Welcome to our ADEE retrospective timeline
As we prepared to delivery ADEE’s 50th Annual meeting in Dublin, August 20th to 22nd 2025, we wanted to ensure we recognised some of the key milestones of ADEE’s history. ADEE represents many things to our members and when asked to reflect on key achievements and memories we are sure that each individual will have a different perspective and highlight they see as ADEE’s ultimate achievement.
We were charged by the ADEE executive Committee (Board) to review the ADEE archive and evolve a timeline of key events synonymous with ADEE and its achievement. The following timeline outlines the key moments in ADEE’s evolution that we felt were instrumental in ADEE’s evolution.
We hope you enjoy our selection and that it sparks a fond memory!
Secretary-General
Prof. Dr. Barry Quinn
United Kingdom
Chief Administrative Officer
Dr. Denis Murphy
Ireland
Foundation and early beginnings
Stemming from two World Health Organisation sponsored meetings concerning dental education; undergraduate (1968 Copenhagen); post graduate (1970 London), and facilitated through the Fédération Dentaire Internationale (FDI), European dental school deans were invited to attend a meeting in Munich in Feb 1971 to explore the need and opportunity to create an association for dental educators in Europe.
The key output of this meeting was the establishment of a steering committee, and thus to quote Prof John Scott (ADEE’s original Editor in Chief of the EJDE), ‘the seeds of the Association for Dental Education in Europe were sown’. The steering committee met on a number of occasions between 1971 and 1975 culminating in the foundation meeting of ADEE, held in Strasbourg, France on December 9th 1975. At this meeting 39 delegates from 18 countries set down and agreed ADEE main purpose, constitution and bylaws.
1980s and 90’s Founding voices and visions
ADEE was founded on, and continues to be grounded in, the belief that Dental Educators are best places to understand the needs and challenges of the educational environment we serve. From the outset ADEE was guided and led by a cohort of passionate individuals who volunteered their time and services to advance dental education throughout Europe and beyond.
It truly was and remains concerned with what is best for society and the role we play at the intersection of the higher education, health and the wider public sectors. Individuals not only volunteered to service on the ADEE executive committee and officer roles, but also had an enthusiasm and passion to share their knowledge and insight, through school visits, charitable activities and devise best practice approach. For almost the first 30 years the administrative function of ADEE was services by volunteers without who’s commitment we could never have become the association we are today. Thank you all for your vision and commitment.
ADEE elects its first female President
While diversity has always been at the core of ADEE and all genders have actively participated from the outset it would be 2012 before ADEE would elect its first Female President, Professor Jolán Bánoczy, Semmelweis University, Hungary. Prof Bánoczy was a highly respected colleague within FDI, IADR, ERO, and ADEE. She passed away peacefully at the age of 88 in 2016.
Since then ADEE has had three further female presidents, Prof Cecilia Christersson, Sweden (2012-2013), Prof Stephanie Tubert Jeannin, France (2018 – 2019), and Prof Ilza Akota, Latvia (2020-2021).
The European Journal of Dental Education
In the run up to 1996, there was much discussion and enthusiasm around the establishment of a formal academic journal. The then President Prof Erik Hjorting-Hansen and Editor in Chief Prof John Scott established an agreement with publishers Munksgarrd. In its initial years, the journal received circa 50 manuscripts for review annually.
However, with the advent of online submission this has dramatically changed in recent years with submissions in 2024 reaching almost 500 submissions annually. The journal continues to deliver on its original mission to publish the highest quality divs related to dental education and has become a flagship for ADEE.
Visit the European Journal of Dental Education here.
The DentEd decade
Despite earlier efforts to enable European legislation on curriculum standardisation and pan-European accreditation, it became apparent in the mid 1990’s such harmonisation would not materialise due to fundamental regional variation in dental education and health systems throughout Europe. The solution for European dental education would lie in DentEd. To quote Prof Derry Shanley (ADEE President 1996/97), DentEd was seen by many ‘as the foster child of ADEE’.
