INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH Department of Health Research – Ministry of Health & Family Welfare Government of India
ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology’s free online course on “Health Research Fundamentals” begins on 26th July 2021.
ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), a premier institute of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) announces the launch of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) ‘NIE-ICMR e-Certificate’ courses (NIeCer courses) with the aim to strengthen the research capacity in India. The first in the NIeCer series, Health Research Fundamentals (NIeCer 101) is a basic level course in health research methods. The course is designed and conducted by faculty members from ICMR School of Public Health at ICMR-NIE. It explains the fundamental concepts in epidemiology and bio-statistics related to research methods. This course will also provide an overview of steps and principles for designing bio-medical and health research studies among human participants.
The Health Research Fundamentals (NIeCer 101) was launched in 2016. Approximately 38,300 candidates from across the country have participated in the course till now. The next session of the course is scheduled during 26th July – 17th September 2021. Interested Participants can now register until 2nd August 2021. [For details: (http://nie.gov.in/niecer/niecer_page.htm)].
Who can join NIeCer course – Health Research Fundamentals?
The course will be useful to any current or potential health researchers including students, clinical/ public health/ laboratory researchers, physicians, research associates, allied health professionals, scientists, statisticians, ethics committee members and project managers. The course is open to undergraduate students in Medical/Dental/AYUSH disciplines or graduates in any other discipline as well.
The learning/teaching and evaluation methods for NIeCer course- Health Research Fundamentals
The total duration of the course is 20 hours to be completed in 8 weeks beginning on 26th July 2021. The participants will learn through video lectures, presentation slides, assignments, and readings. The course is offered free of cost. However, the participants desirous of obtaining a certificate have to appear for the final certification exam at the end of the course for which Rs. 1000/- is to be paid as an examination fee. The certification exam will be conducted at the end of the course at designated centers in selected cities of India. For those not interested in obtaining the certificate and just want to learn/refresh health research methods, they need not register for the exam and can freely access the course contents until the end of the course duration.
The learning/teaching and evaluation methods for NIeCer course- Health Research Fundamentals
The total duration of the course is 20 hours to be completed in 8 weeks beginning on 26th July 2021. The participants will learn through video lectures, presentation slides, assignments and readings. The course is offered free of cost. However, the participants desirous of obtaining certificate have to appear for final certification exam at the end of the course for which Rs. 1000/- is to be paid as examination fee. The certification exam will be conducted at the end of the course at designated centres in selected cities of India. For those not interested in obtaining certificate and just want to learn/refresh health research
methods, they need not register for the exam and can freely access the course contents until the end of the course duration.
NIeCer course online portal
The course is offered through NPTEL [National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning] online certification portal. NPTEL is a joint initiative of the IITs and IISc, under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India. NPTEL offers largest repository of MOOCs in engineering, science and humanities from India’s best Institutes. ICMR-NIE collaborates with NPTEL hub at IITMadras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. NPTEL online courses are now funded by the SWAYAM initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). NPTEL is one of the national coordinator under SWAYAM, and is responsible for creating and running courses. This course can be accessed from
SWAYAM portal. [https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc21_hs62/preview] Infact, MHRD is
recommending all educational bodies to promote earning of credits by students through participation in such MOOCs.
ICMR- NIE
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, is the apex body in India for the
formulation, coordination and promotion of health research. It is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world. The ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Chennai is one of the permanent institutes of the ICMR, Department of Health Research (DHR) of Govt. of India. ICMR-NIE is ICMR’s flagship organization that focuses on training and research in epidemiology and public health. ICMR-NIE has the principal mandate to develop the science of epidemiology and support capacity building in this area under the auspices of ICMR School of Public Health at ICMR-NIE. The Institute has been conducting two-year Masters’ level programme in public health (MPH) since 2001. The MPH degree is offered through Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, an Institute of National importance under Govt. of India. Since 2016, ICMR-NIE started offering two-year M.Sc. in Biostatistics affiliated to Periyar University, Tamil Nadu. ICMR-NIE is also offering online course on Basic course in Biomedical Research to the postgraduate students of medical colleges under Medical Council of India. Further, ICMR-NIE offers Ph.D., programmes in Epidemiology, Bio-statistics and Social work. Additionally, ICMR- NIE conducts many short-term training courses in Bio-statistics, Clinical trials and Research methods.
For further information e-mail: niecercourse@gmail.com or phone: 044-26136420 (9 am to 5.30 pm).
