Contributing to lifelong learning to improve theoretical and practical skills of cancer investigators, is IARC part of IARC mandate and is implemented through the IARC Courses Programme, with emphasis on researchers and health professionals from LMICs:
- To stimulate research in cancer by developing individual and institutional expertise in areas of IARC competence through the organization of learning events (courses and webinars).
- To bring IARC learning and teaching resources closer to their target audiences, by developing eLearning material and initiatives, including in various languages.
Topics typically covered by IARC courses and resources are linked to IARC’s expertise, i.e., Cancer Early Detection and Prevention, Cancer Infrastructure and methods, Cancer Surveillance, Leadership and Management and the Evidence Synthesis and Classification. Targeted audiences range from epidemiologists to biobank personnel, community health workers, nursing professionals, nutritionists, oncologists, statisticians and many more health professionals, at various stages in their career and involved in Cancer Research for Cancer Prevention.
A large variety of capacity-building initiatives led by IARC Research Branches have enable the Agency to deliver international training courses online or on site (e.g., IARC Summer School in Lyon) and at diverse locations worldwide through collaborative research projects. It has also developed and increased the learning resources currently available on IARC Learning portal for the global community of cancer researchers and professionals.
Initiatives such as the IARC Global Initiative for Cancer Registry development (GICR) Regional Trainers led by the Cancer Surveillance Branch, and the Cancer Screening in Five Continents (CanScreen5) Training of Trainers Learning Programme coordinated by the Early Detection, Prevention and Infections Branch are striking examples of capacity-building effort to train networks of experts who can then support in-country capacity building.
The IARC learning portal hosts freely accessible learning materials to the global community.
To stay informed about IARC training activities and opportunities, subscribe to the IARC Newsletter: https://www.iarc.who.int/iarcnewsletter/