COLT: A New Weapon to Disseminate Knowledge

Too few researchers receive adequate pre- or postgraduate training to conduct a rigorous scientific study. In the digital age, new tools are emerging, and the development of distance education could improve this worrying situation. In this context, Health Science e-Training (HSeT), a nonprofit Swiss foundation, has developed new pedagogical concepts and tools under customized online training (COLT). For the ADMIRE Cost network, we have used an article-based e-learning (ABL) tool that allowed the students to learn how to read in depth and critically a scientific article and to rigorously address the problem of scientific reproducibility. The evaluation of the program by the students and the tutors has been quite positive. In conclusion COLT was well adapted to the needs of the ADMIRE Cost Action, a European network in which students from countries separated by thousands of miles can work at distance under the online supervision of tutors and then meet in a face-to-face session to maximize their learning experience and the interactions between peers and tutors.