to visit Monastery Geghard in Kotyak province (picture 3). During the journey our excellent guide Narine Vardanyan spoke to us about Armenian history and culture. The genocide of 1915 still casts a long shadow, and Armenians from all over the world were about to participate in a day of remembrance on the following day. The monastery complex, founded in the 4th century by “Gregory the Illuminator”, is carved out of the rock in the cliffs, and we found the simplicity of the ancient chambers profoundly moving. This visit was followed by a coach ride to the pagan temple of Garni, Grecian in style and overlooking the Azat River were we listened to the traditional ‘Duduk’ instrument being played, watched Lavash – Armenian flatbread – being made in a nearby bakery, and had our gala dinner in a nearby restaurant.
The fourth day comprised a one-day open meeting at the Armenian Muratsan University hospital was attended by the C&CA faculty plus another 20 young doctors from Yerevan. The presentation on Growth and Puberty by Malcolm and Malika demonstrated how to enrol for the ESPE Masterclasses, showing that doctors from anywhere in the world can register with ESPE e-learning for free. Further lectures were on Bone Fragility (Malika), Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (Rasa), Learning from cases of hypoglycaemia (Jan), another Zoom lecture from Franco, this time on Obesity (picture 4), Pubertal disorders (Jan) and our hostess Elena Aghajanova on the topic of Gynaecomastia.
The session ended with the two ‘winning’ case presentations by Gayane and Lusine and the giving out of certificates. This was one of the best C&CA schools yet, and we are very grateful to ESPE council for once again generously funding this initiative. The next school is scheduled to take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan during the second week of April – 8-14th – 2024 with Professor Gulnora Rakhimova hosting the meeting.
2024 School
This year’s ESPE Caucasus & Central Asia (C&CA) School was held on 4-7th April 2024 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. We welcomed 26 participants this year from six countries: Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Armenia.
Uzbekistan has a population of 60 million and has only 13 paediatric endocrinologists so there is a high demand for more C&CA School educational events in the region.
The program was conducted in both Russian and English, with presentations being simultaneously translated into both languages. The dual-language format of the program was appreciated by the participants, enhancing their experience.
The course curriculum included comprehensive lectures on a range of paediatric endocrinology topics, complemented by interactive case discussions led by the School faculty, and students’ case presentations.
During the course, the participants were introduced to the content of the masterclasses focusing on key topics such as growth, puberty, and diabetes, from world-renowned paediatric endocrinologists including Professor Malcolm Donaldson and Professor Francesco Chiarelli.
Participants also enjoyed a rich social and cultural program, which included tours of Uzbekistan’s historical sites and a celebratory gala dinner.
The program has substantially boosted the knowledge, curiosity, and engagement of the course participants.
2025 School
This in‑person 4‑day course is designed for paediatricians from the Caucasus and Central Asia who have completed part or all of their basic paediatric training and are aiming to develop expertise in paediatric endocrinology and diabetes.
The 2025 school was dedicated to the memory of Malcolm Donaldson (1949–2024)—a founding figure of the ESPE Caucasus & Central Asia School, a committed teacher, and a visionary leader in pediatric endocrinology. His enduring educational legacy continues to inspire the school and its participants.
Malcolm Donaldson had been deeply involved in coordinating and teaching ESPE regional winter schools, including those in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and was widely recognized for his impact in the field.
Participants:
Program Structure & Learning Content
- Pre-course e‑learning:
Participants received access to the ESPE e‑learning platform, with study modules available in both Russian and English. Self-study before the in‑person course was strongly encouraged. - Teaching Format:
- Keynote lectures delivered by experienced ESPE members and regional experts in paediatric endocrinology. These sessions cover major topics in the field.
- Small‑group sessions where participants and teachers present clinical cases and discuss them collaboratively.
- Research modules: Introduction to clinical research in paediatric endocrinology, with opportunities for students to present their own project ideas.
- Student presentations: Each participant presents at least one clinical case, fostering interactive learning.
- Language support:
The school’s main language was English, with presentation slides available in both English and Russian.
Program Highlights
Although the specific session titles from Tbilisi 2025 are not publicly listed, past school editions typically include topics such as:
- Growth disorders and their endocrine evaluation
- Thyroid disorders in childhood
- Disorders of puberty
- Diabetes mellitus in paediatric populations
- Adrenal gland disorders
- Bone metabolism and disorders (e.g., osteogenesis imperfecta, rickets)
- Case‑based sessions focusing on diagnostic challenges and management
- Small‑group mentorship and peer feedback sessions
Cultural Program
We got to explore Georgian rich history, experience local customs and traditions, and taste the unique traditional cuisine.
Summary
Tbilisi 2025 was particularly meaningful—it not only offered top pediatric endocrinology experience but was also held in honor of Malcolm Donaldson, whose decades of dedication led to the creation of the school.
Comprehensive clinical education tailored to the needs of paediatricians from the region.
Interactive and supportive learning, including mentorship in small groups and peer feedback.
Language accommodations that make the content accessible to non‑English speakers.
Strong focus on combining patient care and research, enabling participants to contribute actively to clinical science.
