Guidelines for IBRO's Neuroscience Schools

Revised July 2017

IBRO Schools Programme: Report and Recommendations

Background Information

The Schools are the main vehicle used by IBRO to interact with young people in all regions and
are the basis for the entire mentorship effort that led to the creation of the Alumni, now totaling
several thousand former students from Schools and Visiting Lecture Team Programme (VLTP)
courses. Moreover, the Schools provide unique opportunities for the mixing of faculty and
students from different parts of the world. No IBRO programme has done more than the Schools
and the VLTP to expose young people from developing countries to scientists from leading
institutions and to sensitize teachers from wealthier countries to the problems faced by their
colleagues in less fortunate parts of the world.

The rapid growth and importance of the Schools programme, as well as the fact that IBRO
increasingly works in partnership with other organizations to fund and staff the Schools, requires
that IBRO further clarify the policies and procedures that guide this programme. It is clear and
well understood that the Schools are diverse, each with its own character and objectives, and that
circumstances vary significantly from venue to venue around the world. Therefore, flexibility will
always be a hallmark of the Schools programme. The guidelines are just that - guidelines, and not
laws. Their intent is to help to ensure that IBRO Schools, however else they may differ from one
another, play their role in the training of students and the building of science.

Guidelines for the Schools Programme

Definition of the Schools Programme

Neuroscience Schools are structured events whose aim is to teach and train students and young
faculty

Other IBRO programmes that contribute to neuroscience education and technical training are the
Visiting Lecture Team Programme (VLTP), Fellowships, Workshops and Symposia, etc., but the
Schools are defined by the existence of a structured educational programme that lasts a week or
more and involves distinguished scientists with the capacity, experience and time to teach
students and young faculty. IBRO's support also emphasizes the need for Schools to focus on the
training of young people from economically disadvantaged countries.

School Categories

In 2002, the Executive Committee of IBRO recommended the establishment of three levels or
categories of Schools: (i) Basic, (ii) Advanced and (iii) Specialized. It is unlikely that a tight
definition of these categories is necessary because Schools are, and probably should continue to
be, very different from each other, most of them being now both 'advanced' and 'specialized'.
These categories nevertheless can serve the need for a 'stepladder' progression of the teaching
programmes offered in some regions, where a select group of students is being channeled from
basic to highly specialized Schools over a period of two to three years.

Guidelines for IBRO's Neuroscience Schools

Curriculum

The curriculum of each School is proposed to IBRO by the Regional Committees (RCs) based on
local needs, interests and resources. The following general recommendations apply to the
organization of the School's curriculum:

a) The aggregate of lectures and laboratory techniques offered by a School should be

designed to cover selected topics thoroughly and logically. The selection of the lecturers
should follow, rather than determine, the curriculum.

b) An outline of the teaching programme will be posted on the IBRO website in advance
of the start of the School.

c) Teaching materials and references to publications that relate to the main topics of the
School's programme should be provided to the students, preferably before the opening of
the School. The use of Internet-based resources should be considered and implemented.

d) Schools are encouraged to offer both theoretical (lectures) and practical (laboratory)
components in their teaching programme.

e) In addition to such substantive material, a School should include discussions,

workshops, roundtables, or other forms of consideration of career-development issues
such as career tracks, research funding, professional conduct and ethics, the proper use of
animals and human subjects in research, and presentation skills.

f) While all lectures are likely to include an update on what is happening in a specific
field of science within the expertise of the lecturer, key purposes of the Schools are to
promote critical thinking, encourage discussion, and provide a worthwhile 'hands-on'
experience. In this regard, Schools will need to pay special attention to the organization
of events that facilitate interactions between faculty and students, including roundtables,
student presentations, and posters.

g) The teaching of skills needed for a research career has been part of the curriculum of
several IBRO-supported Schools. Emphasis is directed to the training of people who can
help adapt the teaching of these skills to local needs in the various regions.

h) Some Schools, particularly those in parts of the world with major health problems,
have included clinically relevant topics in their curriculum. Doing so could lead to new
and important partnerships with clinically based organizations and health-related
agencies.

i) A great majority of the Schools endorsed by IBRO have used English as the main
language of communication. Some, however, have operated in part or almost entirely in
the language better understood by people in the region (e.g. Spanish in Latin America and
Spain). It is suggested that this issue be left for the Regional Committees to decide.

Guidelines for IBRO's Neuroscience Schools

Faculty

Members of faculty should be selected based on high scientific and teaching qualifications. They
are not 'lecturers', expected only to give a research talk, answer some questions and leave.

Instead, faculty members are expected to:

a) Adapt their lectures to the learning needs of the students and provide useful and
didactic hand-outs and reading materials that facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge.

b) Spend time at the School and participate in poster discussions, short talks, labs, socials,
etc. Ordinarily a faculty member should be expected to participate in a School for at least
one week.

Faculty opinions on the performance of the School should be canvassed and summarized in the
School report. At present, several Schools also encourage their students to evaluate their teachers.

Compilation and circulation of a list of faculty members of IBRO Schools, including contact
information and areas of research and teaching specialization, among the RCs and the organizers
of Schools could help towards identification and recruitment of faculty when needed.

Students

The Schools have done a very good job at selecting the best students out of a large pool of
applicants. IBRO needs to continue to emphasize its policy of focusing most of its resources on
the training of people from developing countries, but not necessarily to the exclusion of all other
students. One of the advantages offered by some of the Schools, particularly those in Europe and
North America, is that IBRO's support allows students from other parts of the world to mix with
trainees from well-established research institutions in these two continents.

At the beginning of a given School offering, a directory of students and faculty (providing brief
biographical sketches, a short list of representative publications, contact information and, if
possible, photographs) should be provided to all participants. The purpose of this directory is to
introduce School participants to one another and foster interactions and future collaborations.

Reporting

Following completion of a School, the organizer must complete the online School Organizer
Report Form to help evaluate IBRO School program experiences. In this report, the organizer
will be given the opportunity to submit an itemized budget report, student and faculty lists, the
School program and any other relevant documents (including photographs).

Acknowledgement

It is required that all schools funded by IBRO as 'IBRO Schools' suitably acknowledge IBRO's
financial support and designation in all their publications and documents. Furthermore, IBRO's
logo must be shown prominently on all the school material and announcements.

Guidelines for IBRO's Neuroscience Schools