Engaging the next generation
The AO Foundation is proactively addressing generational change by crafting new pathways to engage and inspire young surgeons, making certain its mission, values, and vision resonate strongly across all age groups. Recognizing that the landscape of experience and communication has shifted, the AO is fostering meaningful engagement with the next generation of surgical professionals during the AO Davos Courses 2025.
The Young Surgeons Advisory Group is central to this evolution, providing direct feedback on educational content and championing informal connections with leading experts during the AO Davos Courses. The “Bridging the Generations” lunch meetings, debuted at the AO Davos Courses 2024, have created a space for candid discussions on essential but often overlooked topics such as human factors in the OR, mental recovery after errors, and balancing professional and personal life.
Returning to the AO Davos Courses in 2025, these sessions deliberately focus on relationship-building rather than technical instruction and offer young surgeons an opportunity to chat with faculty and key opinion leaders outside of the formal course curriculum. They have been widely praised for fostering community, breaking down barriers, and offering mutual learning between generations.
To engage today’s young professionals, the AO is also modernizing its communication channels and teaching formats, ensuring its educational content is both accessible and impactful. The upcoming launch of a new myAO experience and integrations of AO innovations like OSapp and DEHST for a growing number of courses in Davos are proof of this development.
The AO is constantly working on integrating additional digital formats into its educational offerings. It has adopted and is actively promoting blended learning models, moving theoretical content online and maximizing in-person, hands-on training opportunities. This combination not only caters to the expectations of digital natives but also makes face-to-face time richer and more productive.
Anticipating the needs and learning styles of future generations of surgeons, the AO has recently invested in producing a proof-of-concept study of short, dynamic educational videos. Research led by the AO Education Institute demonstrated that such short-form video reels are not only engaging but also highly effective, with surgeons reporting significant benefits for refreshing procedural skills and anatomical knowledge.
Further supporting young surgeons, the AO Spine Youth Club acts as a global network, connecting emerging spine surgeons with peers and established experts, facilitating career development and substantive knowledge exchange.
Through this multitude of forward-thinking initiatives, the AO Foundation is laying a vibrant foundation for its mission to thrive—engaging, empowering, and nurturing the next era of surgical innovators and leaders and fostering a community that collaborates across generations.
Are you a participant and interested in joining one of this year’s “Bridging the Generations” lunch events?
Register here for December 1, 2025 (Week 1) and here for December 8, 2025 (Week 2).