With the Hollywood-inspired theme “Lights, Camera, Audiology!” Phonak and Advanced Bionics (AB) kicked off Phonak University 2026 with a walk down student attendees’ very own red carpet. But the focus was not on glamor, but the excitement of embarking on a career in audiology and developing skills and knowledge with like-minded peers and the help of field experts to further that dream.
Every year, Phonak invites a select group of audiology students to attend Phonak University, a three-day educational event that provides instruction in professional development, audiology concepts, and what the company’s brands can do for patients and their families. Feb. 18-20, a smaller group of 50 third- and fourth-year students from 18 different universities across the United States and Puerto Rico attended.
“This year, it’s a much deeper dive into the technology of cochlear implants and hearing aid fittings,” explains Brandy Pouliot, director of audiology and education at Sonova, whose team planned the event. “So we thought third and fourth years are at a really great time in their academic education for this. They’re seeing patients, they’re getting ready for their externship, so they’re like, ‘All right, I need like a little bit more.’”
And a wide range of audiology experts were on hand to share their knowledge and expertise, at a level appropriate for where the students are in their academic journey.
“We have a mix of Phonak clinical trainers and Sonova audiology experts. We have HR experts talking about professional skills. And then we also have research and development and some Advanced Bionics clinical specialists and some AB consumer specialists also,” says Pouliot. “We don’t get super deep into really nitty-gritty stuff. We try to stay high level and then rise to wherever they need to be risen to or go deep if we need to.”
Access to Cochlear Implants
For Phonak University 2026, Phonak for the first time combined efforts with sister Sonova brand Advanced Bionics to host the event, held at AB’s world headquarters and cochlear implant manufacturing facility in Valencia, California – not too far from Los Angeles, hence the Hollywood theme.
This collaboration gave many students exposure to the cochlear implant side of audiology like they’d never experienced before.
All Phonak U students got a tour of the facility where Advanced Bionics cochlear implants are made, which many said was the highlight of the event for them.
“Just getting to walk through [the Advanced Bionics facility here in Valencia] and see how a [cochlear implant is] made is so important for us,” says Madison Lyde, a student at the University of North Texas. “It’s so important to understand and know what our patients are getting implanted with and what they’re going to have for the rest of their lives.”
Hands-On Experience
Rebecca Hammond, also a student at the University of North Texas, was most excited about the temporal bone lab. “We actually get to practice inserting the two different types of electrodes that AB makes,” she enthused. “I think getting to do hands-on labs like that is really fun.”
University of Southern Mississippi student Logann Griffith also appreciated going beyond what her school has been able to teach her about CIs.
“I had my cochlear implant class last semester, but that was more lecture based, so being able to be hands on has been especially helpful,” she says. “Also, I don’t see a lot in clinic right now because there’s not a lot of cochlear implants in Mississippi clinically, so being here has been very beneficial for that hands-on experience.”
Griffith is considering a focus on cochlear implants for her career, and she plans to put her newly acquired knowledge to good use as soon as possible.
“At my externship they do some cochlear implants along with hearing aids at that placement site,” she says, “so being able to be here and learn and then taking that back with me will help set me up for success.”
Other hands-on classes covered topics including advanced programming of both hearing aids and cochlear implants, evaluating patients for cochlear implant candidacy, and counseling patients on hearing aids.
Entering the Job Market
Many students nearing the end of their formal audiology education are not yet sure what type of job they want to pursue, or have questions about the one or several they have in mind. So at a Phonak U “career junket” session, students could ask questions of experts in seven different areas of the audiology field to help decide what career path they might want to follow. Options included academia, educational audiology, ENT, industry, private practice, research, and the VA.
To prepare students to interview for a job in audiology, Phonak University also held sessions focused on practical skills they likely won’t find elsewhere in their studies. This is by design. In fact, a new session all about how to evaluate employee benefits packages was born out of a suggestion from a Phonak University alum who expressed a need for that information.
Pouliot shares that during the event, “One student came out of an HR presentation about interviewing and said, ‘I really wish I’d had that six months ago when I was going into my externship.’ So sometimes it’s super timely, or it’s prepping for the future. And because we look at some more general professional goals and skills, I think we’re able to meet more of their needs as far as what to look for when you’re ready to go into that first job. Because you’re just still trying to get the mechanics of your profession under you. It’s all practice, right?”
Hammond appreciates getting the chance for that practice, because it’s not something she’s had the opportunity to learn about in the classroom or elsewhere.
“We do have a business class,” she says of her audiology program, “but it’s more tailored toward if you want to run your own business. If you’ll be working for someone else and negotiating benefits, negotiating salaries, trying to decide what job offer to take, I feel like that’s something that is just kind of assumed that you’re going to pick up along the way.”
Building a Network and a Foundation
Phonak U also provides students with opportunities to network with fellow students as well as the experts in the field who teach the sessions.
“The amount of participation has been awesome,” says Pouliot. “These students are here to connect, to network. The field is so small and the ability to network early in your career just opens up so many other pathways. So it’s really about letting them network with each other and knowing safe industry people and research people if they want to have a mentor or talk about something as they continue on in their education and their careers.”
Lyde is a Phonak University alum, having first attended in 2025. “I established a lot of relationships last year, and I’m growing those relationships this year, reconnecting with both students and staff of Sonova,” she told The Hearing Review. And she hopes to build upon that foundation of relationships and knowledge she’s acquired as she looks toward her next steps.
Now, all 50 students who attended Phonak University 2026 are better equipped to complete their educations and find a path in audiology that they can be excited about every day.
Featured image: Group photo of students who attended Phonak University 2026 at Advanced Bionics headquarters in Valencia, California. Photo: Phonak
