All upcoming courses
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02 June 2026Pre conference course E - BSL-3 Facilities: From Planning to Performance Verification
Bruges and BruggeRead moreInstructors
Felix Gmünder (CH) and Timo Kehl (De)
The planning, design, construction and performance review of high containment facilities, including BSL-3, ABSL-3 and BSL-3Ag, requires a well thought out approach if the outcome is to meet the intentions of the owner or client and the users. -
02 June 2026Pre conference course H: Evaluating and Embedding Biosafety Skills: From Compliance towards Competence.
Bruges and BruggeRead moreInstructors
Adam Stevenson (UK) and Heidi Auerswald (IT)
This highly interactive one-day course equips biosafety professionals, laboratory supervisors, and institutional trainers with practical tools to evaluate, strengthen, and embed biosafety competence beyond traditional tick-box training models. Participants will unpack the distinctions between, training, compliance, and competence, and work through hands-on methods to translate those insights into practice. Using a step-by-step improvement plan, each participant will identify key challenges in their home institution and design a 3-month roadmap for upgrading how competence is assessed, reinforced, and sustained. The course draws from ISO 35001, CWA 16335, ISO/TS 5441, and WHO LBM4, and links theoretical frameworks to actionable strategies: job safety analysis, SOP analysis, job specification evaluation, behavioural reinforcement, observation checklists, and building psychological safety. The course is especially valuable for institutions looking to strengthen internal competency frameworks, onboarding, or coaching programs. -
02 June 2026Pre conference course D - Biosafety in Action: theory and best practices on safety equipment, with lab demonstration and exercises
Bruges and BruggeRead moreInstructors
Suzanne Loret (BE) and Filippo De Franceschi (CH)This course is intended for novices to practitioners in contained use.
After introducing the basic concepts about safety equipment (collective and personal equipment), the training will focus on biosafety cabinets (BSC) with particular attention to defining the protection range of each type of BSC and some ways to decontaminate the BSC work surface and HEPA filters. The first course day will also cover personal protective equipment (PPE), focusing mainly on facial masks and gloves. Besides explaining the criteria to consider when selecting the appropriate PPE.
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03 June 2026Pre conference course A - Practical Implementation of Biosecurity
Bruges and BruggeRead moreInstructors
Jane Shallcross (UK) and Rik Bleijs (NL)This full-day course offers a comprehensive introduction to laboratory biosecurity, focusing on the practical implementation of biosecurity policies, guidelines, and risk assessments. Participants will explore the importance of robust biosecurity measures for global health, and learn to identify and address risks across the eight pillars of biosecurity: leadership and governance, risk assessment, personnel reliability, physical security, information security, material control and accountability, transport security, and emergency response.
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03 June 2026Preconference course F - The Biocontainment Challenge: BSL2 to BSL3 Upgrade Simulation Game
Bruges and BruggeRead moreInstructors
Vips Halkjaer-Knudsen (DK) and Faye Litherland (UK)Upgrading an operational BSL2 laboratory to BSL3 is a significantly different process than designing a brand-new BSL3 facility, where budgets, expectations, and design principles are established from the beginning. Retrofitting presents an entirely different challenge. Many initiatives start with internal enthusiasm, often from scientific staff who believe the upgrade mainly involves adding a pass-through autoclave or creating a curved floor-to-wall transition. The shift from “minimise release” to “prevent release” is much more complex than it seems, and the hidden complexities, costs, and constraints of old infrastructure are easy to underestimate. This immersive simulation game places participants in the role of biosafety consultants tasked with navigating exactly these challenges.
