The Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV), in collaboration with the EPIC Foundation, has launched the First Master’s Program in Continuing Education in Clinical Research, a new programme designed to train healthcare professionals to design, manage, and conduct clinical studies from start to finish.
Under the slogan “Design Your Clinical Research from A to Z,” this training program was created to address a growing need in the healthcare sector: the need for professionals who not only master scientific methodology but also understand all the phases involved in turning a clinical question into a solid, viable research project that has a real impact on clinical practice.
In an increasingly demanding scientific, regulatory, and economic environment, the UFV is thus reinforcing its commitment to healthcare education grounded in academic excellence, applied research, and the generation of knowledge that can be used to improve patient care.
Comprehensive training to turn a clinical idea into a research project
The new master’s program broadens the traditional focus of clinical research training by addressing other disciplines such as European regulation and legislation, public and private funding, protocol development, the organization of research units, the management of regulatory platforms, budgeting, scientific publishing, patent registration, academic careers, and the application of artificial intelligence to research.
Francisco Javier Campos, associate dean of Graduate Studies and Institutional Relations at the School of Medicine at UFV, explains the programme objective: “This master’s programme was created to help healthcare professionals transform a good clinical question into a solid, viable research project with real impact. Clinical research does not begin when data is analyzed, but rather when we are able to clearly articulate a need, design a path to address it, and translate it into clinical practice.”
The programme aimed at bachelor’s and master’s degree holders in Medicine, Pharmacy, Biomedicine, Biology, and other health-related disciplines who are interested in pursuing a solid and competitive career in research. Although it originated in the field of cardiology, its approach is cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary, with the goal of training professionals capable of working with rigour complex scientific environments.
The partnership between UFV and the EPIC Foundation combines university education with real-world experience in clinical trials
One of the distinguishing features of the master’s program is the partnership between Francisco de Vitoria University and the EPIC Foundation, which allows the UFV’s academic curriculum to be integrated with the experience gained by an organization that has been promoting clinical studies for more than a decade and currently has more than 20,000 patients in its follow-up program.
Ángel Peña, Director of Strategic Development at the EPIC Foundation, highlights the practical value of this collaboration: “At the EPIC Foundation, we bring to this educational effort all the experience we have accumulated over more than ten years promoting clinical research projects and monitoring more than 20,000 patients. Our goal is to provide students with a practical, realistic, and up-to-date understanding of how clinical research is designed, coordinated, and conducted in complex healthcare settings.”
An international faculty with ties to clinical practice
The master’s program will feature a faculty composed of national and international leaders in clinical research, scientific methodology, health regulation, and the biomedical industry. The faculty will be affiliated with leading hospitals, evaluation agencies, universities, research centers, scientific societies, and leading companies in the pharmaceutical and technology sectors, with experts from Spain, New York, Washington, and Rotterdam.
programme 100% online and will conclude with a final in-person session at Francisco de Vitoria University. In addition, the programme optional supplementary training in statistical tools such as R and SPSS, reinforcing the practical and technical aspects of the academic track.
Research with an Impact on Medicine and Patients
With this new master’s program, Francisco de Vitoria University and the EPIC Foundation are reinforcing their strategic commitment to research excellence and to training a new generation of professionals capable of leading scientific projects that have a real impact on medicine and society.
The initiative offers a program that combines academic excellence, innovation, applied research, and a holistic view of the individual, preparing professionals who are capable not only of interpreting scientific evidence but also of generating knowledge to improve healthcare and patient care.
