Applications open for the Biosecurity Fundamentals: Pandemics Course

By Will S, Dewi, BlueDot Impact, Janvi @ 2023-08-25T17:32 (+46)

We are excited to announce that applications are now open for the Biosecurity Fundamentals: Pandemics Course, starting in October!

The deadline for applications is 23:59 on 13th September 2023 (in whichever time zone you are in).

Overview

This is a 12-week, part-time, virtual course focusing on the technical and policy efforts to prevent, detect and respond to catastrophic pandemics. It brings together:

• An expert-curated curriculum covering topics from the history of pandemics to concrete policy and technical proposals to reduce pandemic risk.
• A community of scientists, policymakers and expert facilitators keen to learn about, discuss and collaborate on proposals to build a more biosecure future.
• Opportunities to pursue careers that enhance pandemic preparedness.

The course is free to participate in and you can read more details here.

Facilitating the course

If you’re already experienced in biosecurity and pandemic preparedness, we’d strongly encourage you to apply to facilitate the course. You can find more details about facilitation here.

Logistical details

• The course is free to participate in.
• The course is entirely virtual and can be scheduled around your existing commitments.
• You will be onboarded into the Slack community in mid-late Sept 2023, with course sessions starting in the second week of October.
• The course is 12 weeks, consisting of 8 weeks of taught content and 4 weeks to work on a project where you start to take your next steps.
• Participating takes about 5 hours / week, including 2-3 hours of preparatory work and 2 hours of small group discussions.

A note on information hazards

We’re conscious of the potential for creating or spreading information hazards when conducting biosecurity field-building and discussion groups. We are working with various members of the biosecurity community to mitigate this risk through our curriculum design, facilitator training and other safeguards.