Since 2010, the Dental Summer at Timmendorfer Strand has developed from a continuing education event into one of the largest meeting points for young dentists. Every year around 1,000 dentists, assistant dentists and practice teams come to the Baltic Sea; counting the industry as well, the figure peaks at more than 2,000 people. In the episode “Wie übergibt man ein Lebenswerk?” of the podcast Queens & Sons of Dentistry, founder Wilhelm Hakim, together with his son Chris, tells the story behind the event – and explains which principles underpin its success.
Why a continuing education event for the next generation came about
According to Hakim, the idea for the Dental Summer is around 20 years old – and it arose from a sober observation: he had grown old together with his customers. When he himself passed 40, the participants of his events crossed that threshold with him, and at some point they could hardly be persuaded to learn anything new. Whoever has established an implant system no longer changes it; the tax adviser and the bank are changed just as rarely, and the materials business likewise follows entrenched preferences. So Hakim developed a support model for the next generation: a continuing education event for young people, to which many can come at a special price or with free tickets. One third of the income from the industry stands flows into this support fund, and every evening there is a party. Advertising is hardly necessary – the event lives on word of mouth. The press now calls the Dental Summer the “festival of young dentistry”.
Everyone on an equal footing: the all-in principle
A core element of the concept is the consistent equal treatment of all participant groups. There are no different classes, only one all-in package – whether exhibitor, practice employee, dentist or dental technician: everyone receives the same food, the same drinks, the same party. Precisely in this Hakim sees the reason why the industry and young dental professionals benefit in equal measure: a relaxed conversation on the beach is something completely different from a brief passing exchange at a trade fair stand or a rushed half hour in the practice. At the same time he makes it clear that the Dental Summer is not a sales event: whoever expects to write orders directly on site is pursuing the wrong approach. Here the course is set and contacts are made – “people want to deal with people, and the business comes of its own accord”. The event is deliberately conceived with the future in mind.
Three values: unique, competent, inspiring
Asked about the decisive success factor, Hakim names three values. Unique, because an event of this kind for young people exists only once in Germany. Competent, because the leading figures in dental continuing education are present. And inspiring, because the networking idea is combined with parties and an event character.
Reliability in the crisis as a driver of growth
The coronavirus period marked a turning point. While, according to Hakim's account, many continuing education providers organised nothing at all, his team always went to the limit of what was permitted at the time – on one occasion the easing of restrictions came on 16 June for an event that took place on 19 June. This risk was rewarded by the industry and by participants alike: from 2023 onwards, the event was positively overrun. Today the programme comprises 18 seminars, 14 of which are fully booked; the largest, a course by Dani Edelhoff on minimally invasive prosthodontics, has more than 200 participants. Meanwhile the proceedings are spread across six locations around the Maritim Seehotel.
Specialist knowledge and personal development on a par
The orientation of the programme is remarkable: specialist seminars and those devoted to personal development are booked equally strongly – a body language seminar, for instance, has 160 participants. The IFG had already covered topics such as mindset when the term did not yet exist and was simply called “attitude”, and offered a longevity seminar before it became a trend. The growth speaks for the concept: in the year 2000 the IFG counted 1,600 seminar participants per year, today there are around 16,000 in online and in-person formats. For the future Hakim wishes for one thing above all: that meeting in person remains as important as it is today – because, particularly after the coronavirus period, people have shown how much they need direct exchange, despite all the digital possibilities.