Building biosafety capacity: lessons learned and problems encountered using a distance learning approach WATCH BASIC LEVELS: https://uii.io/Twebjob3

1. Building biosafety capacity: lessons learned and
problems encountered using a distance learning
approach
As the number of commercial biotechnology products grows each year,
biotechnology is altering industrial and agricultural practices. Several regulatory
measures are put in place at the same time to allow technological growth while
protecting public health and the environment.
Developing and emerging countries frequently encounter significant obstacles in
gaining access to biotechnologies and biotechnology-derived products due to a lack
of institutional capacity and professional competence in regulatory monitoring.
Intensive biosafety capacity building is necessary to meet this need.
Individuals can be trained in biosafety in a variety of ways, ranging from long-term
courses that lead to a postgraduate certificate or a Masters degree to short-term
courses. We address the application of a distinct approach to biosafety capacity
building based on a distance e-learning system, the UNIDO e-Biosafety program,
which is held every year at the United Nations.
Despite some obstacles, we can conclude from our experience that remote learning
combined with on-campus tuition is a viable option for biosafety capacity
development.
Many national and international development projects have prioritized the need to
improve professional skills in biosafety standards.
Capacity building in the field of biosafety
Building biosafety capacity is a difficult task that necessitates a multidisciplinary
approach, with the main components being human resource development,
institutional and policy development for regulatory bodies, and relevant research
institutions, to enable them to use biotechnology products, particularly GM crops,
microbes, and/or their processed products, efficiently and effectively.
Different training concepts can be used to train persons in biosafety for human
resource development . Formal education at the postgraduate or master's level from
a university can provide in-depth specialization. This enables comprehensive and
hands-on practical training, resulting in a significant improvement in the needed
competencies.
Despite the benefits of this choice, such as the academic accreditation that comes
with it, long-term university training has limited appeal among professionals because
it requires them to take time from work to study full-time. Furthermore, it might be
prohibitively expensive for both students and course providers. As a result, only a
few long-term Master's degree programmes in Biosafety are offered globally.

2. In addition to the online lessons, the pilot phase of this program clearly recognized
the need for specific hands-on tuition to allow students to deepen their
understanding on essential risk assessment themes. As a result, one-to-two-week
on-campus sessions have been established at UGent and MPU, both of which are
open to students from all network nodes.
The main goal was to give students and participants a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to gain advanced skills in formulating and evaluating applications for environmental
releases and/or food and feed use of biotechnology-derived products through
hands-on training provided by renowned and experienced competent institutions and
their local faculty (MPU, UGent).
Conclusion
Building biosafety capacities in developing nations is critical for them to be able to
explore the spectrum of biotechnologies and their related products in order to
sustainably enhance agriculture and other bio-industries production. Long-term
distant e-learning has various advantages for biosafety capacity building, according
to our expertise in human resource development, such as reducing geographical and
financial barriers. It is an appealing strategy for professionals since it allows them to
blend training with their day-to-day work. As a result, it may provide in-depth training
in accordance with the ‘train the trainers' principle, resulting in a capacity-building
multiplier effect.
Despite these benefits, there are still certain issues with the distance e-learning
system. The additional hands-on instruction provided by the on-campus sessions
was extremely beneficial to the e-learning system. Participants must, of course, have
the means and time to go to the network nodes where the training is taking place.
It is widely acknowledged that countries must have adequate institutional capacities
in place to deal with the complex concerns surrounding the introduction of GM
technology. It is therefore critical to keep bringing the need of biosafety capacity
development, including formal degrees, to the attention of governments,
development agencies, and international organizations.
Overall, we can conclude that combining a remote e-learning system with
on-campus tuition is a viable option for increasing biosafety capacity.