New FutureLearn course on Diagnostics and Testing for COVID-19

The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), a global non-profit organization driving innovation in the development and delivery of diagnostics to combat major diseases affecting the world’s poorest populations, has developed a course on COVID-19 Diagnostics and Testing in partnership with the African Society of Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). The course begins on Monday 20 April 2020 and is available to join now on leading social learning platform, FutureLearn.com.

With diagnostics emerging as one of the most pressing issues in the COVID-19 crisis, the 3-week course will cover: the role of diagnostics in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, current recommendations on use of COVID-19 diagnostics and testing strategies, how countries are establishing and scaling up COVID-19 testing, and key considerations for safety, quality and impact of diagnostic services. As with all short courses on the FutureLearn platform, learners can participate and complete the course at their own pace to fit with the demands of busy schedules. 

The course is designed for professionals involved in the testing and diagnosis of COVID-19, with a focus on low- and middle-income settings. This may include Ministry of Health officials, laboratory managers, laboratory technologists and technicians, clinicians, programme managers and implementing partners. On the course learners will be able to engage with an impressive list of technical experts who will be serving as mentors on the course as well as an educator representing each organization.

Lead educator for the course, Dr Cassandra Kelly-Cirino, Director of Emerging Threats at FIND, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic throws up many questions. What tests should be used?  What strategies can be used to rapidly scale up testing capacity? What can we learn from other countries who have already scaled testing capacity? This course will help answer these questions and share experiences of COVID-19 diagnostics and testing with peers.”

Course educator, Dr Collins Otieno Odhiambo, Project Lead at ASLM said: “This MOOC resonates well with ASLM’s Laboratory Systems strengthening Community of Practice project which aims to foster knowledge exchange and co-creation. It provides the opportunity for joint learning, and understanding of COVID-19 diagnostics among professionals, country teams and global experts.”

Course educator, Dr Debi Boeras, Director of the International Diagnostics Centre, USA at LSHTM said: “This pandemic is fast moving and has really brought the need for testing to the forefront. Our course aims to develop a community of learners and experts who will hopefully walk away with greater knowledge of the current testing scenario. We want this shared learning platform to be useful to all those who are at the frontlines of COVID-19 testing.”

Helen Fuller, Global Healthcare Lead at FutureLearn, said: “We increasingly recognize the importance of robust testing for COVID-19 to help each country better understand the challenge it’s facing.  At FutureLearn, we’re proud to be a part of such an important collaboration between leading organizations in the diagnostic space. We continue to work closely with our partners to share their expertise at scale, and provide healthcare professionals across the world with the necessary information they need to navigate these unprecedented times.”

The first run of the course will be available online for 5 weeks. Participants can enrol at www.futurelearn.com/courses/covid-19-diagnostics-and-testing.