The purpose was to create a curriculum that would train the clinical trialists of the future and provide them with the skills to design, conduct, and manage clinical trials and report their findings to the highest standard. The curriculum, with worldwide access, was planned to meet the needs of our target groups - PhD students and early career researchers in the medical, science, pharmacy, and health professions. Objectives: 1.To design a clinical trial curriculum to provide target groups with the skills to design, conduct, and report on clinical trials in their disciplines 2.To provide transferable interdisciplinary training to target groups, focusing on leadership, scientific publishing, and teaching so they have the tools to become clinical trial leaders in their respective fields 3.To disseminate the finished curriculum widely and make this training available to as many people as possible worldwide 4.To standardize the clinical trials curriculum in Europe, to raise awareness of and disseminate the best practices in the field of clinical trials education 5.To reinforce the existing cooperation in clinical trials education in Europe by continuing and further strengthening the collaboration with ECRIN partners
Clinical trials are the way to market for all treatments. The clinical trials arena has changed over years, and patient safety has undoubtedly improved. But the environment in which trialists operate is highly regulated. This makes it daunting for PhD students and early career researchers and these enthusiastic future leaders may not be able to bring us the best therapies without adequate training. This is in line with the NIHR recommendations: 1.Increase flexibility and availability of clinical trials training, 2.Increase dissemination of opportunities for clinical trials training, 3.Explore linking trials training into the broader research pathway, 4.Consider key skills for different stages of clinical trials training, 5.Consider how research training awards can best prepare trainees for a career as a trials leader when developing recommendations into concrete proposals. The previous CONSCIOUS project enabled the undergraduates to develop knowledge of clinical trials. We then wished to deepen the understanding, address the above training needs, and provide participants with the skills to lead own trial. Our aim was to design a web-based, inclusive, and accessible curriculum for investigators of the future.