Medical School partners in delivering Europe’s first simulation-based paediatric IPC training

The Medical School was one of the organisers of the EU’s first Simulation & Practical Onsite Training in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) with a focus on Paediatric Settings. The event took place in Athens over the weekend of 4-5 October 2025.

The workshop was a collaborative initiative among the UNIC Medical School, the Global Penta Foundation – Child Health Research, the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID), the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Outcomes Research (CLEO), the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, and the University of Padova, Italy.

Designed to complement the online learning component, which ran in Spring 2025, the two-day onsite IPC simulation workshop aimed to consolidate participants’ skills in infection prevention strategies by providing hands-on experience and practical training in paediatric infection control.

While the online course in Spring provided theoretical knowledge through modules, webinars and lectures, the residential workshop in October used interactive sessions, real-world case simulations, and skill-based workstations to bridge theory and practice.

Participants from seven countries took part in a series of hands-on practical sessions, which focused on key aspects of IPC. These included hand hygiene and vaccination practices, system change and outbreak management.

Dr Zoi Dorothea Pana, Professor of Paediatric Epidemiology at the University of Nicosia Medical School, led the course, alongside Dr John Kopsidas, Paediatrician, Senior Infection Preventionist and Senior Researcher at the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Outcomes Research (CLEO) and Peter McEneaney, Training Manager at Penta Foundation, Padua, Italy.

Prof Pana said that ‘the pilot was highly successful, with many participants pointing out that there is a significant training gap in Europe for clinicians in this area. Most healthcare professionals are well-versed in the theory of IPC, but fewer have access to structured, practical training that allows them to apply these principles in real clinical settings.This workshop was designed to fill that gap – to turn knowledge into confidence and competence’.

The organisers are now considering repeating the course in Cyprus and other countries to further expand access to practical IPC training across Europe.