or the past two decades, our world has been hit by numerous infectious diseases, such as SARS in 2003, followed by Swine Flu, MERS, Zika, Ebola, and now, COVID-19. As today’s world is facing a myriad of emerging pathogens, the launch of the “Professional Biorisk Management Training” course by the NUS Medicine Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) core facility on 4 January 2021 could not be more timely. This inaugural Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) biorisk management course lays the foundation for aligning the best biorisk practices in Singapore and aims to prepare biorisk professionals adequately in tackling future pandemics and the emergence of dangerous pathogens.

In the opening address delivered at the launch by Dr Su Yun Se Thoe, Deputy Director of Biosafety branch, Ministry of Health, she highlighted that this course will prepare Singapore’s workforce with the appropriate biorisk management knowledge, skills and capabilities to better respond to future infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics in a safer and more secure manner.

The comprehensive modules covered in this course provide laboratory personnel with a foundation in biorisk management. The knowledge and skills acquired from these modules enable participants to develop and implement a comprehensive biosafety and biosecurity management programme in biomedical laboratories of various industries such as education, healthcare, pharmaceutical, biomedical sciences and technology. It is highly imperative that laboratory personnel are trained in this area as they play a critical role in reducing or eliminating the risk of potential exposure to biological hazards and also in preventing the loss, theft or misuse of biological agents, materials and sensitive information.

This course saw its first batch of 19 participants successfully completing four core and two elective modules. Associate Professor Justin Chu, Director of the NUS Medicine BSL‑3 Core Facility, delivered the opening address at the certificate award ceremony which took place on 31 March 2021. In his speech, he emphasised the importance and usefulness of this course and also commended the dedication of the BSL-3 Core Facility team who organised this course: “It is very timely we have started this training to enhance biosafety and biosecurity awareness, training more professionals in the field to support the national need for safely managing laboratories in Singapore, as well as protecting the personnel and the environment.”

Many participants found the course highly relevant as it covered a wide range of biorisk management topics which can be applied to their workplace settings. Impressed with the way the course was conducted, one participant mentioned: “Scenario-based group discussions, practical sessions and the learning visit to the mechanical plant room of the BSL-3 core facility helped us to better understand the various points covered.” There was also a call from the first cohort—encouraging biosafety coordinators, BSL-3 laboratory users and even top management to attend the course.

About Professional Biorisk Management Training

This course was developed under the WSQ framework, funded and quality-assured by SkillsFuture Singapore. It is recognised by the Ministry of Health as a qualification for the Biosafety Coordinator role in Singapore. Curriculum was developed and classes were conducted by in-house trainers including Assistant Director, Dr Tessy Joseph and Senior Manager, Ms Sindhu Ravindran who are both from the BSL-3 Facility at NUS Medicine. The mode of training is interactive with hands-on training. Biosafety professionals, laboratory managers, researchers or anyone keen to learn more biorisk management are all welcome to enrol.