The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) is home to LIVE students during their first semester and will teach 30 ECTS; here, LIVE students join the students from the joint Master in Advanced Immunology (jointly taught by UB and UAB) and deepen their knowledge in advanced and clinical immunology. Highly qualified scientists working in Immunology from universities, hospitals, research centres and companies from the Barcelona area, around Spain and other countries are invited to teach in this semester.

The UAB with UB currently organises the joint selection of students for the LIVE Master. They also participate in all the joint committees required for the efficient running of the programme.

The Campus of the UAB has recognized experience in welcoming international students through the International Welcome Point (IWP) that offers information regarding registration, visa requirements, residence permits and accommodation. The UAB also provides specialized support on administrative and logistic procedures as well as the following services: Library, Sports and Physical Activity Service (SAF), Healthcare Centre, Live Culture, Language Courses, Student’s representation and PIUNE (Support for Students with Disabilities). 

Together with the UAB, the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) provide to the students a solid base in Immunology in their first semester, necessary to understand the courses provided by the other partner universities. The UB with UAB currently organises the joint selection of students for the LIVE Master. They also participate in all the joint committees required for the efficient running of the programme.

The UB has a longstanding experience by teaching, in partnership with the UAB, the Master of Advanced Immunology. This master has attracted students worldwide, including Europe, Central and South America, North America and Africa, due to an outstanding local research environment, constituted of basic science as well as clinical and applied research. The teachers implicated in our programme are recruited from state-of-the-art, newly established research centres that include the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the Institute for Biomedical Research (IRB), or the Research Centre for Animal Health (CRESA), the latter being especially valuable for the Vaccinology Master as it contains a Biosafety Level 3 installation.

Universiteit Antwerpen (UAntwerpen) is responsible for the Infectiology part of LIVE during the second semester and will foster the existing collaborations with GSK to build two vaccine-related teaching units for the LIVE Master. Infectious Diseases and Drug Research are two of the key domains in which the UAntwerpen has built up long-standing expertise and an international reputation for excellence. Since academic year 2012-2013, the UAntwerpen has offered three English-language specialisations for the Master in Biomedical Sciences, one of which is the Master in Infectious and Tropical Diseases that forms the core for their participation in the LIVE master.

At UAntwerpen, research is conducted in a highly competitive international environment in collaboration with hospitals, industry (GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Crucell and several local SME) and the Institute of Tropical Medicine. Furthermore, the UAntwerpen has access to state-of-the-art infrastructure to conduct and monitor clinical microbiological or vaccine trials (phase I to IV), such as clinical trials for dendritic cell vaccines or HPV vaccines. These are complemented with (sero) epidemiological studies on vaccine-preventable diseases and evaluation and validation of rapid detection of respiratory pathogens in samples from patients with severe lung infections. UAntwerpen hosts some students for their internship during the fourth semester.

UAntwerpen is in charge of the Quality Assurance Scheme of the Master LIVE and actively participate in the student selection and in the joint committees.

Université Jean Monnet (UJM) hosts students in their third semester for laboratory sessions focused on immunomonitoring, as well as teaching modules on communication and vaccine formulation and clinical development.

Within UJM there are research and clinical departments dedicated to vaccinology, such as GIMAP and the Clinical Investigation Center CIC1408 in Vaccinology respectively. GIMAP is a research structure with a strong background in the field of mucosal vaccination. CIC Vaccinology is a clinical structure labelled by INSERM, ANRS and member of the REIVAC network in vaccinology clinical investigation. The CIC has extensive experience in the evaluation of phase I and II of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines in the field of infectious diseases, oncology and in immunocompromised patients with both industrial and academic partners. It has also developed a strong platform of vaccine immunomonitoring.

UJM will also manage some student’s internships during the fourth semester. Regarding quality assessment issues, UJM compiles the quality assurance questionnaires for the third semester and communicates them to the external experts. UJM is in charge of the communication of the Master LIVE and actively participate in the student selection and in the joint committees.

At the Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), students will deepen their knowledge in vaccinology, clinical development, project management and communication during their third semester of the LIVE Master, and in conjunction with UJM. UCBL created the Master “Cell and Molecular Biology – Infectiology” which is co-accredited with UJM since 2012. UCBL has experience in organizing Masters with 46 Masters in Biology, Pharmacy & Medicine and takes care each year of 400 foreign students from 125 nationalities.

UCBL is the coordinating institution of the EMJM LIVE and manages secretariat, grants (recruitment of project manager, payment of allowances, and distribution of participation costs…), meeting organisation, and website structure. In cooperation with UAB, UB, UAntwerpen and UJM, UCBL establishes contacts between interested students and host laboratories to carry out the Master’s theses under joint academic supervision. UCBL is involved in classical teaching, but also in the development of e-learning, flipped classrooms, MOOC and develops virtual laboratories for the future. UCBL hosts some students for their internship during the fourth semester. With the LIVE main and associated partners, UCBL launched the VaxInLive Symposia. UCBL is responsible for networking to monitor, inform, maintain and develop the associated partner network. UCBL participates in the student selection, quality assurance and communication according to the managers from the other four full partners responsible for these activities and UCBL chairs the joint committees: Steering Committee and Academic Management Board.