ECDC Observership

The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) observership welcomes 20 observers for a 5-day programme at the ECDC headquarters in Solna, Sweden. The ECDC is an ESCMID Collaborative Centre (ECC) and an agency of the European Union that carries the mission to strengthen Europe’s defences against Infectious Diseases (ID) through data collection, analysis and knowledge sharing.

Objectives

Throughout your observership, you will dive into ECDC activities and professional network with the following main objectives:

  • to understand ECDC’s role and responsibilities in supporting European and global public health in the field of communicable diseases
  • to understand the interplay between ECDC and competent bodies in EU Member States, the WHO and other global public health organisations
  • to acquaint observers with public health microbiology, surveillance, scientific advice and epidemic intelligence at the European level
  • to share information on ECDC’s activities and key outputs and the way they are produced (e.g. risk assessments, scientific advice, support to laboratory network activities)
  • to facilitate networking between ECDC experts and observers.

More information can be found on the ECDC website

Deadlines

ECDC observership calls are held once a year.

Applications will be accepted from

16 April 2024, 12:00 CEST

Deadline for applications

15 May 2024, 12:00 CEST

Date of visit

14–18 October 2024

Applicants will be informed about the result by

beginning of July

Application procedure

To apply for the ECDC observership, please follow these steps:

Send an official application

  • Use your ESCMID member login details to connect
  • Click the ‘Apply now for observership’ link at the top of the ECC profile page of ECDC
  • Select funded observership
  • Complete and submit your request through the online application form with your proof of current position and CV as attachments

Receive a final approval: 

  • The ESCMID Professional Affairs Subcommittee will evaluate your application and make a decision
  • The ESCMID Executive Office will notify you of the evaluation results around 8 weeks after the deadline has closed
     

To qualify for the ECDC observership, please make sure you meet the eligibility criteria: 

  • Be an ESCMID Young Scientist Member or LMIC member fulfilling the criteria of Young Scientist Membership
  • Hold a relevant degree in infectious diseases, clinical microbiology, public health and/or any related degree may be considered
  • Must not have participated in a previous ESCMID-ECDC observership visit during the last 24 months
  • Have a proven interest and/or experience in public health, e.g. degree, research interest, research for policy /creating policy
  • Have an interest that extends beyond a regional level, e.g. EU or internationally
  • Have a strong interest in the ECDC/public health fields. ECDC’s activities should be pertinent to their work

ESCMID evaluates applicants based on their demonstrated interest and experience in public health, extending beyond regional levels to include the EU or international sphere. This includes a strong interest in ECDC and related fields, with relevant activities or future projects integral to their work. The applicant’s focus should be in the infectious disease, clinical microbiology and public health fields: health services, outbreak detection and control, infection control and infectious disease epidemiology, etc.

Applicants will be considered based on the following criteria in the public health fields:

  • Degree
  • Research, publications, presentations at meetings
  • Current or past projects
  • Experience
  • International collaboration
  • Active engagement with a public health organization such as ECDC, or use of resources from ECDC (or similar public health organisation) in the course of their work.

Applicants are encouraged to highlight relevant experience and interest in their applications, which will then be used to select participants.

For the ECDC observerships, ESCMID will sponsor your travel costs according to these regulations. 

Intra-European Observership visits

For ESCMID members from Europe visiting an ECC in Europe ESCMID, subsidises travel costs and subsistence for outside-of-country visits and inside-of-country visits for ECDC as follows:

  • A maximum of 500 EUR (€) to cover your travel expenses (airfare, train tickets, and car expenses at 0.3 EUR (€)/km)
  • 70 EUR (€)/day for a maximum of 7 days to cover any expenses onsite during your visit (accommodation, food, transportation, etc.)

Intracontinental Observership visits

For ESCMID members from outside Europe visiting an ECC in Europe, ESCMID subsidises travel costs and subsistence for outside-of-country visits as follows:

  • A maximum of 1.3K EUR (€) to cover your travel expenses (airfare, train tickets, and car expenses at 0.3 EUR (€)/km)
  • 70 EUR (€)/day for a maximum of 7 days to cover any expenses onsite during your visit (accommodation, food, transportation, etc.)

List of countries

A list of countries and respective geographic regions can be viewed here

After completing your special funded observership, you will need to submit an official evaluation form, including a report, to be published on the ECC website or in any other ESCMID publication. ESCMID may share your name when publishing this report.