The VII Basic Course “Light microscopy and photomicrography techniques” held at the Department of Animal Biology of the University of Pavia in May 2-5, 2000, in the framework of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme from the European Community was attended by more than 60 partecipants, coming from Universitiers, Research Institutions and Hospitals from Lecce, Rome, Genova, Brescia, Milano, and Pavia. This VII Course confirmed the trend towards a continuous increase in the number of partecipants already observed in the last editions: this evidence suggests that graduated biomedical students are fully aware of how important a serious knowledge of the bases of light microscopy is, for the proper use of microscopes.

The appreciation showed by the participants at the previous editions is demonstrated by the fact that they often consult the Leonardo da Vinci Internet site of the Department, in order to be updated on the new intiatives, and they also stimulate their colleagues to come as well.

Within the sphere of the Faculty of Sciences of  Pavia University, the Course was supported and advertised not only by the Dean of the Faculty and the President of the Corso di Laurea in Scienze Biologiche, but also by several other Professors who stimulated their graduated students to attend it.
It is worth mentioning that the coordinators of the “Dottorato di Ricerca in Biologia Cellulare” and the “Scuola di Specializzazione in Genetica Applicata” included both the Basic Course and the Symposium as an obligatory part of their didactic and practical activities. The Course also received the auspices of the “Società Italiana di Istochimica and the Società Italiana di Microscopia Elettronica (SIME).

The practical part of the Course has been especially appreciated by the participants: two workshop sessions per afternoon took place, during which small groups of partecipants were followed by tutors who explained the microscope functioning and the histochemical techniques used for sample preparation. The organizers wish to acknowledge that the success of this initiative was largely due to the careful preparatory work by these tutors who organized the working stations, prepared cell and tissue specimens to be observed and photographed, trained the younger co-tutors, collected the didactic material and managed the Internet site.

The Company partner in this Programme, Carl Zeiss (which was present as Carl Zeiss from Oberkochen and Jena in Germany and Carl Zeiss S.p.A, Italy), made available several modern and fully equipped microscopes and provided qualified experts in light microscopy.

A special mentioning is deserved by Vittorio Bertone, our webmaster, who kept the LdV internet site atractive and up-to-date during the whole year, and acted as the official photoreporter of the event.

As highly appreciated by the Project Leader, many of the present tutors had attended as partecipants one of the previous editions; in particular one of these, Patrizia Griffini, specifically worked for this project as a LdV sub-contractor. Thus, the many-years-long personal and professional synergy of the organizers was fully complemented by the enthousiasm and the dedication of their young collaborators.

In conclusion, the organizers believe that the VII Basic Course “Light microscopy and photomicrography techniques” fully met the auspices of the University of Pavia Authorities for high quality Permanent Education and Professional training Courses, in a perfect agreement with the specific aim and the policy of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme, in the attempt to cope with the current professional demands in Europe.
 
 

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