Training activities
ECDC develops a wide range of training activities for capacity-building and preparedness, taking into account the training needs expressed and prioritised by the EU/EEA Member States.
The current key areas of training include outbreak preparedness and response, antimicrobial resistance, genomic epidemiology, and social and behavioural sciences.
Overall, training activities are mainly intended for young and mid-career public health professionals such as experts working to address cross-border communicable disease threats.
Courses and programmes
Trainings open to all on the Learning Portal
The Learning Portal is ECDC’s platform for training in infectious disease prevention and control.
Trainings with participants nominated by Member States
ECDC organises training activities with a limited number of participants, such as online and face-to-face instructor-led courses.
Core competencies
Core competency frameworks (or ‘core competencies’) define, categorise and standardise public health expertise.
ECDC has helped develop several lists of core competencies through a comprehensive consultation process. Here are the key frameworks for:
- Applied infectious disease epidemiology;
- Public health emergency preparedness;
- Vaccine-preventable diseases and immunisation; and
- Infection control and hospital hygiene professionals
ECDC also contributed to the development of frameworks together with other partners:
In applied epidemiology, ECDC has developed a self-assessment tool:
Accreditation
ECDC’s main e-learning courses, instructor-led courses and training programmes are accredited by the Agency for Public Health Accreditation (APHEA).
APHEA accreditation provides external certification by an independent organisation. It ensures our training activities meet internationally recognised standards in public health education.
Certificates for accredited courses carry the APHEA logo and the number of APHEA CPD credits granted (CPD: Continuous Professional Development).