At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.

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Ghent University's Education Objectives

Quality Assurance at Ghent University

1. Evidence-based education. Teaching is provided by professors who are active in scientific research and integrate recent findings into both theoretical and clinical teaching, featuring literature seminars and multidisciplinary patient discussions.
2. Excellent teaching staff quality. In addition to their strong involvement in scientific research, professors also actively practice in clinical specialties. This dual role enables them to provide, in an integrated manner, high-quality theoretical and clinical education. Our training coordinators boast extensive national and international networks within their field, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of global curricula and required competencies.
3. Strong link between theoretical and practical education. Dental specialists-in-training acquire new techniques and skills in a preclinical setting, allowing them to perform at an advanced level. Both our preclinical facilities and dental clinic at Ghent University Hospital, where the majority of internships take place, are equipped with state-of-the-art technology.
4. Inclusion of external and international stakeholders. The programme strongly focuses on the engagement of various stakeholders, including dentist-specialists-in-training, lecturers, and because of the strong connection with Ghent University Hospital, representatives from the field, alumni,.... Regular vision and return days, along with consultations with basic training, ensure alignment with external and international perspectives.

1. Striving for future-proof competencies such as interdisciplinary collaboration and multiperspectivism. Regular multidiscplinary meetings facilitate collaborative efforts among dental specialists-in-training from various majors, as they work alongside team members to create integrated multidisciplinary patient treatment plans. These sessions are supervised by lecturers from the four graduate programmes.
2. Optimal alignment with the bachelor/master dentistry programme. The core team of professors actively participates in both basic and advanced training, ensuring a harmonious alignment of content between the two programmes.
3. Development of high-level academic competencies with room for experimental research. Each dental specialist-in-training develops a master's thesis around a research question related to the specialization. The majority of these master theses are based on own experimental research and result in contributions to international congresses or scientific publications.
4. Embedding external, international perspectives. 3 of the 4 graduate programmes are internationally accredited, guaranteeing external quality monitoring. International experts are invited to give lectures and are part of the assessment commission of the final clinical exam and master's thesis. Alumni return days further enrich the programme by providing valuable insights and feedback from the broader field.

1. Enhance communication, internship organization and information provision. Streamlining communication, organization, and information provision is pivotal for maintaining continuity and diversity in patient care; and requires a good coordination with internal (Ghent University Hospital) and external internships. This makes planning, organization and communication to dental specialists-in-training challenging.
2. The training programme is perceived as intensive by dental specialists-in-training. While efforts are made to monitor and manage the workload, maintaining a realistic level is crucial. However, the master-after-master's programme expects a higher degree of independence compared to basic training programme.

This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.

This information was last updated on 14/02/2024.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme