EMWA Webinars Programme
EMWA webinars help members to develop skills and keep up to date with new or rapidly developing areas. Most of our webinars are live, online seminars with the opportunity for participants to ask questions. For live webinars, you only need to register – you will need your EMWA membership details.
Click here to see our 2020 webinars below.
Live webinars are recorded and uploaded to the Webinar Archive soon after the event. The Webinar Archive is only accessible to EMWA members.
Each year we run a few webinars that are publicly available.
Laura Collada Ali and Jules Kovacevic are the EPDC members responsible for webinars. With the support of the webinar team Laura and Jules lead, plan and promote the programme, help presenters to prepare for their webinars, provide quality assurance, and run the live webinars. The webinar team also provides analysis of the webinar metrics.
Meet the EMWA webinar team
We are happy to announce upcoming webinars below. Webinars may be either recorded and uploaded on the due date or live online seminars. For live webinars, you only need to register and then connect to our webinars platform on the due date. A recording will be available shortly after the event in the Archive section. Nevertheless, we advise you to participate, because this will enable you to ask questions and contribute to an active discussion. For the recorded webinars we encourage you to send us any questions you may have on the topic by the date indicated and they will be answered in the recording.
Please email the webinar team with any questions or accessibility concerns.
Note: We reserve the right to cancel a webinar if needed, although we will make all effort to avoid it. Also, we make every effort to ensure we have a stable internet connection to run EMWA webinars, but it is not possible to provide a 100% stable connection. If for any reason, the presentation has to be cancelled by the organiser, a notification email will be sent as soon as possible.
2020 Webinars:
Thursday 9th January 2020, 14:00-15:00 CET
Great topic – shame about the slides!
John Dixon
We’ve all listened to experts delivering presentations on interesting and relevant topics. However, sometimes a slide appears that is impossible to read in 30 seconds because it’s too busy, text is too small or contrast makes text difficult to see. And what about slides with multiple fonts, font sizes and colours; inconsistent line and paragraph spacing; poorly aligned text and images; arrows piercing text boxes? We are left thinking: ‘Great topic, but it’s a shame the slides were poor’.
As medical communication specialists, whether designing slides for someone else or for our own use, we all want to create easily read and professional-looking slides. Do join us for a discussion about slides. We’ll look at some awful slides, consider some basic principles and admire some nice slides, but this is not a PowerPoint workshop!
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 6th February 2020, 14:00 CET
How to ensure that your LinkedIn profile dovetails with your CV and effectively SELLS you
Alistair Morris, CV and Interview Advisors | Private company webinar
Having a great LinkedIn profile is absolutely critical if you’re going to stand out from other medical writers - and for the right reasons! The platform has implemented significant changes over the last few months, yet most people haven’t reacted to these changes. Worse still, most folk copy and paste their CV content into their profile, which is not good practice. Join The CV & Interview Advisors for a lively 45 minute webinar where you’ll learn: how to dovetail your LinkedIn profile with your CV; how to write a fully optimised LinkedIn profile; and how to use your profile to network, open doors and win work. The event is live and will be followed by a Q&A session.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 5th March 2020, 14:00 CET
Managing safety concerns in DSURs, PBRERs and RMPs
Sven Schirp, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Pharmacovigilance Corporate
Safety concerns are a set of important risks and missing information that are defined during clinical development and significantly impact the content of pharmacovigilance documents like the DSUR, the RMP, and the PBRER. For the RMP, the definition of safety concerns was revised with the EU Good Pharmacovigilance Practice (GVP) Module V Revision 2. This has implications for all pharmacovigilance documents and also for the management of safety concerns worldwide. After this webinar you will have a clear understanding of what safety concerns are and how to manage them in DSURs, PBRERs and RMPs.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 2nd April 2020, 14:00 CEST
The obstacles to data transparency and how to overcome them
Andrea Rossi, Past president of EMWA - Medical writing, medical communications and scientific affairs consultant
Why most of the results included in abstracts presented at congresses are not published? Why several registered trials are nor reported in due time, even if data transparency is requested by editors and regulatory authorities? In this webinar, the available objective data on the lack of data transparency will be shared together with their causes, to provide the instruments that could be applied to ensure data transparency.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 23rd April 2020, 14:00 CEST
Lifestyle Choices for Medical Writers
Carolina Rojido, medical writer and translator
Our lifestyle frequently underlies the conditions due to which most of us get sick and die. But a healthier lifestyle can prevent and help treat many communicable and non-communicable diseases. This is important for everyone but especially for medical writers since our jobs are sedentary and often stressful. There are many things we can do to improve our health and productivity, from modifying seemingly insignificant habits to greater initiatives. Every day is a new opportunity to take steps that can improve our health and help us reach our maximum performance in all aspects of our lives.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 14th May 2020, 14:00 CEST
An update on the ICMJE recommendations - THIS WEBINAR IS OPEN TO NON-EMWA MEMBERS
Dr. Andrea Rossi, Freelance Medical Writer
The ICMJE is a small group of general medical journal editors and representatives of selected organizations working together to improve the quality of medical science and its reporting. The ICMJE has produced multiple editions of its recommendations, which were previously known as the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (URMs) and continues to update them periodically. This webinar will cover the last update from December 2019 which included new guidance to improve the author’s relationships and activities, the role of editorial advisory boards, the requirements for trial registration, the use of articles published on predatory journals, and Impact Factors.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 21st May 2020, 14:00 CEST
The Rise of Coronavirus Diseases
Sergey Sulima, Scientific and Medical Writer, BioNTech SE
The current global situation has sparked an increased interest in viruses, and particularly the coronavirus. This webinar will begin with a brief general introduction to virology, after which it will focus on the coronaviruses and the diseases they have recently caused (SARS, MERS). It will culminate with a discussion on the continuously growing body of information regarding SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, as well as pandemics in general.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 18th June 2020, 14:00 CEST
PMCF Plans and Reports: Frequently asked questions
Dr. Katharina Friedrich, Medical Writer, Clinical Affairs, BD Interventional- Peripheral Intervention
Transition to the new Medical Device Regulation (EU 2017/745) is one of the hot topics for Medical Writers. Several new documents have to be prepared and there is still uncertainty on their content structure. PMCF Plans and Reports are new requirements under MDR. Their purpose is to drive the decision on the need for additional clinical studies or other PMCF activities. This webinar provides an introduction to the requirements on PMCF, the new documents including PMCF Plans and Reports and the challenges.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 16th July 2020, 14:00 CEST
Inflammation basics for medical writers
Diana Ribeiro, pharmacist and freelance medical writer
Inflammation is a very broad topic, and it can be tricky to tackle everything about it. This webinar aims to familiarise medical writers with the basic inflammatory processes, refresh their knowledge on the different types of inflammation and the drugs used to treat them. Then, we’ll explore the relationships between inflammation and other diseases and natural events, such as aging. This webinar is intended for those with none or little knowledge of the topic, and it’s not intended to be an exhaustive review.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 27th August 2020, 14:00 CEST
Why drug marketing authorization applications fail and the role of MWs to minimize failure risks.
Raquel Billiones
There are many reasons why marketing authorization applications fail. This webinar looks at these reasons, then focus on the clinical documentation issues that may have contributed to the failure. The role of medical writers to mitigate the risks will be discussed. A few examples will be provided.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 17th September 2020, 14.00 CEST
First experiences in the writing of Summaries of Safety and Clinical Performance (SSCPs) for medical devices
Laura C Collada Ali, Medical Writing & Translation Consultant & Katharina Friedrich, Medical Writer, Clinical Affairs, BD Interventional- Peripheral Intervention
Article 32 of the MDR (EU) 2017/745) requires the creation of an SSCP for all implantable devices. Nevertheless, the new MDCG guidance document is not only referring to article 32, it also refers to other articles and annexes, and even to other legislation and relevant documents. This means this document is quite challenging in terms of regulatory compliance.
The SSCP must be accessible to the intended readers. One part of an SSCP is for medical professionals and, in cases of implantable devices or devices that are used directly by patients, one part is for the intended patients.
Join us in this webinar to hear about the first experiences of the two speakers with this challenging document. The webinar is aimed for writers with little or no experience with SSCPs.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Thursday 22nd October 2020, 14:00 CEST
Sustainability Demystified: An Introduction with Focus on the Healthcare Industry
Achim Schneider, PhD
In 2015, the United Nations set 17 Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) as a “universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.” With less than 10 years to go to achieve these goals, there is an urgent need to understand the principles and science of sustainability and how they fit in our professional and private lives.
This webinar gives an introduction to sustainability, with focus on the healthcare industry. Several examples from the healthcare sector, especially the pharma industry, will be provided. Finally, the objectives of the EMWA sustainability SIG with regard to the SDGs will be presented for discussion.
This webinar can now be accessed here.
Preview for 2021 Webinars
Thursday 21st January 2021, 14:00 CET
Publication Planning
Andrea Rossi - Medical writing, medical communications and scientific affairs consultant,
Julia Donnelly - Medical communications consultant
After all the time, effort and expense of conducting research, how often do researchers say: “I was unable to publish these results because I don’t have the time”? Publication’s statistics tell us it’s a common issue, even in clinical trials, where ethical guidelines mandate that the results of all studies should be published. Publication planning has a fundamental impact upon medical writers’ activity, irrespective of writing genre, and has be aligned to strategic objectives of the study sponsor and its communication plan.
In this webinar the key aspects and challenges of Publication Planning will be explored to give insight on what publication planning is, the importance of a good publication planning and how medical writers who are working on the preparation of high-impact publications, can help to deliver a successful publication plan. With the right focus and planning, you can choose the right targets to achieve your writing goals.
Basic know-how of the environment of scientific publications and clinical studies disclosure is needed to fully appreciate the contents.
February 2021 (exact date to be confirmed)
Veterinary articles for scientific journals: Case reports
Dr. med. vet. Cemile Jakupoglu - Cyton AH Biosciences GmbH – a knoell company
This web-seminar for beginners will point out the necessary steps to write veterinary case reports, where to find guidance and common pitfalls to watch out for.
Outline of the covered topics:
- What is a (good) case report
- Where to find relevant guidance
- Necessary steps to writing a good case report
- Process of getting published
March 2021 (exact date to be confirmed)
The impact of COVID-19 on the content of clinical trial documentations: new requirements!
Raquel Billiones
In early 2020, the US FDA and the EMA issued emergency guidance documents on how to manage clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in these guidances are additional requirements and documentations for ongoing clinical trials. This webinar will discuss these new requirements and share the first experiences from a medical writing perspective, with particular focus on the clinical study protocol and clinical study report. This session is aimed at medical writers with little or no experience.
April 2021 (exact date to be confirmed)
Transitioning from Medical Translation to Medical Writing
Laura C Collada Ali, freelance Medical Writing & Paz Gómez-Polledo, freelance Medical Writing & Translation Consultant
Many medical writers often wonder what is needed to transition into medical writing. What is the background needed? How to land a first medical writing project? What kind of documents can a translator write? If you ever wanted these questions or any other related ones answered, join us in this webinar to see how the two speakers did the transition or how they combine both, translation and writing.
2021 (exact date to be confirmed)
MedCom via video? Veterinary medicine on YouTube as an example of communicating medicine to a lay audience.
Karim Montasser, freelance MedComms writer and YouTuber
Publishers want it, german politicians press for it and an ever-growing interested audience is looking for it: Videos that communicate medicine in the form of video abstracts, highly shareable clips or even video essays. In this webinar, we will look at:
- what works on the internet (spoiler: it isn't clickbait)
- which platforms we can use
- what equipment do we need.
See Past Webinars
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Volunteering for EMWA webinars
If you think you have something interesting to communicate to other EMWA members and are eager to run a webinar of your own, contact the webinar team. Your proposal will be evaluated by the webinars team and the EPDC and we will provide our feedback as soon as possible.