Responding to spine surgeons’ educational needs, AO Spine rolls out new, globally developed, competency-based curriculum courses in 2025

With the launch of its new suite of globally developed competency-based curriculum courses, AO Spine continues to revolutionize spine surgeon education by establishing a new learning pathway to surgical proficiency. Developed by spine surgeons for spine surgeons in collaboration with the AO Education Institute, these highly interactive, cutting-edge learning experiences deliver the latest knowledge by bringing together online pre-course learning and hands-on, on-site training by renowned experts in spinal deformity and minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS).

Backed by AO Spine’s 20-year legacy as the world’s premiere education provider in spine surgery, the new courses are carefully designed with a focus on building core competencies in spine surgery, ensuring that learners not only understand the theoretical concepts but become proficient in applying them.

Based on the AO Spine Curriculum, each course addresses carefully selected, standardized learning objectives, ensuring AO Spine quality standards are met for each participant, no matter where they decide to attend the course.

Each course is developed by a dedicated AO Spine Curriculum Task Force, a global group of expert surgeons, nominated by the AO Spine Education Commission. As part of the education design processes, close collaborate with AO Spine Knowledge Forums is established, to facilitate the integration of state-of-the-art research to education and clinical practice.

AO Spine Education Commission Chairperson Richard Bransford (United States) said the new competency-based curriculum courses are further evidence of AO Spine’s commitment to surgeons.

“The AO Spine courses create the foundation for proper spinal patient management and lie at the core of our course design and delivery. These principles should be applied universally, so it is logical to create a curriculum-based platform designed by surgeons from all regions and for surgeons from all regions,” he said. “We expect our new curriculum-based courses to become the flagship for spine education and the go-to courses throughout the world.”

Recognizing the need for regional flexibility, expert faculty will bring their experiences and unique perspectives, mentoring participants through highly interactive case discussions and hands-on exercises.

AO EI Executive Director Tobias Hüttl explained that a standardized framework “ensures we are providing highest educational standards globally while allowing the regions to be responsive to their unique needs.”

Pathway to proficiency

Pedro Berjano, chairperson of AO Spine Europe and Southern Africa (AO SESA) as well as the AO Spine Deformity Task Force, emphasized that the new courses are designed as active learning experiences, and this sets them apart from other educational events.

"I have attended many courses where participants listen to lectures, ask questions, and later practice hands-on with models or specimens. These courses are often valuable, and participants typically take home some useful information,” he said. “Our curriculum-based courses, however, offer a completely different experience. We have worked hard—really hard—to identify the specific learning items that participants need to apply in their clinical practice, and ensure they leave with it. We've designed the curriculum to deliver the learning items through an active experience: active discussions based on real cases, interactive exercises that apply the knowledge from those cases, and detailed hands-on practical sessions.”

As a result, participants acquire not only information but an understanding of how to apply it.

“In other words, the key difference is between simply hearing concepts and being able to integrate them into your clinical practice,” Berjano said. “The experience of the faculty, the professionalism of the support team, and the friendly, peer-to-peer, training tradition of the AO make all the difference. A curriculum-based course is an experience that will leave a lasting impression."

AO Spine Education Commission Manager Ginesa Aviles underscored the significance of the new courses, saying, "This initiative not only raises our educational quality to new heights but also strengthens the global exchange of knowledge and expertise.”

The 2025 AO Spine competency-based curriculum courses addressing spinal deformity and MISS include:

Deformity

• The AO Spine Course—Deformity: Key Concepts and Techniques will take place:
  
  
  • October 13–14 in Frankfurt, Germany
    
    Fundamental for everyone who is interested in deformity management, this course focuses on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), de novo scoliosis in the adult, and Scheuermann’s kyphosis. 
    
    
    

• The AO Spine Course—Deformity: Advanced Techniques and Complex Cases will take place:
  
  
  • April 12-13 in Doha, Qatar
  • May 9–10 in Barcelona, Spain
  • October 28–29 in Palm Beach, United States
    
    Designed for surgeons who want to improve their skills in treating complex deformity cases, this course covers advanced techniques and treatment solutions for complex cases in AIS, adult idiopathic scoliosis, adult de novo scoliosis, sagittal and combined deformities, revision in adults, and high-grade spondylolisthesis. 

MISS

• The AO Spine Course—Advanced MISS Techniques will take place: 
  
  
  • June 2–3 in Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • August 19–20 in Palm Beach, United States
  • September 27–28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • October 2025 in the United States
    
    Covering advanced MISS techniques, this course focuses on transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, lateral lumbar interbody fusion, and anterior lumbar interbody fusion. Participants will get advanced training including an overview of evidence-based, state-of-the-art management strategies as well as practical exercises with expert faculty. 

Learn more about AO Spine’s competency-based curriculum and courses: AO Spine Competency-Based Curriculum Courses.