Medical electives have been part of the medical school curriculum since the 1970s in the United Kingdom. They are typically 4-8 week medical placements organised by the student in a field they are interested in. Electives are an extended period to increase understanding of global health, improve our clinical skills and deepen understanding of a speciality. They are the only part of the course in which students have autonomy over their learning.

I write in response to the statement released by the University of Cambridge to "suspend mass lectures in person for the next academic year" [1]. It has, understandably, elicited discussion around the value of distanced learning and the wider University experience.

 On 15th November a new Cambridge-based organisation, Polygeia, held their inaugural conference on global health policy.

We are happy to once again be supporting the Edinburgh University Neurological Society (EUNS) for their 3rd Annual conference, to be held on Saturday 7th February, 2015.

The conference will involve keynote speakers specialising in ageing, CJD and paediatric neurosurgery, along with workshops on Surgery and Neurotrauma, Careers in Neurology and Neurosurgery, Neuroscience Lab Skills and Science Communication. There is also a poster and oral presentation session.

The World Health Organization estimates that neurological disorders currently affect one billion people worldwide, a number which is predicted to increase considerably as a result of an ageing population. The need to further understand the brain and make progress in the field of neurology has therefore never been greater. However, with over 100 million neurons each making over 1000 synapses, the human brain is undoubtedly the most complex organ in the human body, and it is this complexity that has meant that advances in neuroscience have been comparatively slow.