Trainings with participants nominated by Member States

Annual instructor-led courses

Multi-drug-resistant microorganisms (MDROs)

The MDRO online course takes place over two days (four half-days), and is usually organised in September-October. It includes an e-learning and a training-of-trainers component. Participants are nominated by the National Focal Points for antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infections.

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Summer School

The Summer School is a three-day face-to-face course, and is usually organised in May. There is also a preparation webinar a month before the course, and a follow-up webinar a few months later.

Previous topics included mathematical modelling and training-of-trainers on antimicrobial resistance.

Participants are nominated by the National Focal Points for training or the relevant disease or public health function network.

Winter Workshop

The Winter Workshop is a three-day online course, usually organised in December. The most recent topic covered was One Health. Participants are nominated by the National Focal Points for training.

Training programmes

Preparedness and Response Executive Training Programme

The programme takes place over five months and includes a blend of formats: e-learning, instructor-led online and in person. Five editions are planned to take place between 2024 and 2027.

Participants are nominated by the National Focal Points for preparedness and response.

online training_H

GenEpi-BioTrain – Genetic Epidemiology and Bioinformatics Training Programme

During the first phase of the programme (2023-2026), the topics were:

  • Respiratory viruses; 
  • Antimicrobial resistant pathogens; 
  • Food- and waterborne diseases; 
  • Vaccine-preventable diseases;
  • Tuberculosis; and 
  • One Health.

The programme includes various formats:

  • Virtual Trainings: the live sessions are open to all and the recordings are made available on the learning portal. 
  • Face-to-face two-week workshops on bioinformatics.
  • Face-to-face two-week workshops on interdisciplinary genomic epidemiology and public health bioinformatics.
  • Face-to-face three-day trainings on specific topics in genomic epidemiology and/or public health bioinformatics.
  • Exchange visits for bioinformaticians (either one, two or three weeks).
  • Participants are nominated by the National Focal Points for microbiology.

AURORAE: Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 laboratory training programme

The training programme (2022-2025) included:

  • Face-to-face training courses (wetlab and drylab)
  • Twinning visits of various durations; 
  • Virtual training (webinars, videos, self-paced online training courses);
  • Participants were nominated by the National Focal Points for microbiology.

Other training activities

Evidence-based public health (EBPH) workshops

Two editions of each course were organised each year between 2024-2026:

  • Online introductory course focusing on key concepts (two half-days);
  • In-person course (four days) focusing on methods and tools.  

Participants are nominated by the National Focal Points for scientific advice coordination.

Cross-sectoral Biorisk Awareness and Mitigation (BAM) training

Several editions of this three-day in-person course have been organised in collaboration with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol).

Participants come from three sectors: health emergencies services and public health, law enforcement, and civil protection.

Professional exchanges

Professional exchange activities at ECDC include:

  • Exchange visits promoting mutual learning between Member States: 
    These visits allow senior public health experts to observe practices in other EU countries, build professional networks and support a more coordinated approach to public health cooperation and training.
  • Exchange programmes for members of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), the European Society for Clinical Virology (ESCV) and experts in food- and waterborne diseases: 
    ECDC collaborates with other institutions to offer hands-on learning opportunities for public health experts to develop their skills, share knowledge and engage with other observers and ECDC experts. The ECDC Observership is a five-day programme for early-and mid-career scientists and health professionals from learned and professional societies to visit ECDC in Stockholm.