In essence, DentEd was a thematic project funded at EU level aimed at enabling convergence and harmonisation. Initially envisioned as a three-year project, it evolved into a suite of focused projects spanning a 10-year life cycle.
- DentEd (1997 – 2000) focused on defining core competences, voluntary school visits and a self-assessment ethos;
- DentEd Evolves (2000 – 2003) drawing on the initial success of DentEd, DentEd Evolves expanded the network beyond Europe to a wider and international focus with delivery of two Global Conference, 2001 Prague and 2002 in Singapore;
- DentED III (2004 – 2007) aimed at consolidating the DentEd projects with the handover of DentEd to the ADEE, the agreement on the profile of the European dentist and the delivery of the third global conference in Dublin in 2007;
- DentCPD (2010 – 2012) was a focused Erasmus project aimed at defining guidelines for the development of Dental continuous professional development.
During the DentEd years, ADEE membership grew considerably, its links with international peers expanded and its output became respected throughout the wider dental education context.
Visit the DentCPD website here.
Establishment of permanent office within Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin
From the outset, ADEE did not have central office nor was it registered formally. In 2004, following an increasing administrative burden linked to DentEd and the continuation of the day-to-day activities the ADEE executive took a decision to professionalise ADEE’s structure and establish a permanent central office within the Dublin Dental University Hospital.
A executive administrator was appointed for the first time with Ms Majella Giles holding this position until her retirement in 2013 serving ADEE with a passion and commitment for its vision and through an approach that established a sense of family among members. External auditors were also appointed and the Association was registered in Ireland as an unincorporated body with tax exemption.
The Graduating European Dentist
To paraphrase Prof Antonio Carrassi the development of ADEE has historically paralleled the evolution of dental education in Europe. Its foundation stem from a need for consensus to accommodate mobility and recognition in the sense of the meaning of these words within the European legislative contexts. It is then unsurprising that in 2017 the by now much respected and cited Profile and Competence of the Graduating European Dentist was in need of a revisit.
Drawing on the proven success of the previous collaborative approach of the DentEd taskforces a new taskforce that incorporated some of the original authors was convened to refresh the concept for the new decade. What evolved was the Graduating European Dentist, an updated framework the assist schools, regulators and interested parties evolve a curriculum. It was mindful of the diversity of an expanding Europe, changing agenda towards nationalism in some countries, and always true to the founding concepts of ADEE, co-created through consensus and collaboration.
Visit the ADEE GED section here.
The O-Health-Edu Erasmus Project
2019 saw ADEE return to the Erasmus + arena for the first time in over a decade. At the invitation of ADEE President Prof Stephanie Tubert Jeannin, France (2018 – 2019), ADEE participated as dissemination partners for what was termed the O-Health-Edu Project led by the University of Clermont Ferrand, France.
The project aimed to set a new vision and narrative for the education of Oral Health Professionals’ Education and delivered on 13 intellectual outputs. A key output was Vision 2030 co-signed by key stakeholders representing students, the dental profession, educators, regulators and other key partners.
Visit the O-Health Edu website here.
COVID and its impact
Like many of our member institutions, ADEE was impacted by the arrival of COVID-19 in Spring 2020. Being forced to cancel the delivery of our annual meeting for the first time, plans were developed to ensure such an occurrence would not reoccur. In 2021 ADEE’s annual meeting was delivered online, and enabled participation in a series of seminars over a 3 month period. While not ideal it allow ADEE maintain a profile and impact and 2022 saw us return to in person presentation in Palma, Spain with an audience of almost 400 delegates.
The COVID impact also enabled building of online resources for members that remain a valuable resources like the interactive GED webpages, as well as the publication of ‘COVID-19: The immediate response of European academic dental institutions and future implications for dental education’. A publication that has been cited in excess of 250 times in the two years since publication. A demonstrates of the impact of ADEE and its membership as a leading voice for Dental, or what we now term Oral Health Professionals’ Education, in Europe.
50th Anniversary
2025 is ADEE's 50th anniversary year and we look forward to seeing our members gather for our annual meeting in Dublin Ireland.
