At the Department of Surgery of the Karl-Franzens University Hospital, a number of programs are available that use new technologies for training of students, interns and residents. The first project, the Virtual Medical Campus Graz (vmc.uni-graz.at) is one of the “New Media in Teaching at Austrian Universities” projects. The general objectives of this initiative are innovation in teaching, intensification of contacts and easier access to education: The second project is virtual laparoscopy and surgical training. Unlike the traditional training modalities, computer-based training provides efficient and effective learning through an objective training tool that can assess learners' performance. It is to be expected that new media and technologies will continue to provide innovative approaches to learning and that the competition between new and traditional systems will continue to enliven the educational scene.