It was a privilege to be part of the organizing team for this year’s International Vaccinology Course at the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). The 25th edition of IVI’s flagship training program ran from 31 August to 4 September 2026, bringing together more than 200 vaccine professionals from 55 countries—one global course delivered simultaneously in Seoul, Kigali, and Stockholm.
This year’s theme, “Vaccines for a Connected World: A One Health Perspective,” reflected how closely human, animal, and environmental health are linked. Lectures were shared live across the three sites, while each location also hosted its own case studies, networking, and field visits. Seoul was hosted at IVI headquarters; Kigali in partnership with the University of Rwanda; and Stockholm in partnership with Karolinska Institutet.
The course’s success reflects the dedication of colleagues, speakers, fellows, and local teams—and the enthusiasm of participants who brought their experiences, questions, and perspectives to every discussion.
The IVI Events platform
As part of my contribution, I had the opportunity to develop and introduce the IVI Events platform. We piloted it across all three sites to support course coordination, schedules, learning materials, and participant engagement.
It was encouraging to see interactive quizzes, surveys, and digital evaluations support participation throughout the week. We also introduced tools for qualitative data collection through interviews, focus groups, and nominal group discussions, alongside AI-assisted writing and slide-to-text features to support digital note-taking.
Seeing these tools put into practice was rewarding. The feedback we received will help us improve how we support future courses.