Courses and events

Information and booking for courses and events run by Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility

The Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility (CRF) delivers a wide range of in-person and online courses and events covering diverse topics in clinical research. 

Details of our upcoming courses and events, including booking links, are listed below.

A limited number of fully-funded places are available on selected courses. Where applicable, funded places will be detailed in the course fees (or funding and discounts) section of the individual course description. Terms and conditions apply.

We are currently transitioning to a new booking system: the University of Edinburgh Short Courses platform (www.shortcourses.ed.ac.uk). During this transition period, courses may use either our existing ePay booking system or the new Short Courses platform. We aim to make both systems as intuitive as possible; however, if you experience any issues or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

For general queries, please consult our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you require further assistance, cannot find a specific course, or would like to contribute to our programme, please contact us at education@edinburghcrf.ed.ac.uk. 

You can also join our mailing list to receive updates on upcoming courses and events, as well as news from the Edinburgh CRF Education Core. 

For additional information, including educational resources and webinars, please visit our Education Core homepage. 

Follow us on Bluesky - Education @ Edinburgh CRF    Handle: @EduEdinburghCRF.    Podcast: Clinical Research Career Conversations  

Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Courses

We offer regular Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training courses.  See below for information and scheduled dates of available courses.

 

**IMPORTANT UPDATE:  CHANGES TO UK CLINICAL TRIALS REGULATIONS** 

From February 2026, both the "Introduction to GCP" and "GCP Update" courses will be revised to reflect upcoming changes to UK Clinical Trials regulations, which come into effect in April 2026.  If you are working on Clinical Trials of an Investigational Medicinal Product (CTIMP), it is important that you attend one of the updated courses within a reasonable time after the regulations change. We recommend completing the new training within 12 months of April 2026, although you should confirm the required timeframe with your sponsor.  After completing the updated course, GCP training should be refreshed every two years. 

 

Please ensure you register for the course most appropriate to your experience. We advise that GCP training should be renewed every two years, and if you are involved in a clinical trial, the MHRA and/or your sponsor will expect you to hold a current GCP certificate.

  • If your GCP training has lapsed, or you have never completed GCP training, you should book onto our Introduction to GCP course.
  • Alternatively, you may complete the free NIHR Introduction to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) eLearning.
  • If you have completed an "Introduction to GCP" course within the past two years, or have maintained training by attending update courses every two years, you should register for a "GCP Update" course.  NIHR also offer an online update course.

We offer GCP courses free of charge to staff and students from Scottish NHS or academic institutions. Please note that priority for course places is given to individuals who work or study in Lothian. 

You are advised to update your GCP training every two years.  If you have not attended GCP training before or if your GCP training has lapsed, you should book instead on an "Introduction to GCP" course.  

Please note - we give priority on our GCP courses to those working or studying in Lothian. 

See below for course dates - to register your interest, please select the hyperlink:

2026

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Other Scheduled Courses

See our full programme of courses below.  Please refer to our Guidance on how to book and pay for our courses.

Join our mailing list to be kept informed of our courses and events programme and news from Edinburgh CRF Education Core. 

Bitesize Introduction to Patient Public Involvement Course

This free online, self-directed Xerte course aims to help you begin your patient public involvement activities.

Research Management: Research Finances and Contracts

This one-hour training course for NHS Lothian and University of Edinburgh staff will cover different aspects of clinical research finances and contracts

Qualitative Data Analysis: A Practical Workshop

This half-day workshop will give you the opportunity to learn and apply skills in qualitative data analysis.

An Introduction to Public Speaking: How to design and deliver successful speeches

This course covers how to plan, design and deliver a successful speech or presentation

Bite-size Practical Project Management

This workshop covers practical skills, tools and techniques to help you successfully plan and deliver clinical research projects

Stats for the Terrified: An Introduction to Medical Statistics / Making Sense of Numbers: Interpretation of Data

An introductory course covering the basics of using and interpreting statistics in healthcare research.

Informed Consent in Clinical Research – Adults (Scotland)

This workshop covers the ethical, legal and practical issues around receiving informed consent from adult clinical research participants.

  • Wednesday 11 March 2026 (09:30 - 13:00)    |    Western General Hospital, Edinburgh

An Introduction to Health Economics

An interactive session introducing key concepts of health economics and allocation of health resource in relation to clinical research. 

Helping you to submit a successful NHS Research Ethics application

An interactive course with Research Ethics Committee (REC) members and staff providing an insight into the NHS ethical review process.

Generative AI and the Researcher

This course introduces researchers to the area of Gen AI and how it can be integrated into the research process. 

Knowledge Mobilisation and Co-production Workshop

A one-day workshop looking at how to mobilise knowledge, making sure valuable research findings don't gather dust, and how co-production is part of this process. 

Edinburgh Clinical Research Methodology Course 2026

A two-day introductory course providing a comprehensive overview of methods and frameworks essential for conducting clinical research.

An Introduction to the R Statistical Software

This self-paced online training course is designed to introduce beginners to the R software.

Courses that we run

Refer to the full list of courses that we run to register your interest in future courses or to suggest other topics for training related to clinical research.

Follow us on Bluesky - Education @ Edinburgh CRF      Handle: @EduEdinburghCRF.

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