Posted on: 20.10.2022

Dear Colleagues!

We are pleased to announce the recruitment of the second cohort of residentsfor the Eastern Europe and South Caucasus (EESC) Field Epidemiology Training Program -Intermediate (FETP). The program will commence in January 2023, and will include residents from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Armenia, and Ukraine.

1.      University degree in public health, epidemiology and general hygiene, medicine, or and veterinary science is required.  Advanced degree in public health is an advantage.

2.      Current full-time employment and at least two years of work experience in public healthin the government or private sector, including those affiliated with the Ministry of Health or Ministry of Agriculture/Food Safety. Preference will be given to applicants, whose responsibilities include public health data collection and analysis, for example: epidemiological surveillance (communicable and non-communicable diseases), epidemiological investigation of outbreaks, assessment of disease control programs, assessment of effectiveness of public health services, etc.

3.      Fluency in Russian is required, and an intermediate level of proficiency in English is desirable. Fluency in English is an advantage.

4.      Basic computer and software application skills

5.      Candidates must demonstrate commitment to continue working in the government public health system for at least 2 years after graduation from the program.

6.      Be able to contribute at least 15 years to the public health field after the graduation from the program.

1.      Candidates should complete an online application formprovide the supporting documents. The application deadline is October 30, 2022ю

2.      The application form is accessible by the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FETP_I_Application

3.      Upload the following documents:

·         Curriculum vitae (CV)

·         Confirmation of professional license and academic degrees

·         Two letters of recommendation from persons directly related to the professional career of the candidates and/or heads of authority, institution, organization, or enterprise, where the candidate works.

One of these recommendation letters should be from the applicant’s current supervisor or head of the structural departmentwhere the applicant works, who can ensure support of the application and the candidate’s active participation in the program, as well as the assurance that upon completion of the program, the applicant will be able to work in the authority, institution or organization that sentthe applicant for the program for at least two years. 

·         Supervisor agreement to providing the applicant access to surveillance data and time to participate in the required program activities.

·         Statement of motivation to participate in the FETP (no more than 1 page/800 words), covering the following points:

·         What is your motivation to participate in the program?

·         How have your education and professional experiences prepared and encouraged you to participate in the FETP?

·         What would you like to achieve after graduation from FETP?

·         What are your professional goals and vision of your career development in the coming years?

1.      Candidates will be informed by email regarding receipt of application

2.      Selected for interview candidates will be informed personally or by phone no later than November 4, 2022.

1.      Candidates will be given a written online Language Test (Russian/English) during November 7-9, 2022

3.      The interviews with selected candidates will be conducted during November 10-17, 2022.

4.      Based on the interview results, selected candidates will be offered an online Entry Professional Test to evaluate their knowledge of basic epidemiology. The duration of the Entry Test is about 1 hour by November 21, 2022.

5.      The final selection will be based on the candidates’ Language Test and Entry Professional Test results, resume and interview by November 23, 2022

6.      Admission decisions will be communicated to candidates via email and official letter by December 5, 2022.

Travel and accommodation will be coordinated and funded by the EESC FETP-Iprogram.

Eastern European and South Caucasus Field epidemiology Program-Intermediate (EESC FETP-I) is an on-the-job training program for public health professionals and veterinarians. The program consists of five1–2-week didactic workshops in Georgia, accompanied by mentored field work in the residents’ home country. Residents are expected to continue with their full-time jobs during the program. The training program is 10 months in duration andwill be conducted in Russian and English.

The main goals of the program are to:

·         Provide essential public health services to the country by strengthening:

o   Response to acute problems, including outbreaks and natural and man-made disasters

o   Surveillance systems through evaluations, managing ongoing or new surveillance systems, and training local health staff

o   Public health system capacity and infrastructure of the country

o   Scientific basis for program and policy decisions to prevent and control diseases and conditions - the key to public health impact

o   Communication of epidemiologic information by contributing to the national epidemiology bulletin, publishing journal articles, and presenting surveillance data to decision makers

·         Enhance cross border information exchange to prevent wide spread of disease outbreaks

·         Train a cadre of public health professionals who work on priority issues in the country

The main principle of FETP is the use of evidence-based data to achieve public health goals.FETP will introduce international standards of epidemiology and foster an evidence-based mentality so that residents are able to support arguments with convincing evidence and influence people in progressive ways. The FETP establishes a cohesive mindset of public health professionals with different backgrounds and experiences, promotes collaboration between agencies and enables residents to perform their jobs in a highly efficient way.

A cohort of 20 residents arerecruited annually, with four residents from each participating country. Residents will be selected from both the ministries of health and ministries of agriculture,to embrace the One Health approach.

Workshop topicswill include public health surveillance; basic and advanced epidemiology; public health communication and technical report writing, data analysisusing EPIINFO program and presentation of the group project.

The most essential component of the program is the fieldwork, which may entailoutbreak investigation, response to public health emergencies, and conducting planned epidemiological studies.

National mentors will lead their residents through the program.

Afterachieving at least 60% of the competencies, residents will receive a certificate of completion at the graduation ceremony.

All travel and accommodation for the workshops will be coordinated and paid for by the EESC FETP-I. Funding will also be provided for residents to present their research papers at international scientific conferences.