Every year in June, the ITI opens the application portal for its Scholarships. We took this opportunity to ask one of our current Scholars, Panagiotis Galanopoulos from Greece, about his experience, his daily work and what he likes the most about it. He started his Scholarship year in September 2020 at the ITI Scholarship Center in Belgrade, Serbia.
What are the three most memorable things you will take away from your Scholarship year?
The three most memorable things are:
- The people I met in Serbia and their kind hospitality
- The help and support of the professors and my colleagues at the university
- My first implant placement
Could you give us an idea of how your working week was structured?
The working hours in the university of Belgrade are divided into morning and afternoon shifts. I had the possibility to work in both the Oral Surgery and Prosthodontics department. So, I arranged my schedule to take 4 shifts a week in the department of Oral Surgery and 2 shifts each week in the department of Prosthodontics. This was my regular weekly program, although I had the possibility to attend more shifts in the clinic if needed (e.g., immediate loading cases).
Why did you choose this specific Scholarship Center?
Having completed my postgraduate studies in prosthodontics at the University of Athens, Greece, my wish was to advance my surgical skills. Prof. Markovic, who is Chair of the ITI Scholarship Center, is a well-known and accredited oral surgeon-implant dentist and I felt it would be an honor to practice and learn from him.
Did you get enough support to do your job well?
Before I come to Belgrade, I was nervous about my scholarship year and the support that I would get from my teachers and colleagues. After only a few days in the University, I realized that all the university staff, from professors to residents to nurses, works together as a team to provide the best possible treatment to the patients and the necessary support to evolve and progress as a dentist.
Do you feel you learned a lot?
I feel that I reached my goals for my scholarship year and that I learned a lot about implantology.
In which ways did the pandemic affect your year abroad?
Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, I was not able to participate in the dental meetings that I would have loved to go to, like the ITI Education Week in Belgrade with Prof. Dr. Irena Sailer that was postponed to the following year.
Why would you recommend our Scholarship program to other young professionals?
The ITI Scholarship program is a great opportunity for dentists who want to advance their knowledge and experience in implant dentistry, under the supervision and guidance of great implant dentists.
Each year we enable young implant dentistry talent to spend a year abroad at a highly regarded university being mentored by an ITI Fellow at one of our 32 ITI Scholarship Centers around the globe. Are you keen on getting insight into every aspect of implant treatment? Would you like to dive into the complex world of case planning, implant surgery and prosthetic restorations in an international context? Our application portal is open from June 1 to June 30. Don’t hesitate any longer and apply now!
More information at www.iti.org/scholarships
