29 July 2026

IS4NCDs held its monthly virtual meeting on 27 July 2026, bringing together representatives from all partner institutions to review progress towards the piloting of its implementation science training modules, set to begin in October.

The meeting highlighted encouraging momentum across the programme. Institutions leading the Core, Intermediate, and Advanced modules each reported on their preparations, with accreditation and continuing professional development (CPD) applications progressing at several universities. A number of modules have already secured short-course approval and CPD-eligible status, reflecting growing institutional recognition.

Work also continues on a centralised online hub. The platform is being built to streamline access to the learning modules. Prospective learners will soon be able to access programme information — including eligibility information and module goals — as well as register interest.

In addition to the piloting update, the meeting featured progress reports on two related workstreams. A master’s thesis contextualising the IS4NCDs competency framework is nearing completion, with results expected to be shared with the consortium later this year. Preparations are also continuing for the programme’s Executive-track course, with a full protocol update anticipated at the next consortium meeting.

Looking ahead, partner institutions reaffirmed their commitment to a collaborative teaching model, in which faculty from across the consortium will contribute to delivering each module — including a shared Challenge-Based Learning component woven throughout the curriculum to ensure participants apply what they learn to real-world NCD care implementation challenges.

With piloting now fast approaching, here is the confirmed target schedule for the three Core Modules:

• Module 1 - Fundamentals of Implementations Science: 5-9 October 2026
• Module 2 - NCD Epidemiology & Determinants: 26-30 November 2026
• Module 3 - Design, Monitor & Evaluate: 2-6 November 2026

Further updates on the modules and registration of interest will be shared in the coming weeks.

30 June 2026

Core training modules are set to be piloted from the first week of October 2026, to be taught simultaneously across four African partner universities through an innovative hybrid teaching model. The target, first set at an earlier meeting, was reaffirmed during the IS4NCDs virtual meeting on 29 June 2026.

During the meeting, partners also reported steady progress on accreditation and ethics approvals, and a working group with representation from all seven partner institutions has been established to guide development of the project’s regional learning eHub.

A Hybrid Classroom Across Four Countries

Piloting of the three core modules will run between October and November 2026 at Copperbelt University, the University of Zambia, Stellenbosch University, and the University of the Witwatersrand. The delivery model was designed to make the most efficient use of teaching resources while still meeting the project’s requirement to pilot each core module at all four institutions. Rather than having lecturers travel to, or repeat, the same module at each site, one set of live lectures will be streamed simultaneously into all four classrooms, while participants attend in person and work through practical, challenge-based learning activities facilitated locally.

Accreditation and Ethics Approvals

Accreditation and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) approval processes are advancing across all partner institutions, with several already at an advanced stage ahead of the October pilots. Each institution is pursuing the recognition appropriate to its own academic processes, and partners are coordinating closely to streamline this work and avoid duplication of effort.

Ethics approval for the project’s evaluation protocol has already been secured through the Institute of Tropical Medicine, providing a charred foundation that partner institutions are now building on through their own local review processes.

Shaping the Project’s Digital Platform

A new working group has been formed to guide the development of the regional learning eHub, with a representative from every partner institution. Further review is planned once a trial version of the platform is ready.