Past EBSA events

Instructors
Wendy Shell (AUT) and Chris Pirson (UK)

This one-day classroom based, interactive course will give participants an insight into the key technical skills for a successful career in biosafety or biosecurity. For those starting out in the role or considering a career as a Biosafety professional it is necessary to demonstrate competency in several key areas, as defined in Technical Standards such as CWA 16335 and ISO/TS 5441. Through case studies, interactive group exercises and taught learning this course will ensure attendees are able to develop their own training pathway to becoming a Biosafety professional. It will enable individuals to identify gaps in current knowledge, skills or experience and the development opportunities to address these, along with accreditation schemes to demonstrate competency.

Instructors
Felix Gmünder (CH) and Timo Kehl (De)

SOLD OUT 

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.  

Members only event

Webinar by Julianne L. Baron

Increasing reliance on the internet and technology in research and biomedical laboratories has opened these organizations up to increased focus for cyberattacks. 

Instructor Matthias Bittner

The course explains why the standard for microbiological safety cabinets (BSCs) EN12469:2000 needed updating. How the European standards group came into being for the review. How such an international group operates. The renewed European standard EN12469:2025 is presented, along with its main features and published parts. It details the changes to performance criteria, their testing and the servicing of the devices. It also explains what to look out for when purchasing, installing and routinely maintaining BSCs.

In spring 2024, the International Organization for Standardization, ISO, published the technical specification ISO/TS5441:2024 Competence Requirements for Biorisk Management Advisors (BMA). ISO/TS5441 compiles all information on required knowledge, skills and experience a biorisk management advisor should have to provide competent advice to an organization under a given context, that is, based on the types of activities with biological material and their risk. ISO/TS5441 helps you to demonstrate and update your competence and it supports organization on how to define their competence need and how to choose a BMA. ISO/TS5441 has been designed by biosafety experts from different countries around the globe based on consensus, thus being a truly international specification.

The course will inform BMA of all degree of expertise and fields of activities on how ISO/TS5441 supports biorisk management advice activities. ISO/TS5441 can be purchased from national standardization organisations.  The document cannot be shared as proprietary. However, this is not a prerequisite for attending the course.

GMP requirements are rooted in strict, non-negotiable legislation while biosafety relies on the nuanced art of risk assessment. These two domains share significant synergies but also harbor conflicts. Misalignment between GMP and biosafety standards can lead to facilities that fail to fully comply with biosafety, compromising containment design, improper airflow management, and increasing risk of carry-over of contamination and release.

The behavior-based safety and human factors approach is a proactive and comprehensive strategy aimed at identifying and addressing at-risk behaviors in laboratory settings. This approach emphasizes the importance of individual behaviors in creating a safe work environment and preventing accidents and injuries.

Additional to technical knowledge, a successful career in biosafety or biosecurity requires a number of transferable professional skills. This course will give participants grounding and insight into key skills used by professionals in many areas, and examine how those impact upon a career in biosafety / biosecurity both generally and specifically. 

After introducing the basic definitions, the course will cover two major topics: the strategy to identify cell culturesand the risks related to cell cultures and appropriate mitigation measures. Each part will involve interaction with participants, including a final short quizby groups of 3-4.

Imagine you see yourself in a situation in which you have to decide on the biological risk classification of a new biologic and decide on the safety measures required to protect the people working in the lab and the environment and you have never come across any similar biologic, if it is biologic at all. This course is as much about risk assessment and risk management as it is about the process to find an answer and come to conclusions as well as dealing with uncertainty.

4 days in the Netherlands

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. 

Aim: To be competent in undertaking biological risk assessment in an in vitro containment facility. 

This full-day course provides a comprehensive introduction to laboratory biosecurity principles, focusing on the practical application of risk assessment strategies. Participants will explore the WHO Laboratory Biosecurity Guidance, examining the connections and distinctions between biosecurity and biosafety. 

Biological risk assessments come in many kinds. Biosafety officers are the subject matter experts in their organization. How can they bring the risk assessment process to life and ensure risk assessments become living documents that support biorisk management and risk communication? The course explores problems and solutions in complex biological risk assessments. It provides practical instruction in the bowtie risk assessments as a reference method.

Members only event

The day will be dedicated to large scale contained use. This will be illustrated by sharing how the site has managed the Polio certification in an eradication period.