The aim of the PERISCOPE Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs)’ dissemination campaign was to introduce five online courses realised by the PERISCOPE consortium, drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and proposing ways forward for better crisis preparedness and response. Published by the Politecnico of Milano on the e-learning platform Coursera, the MOOCs collected evidence and best practices emerged from other PERISCOPE clusters. 

Through the PERISCOPE communications channels, the courses were briefly presented. Courses differ in content and target audience:

·       “Reaching Vulnerable groups through Pandemic Policy” mainly targets social workers. The course is delivered in two parts. Ghent University realised the first part that investigates how vulnerabilities evolved and changed during the pandemic and how social care systems could continue providing the necessary support that was needed. The London School of Economics developed the second part of the course, which aims to translate ethnographic evidence into tangible learning in preparedness response strategies.

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·       “One Health: pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response” addresses specialised professionals with high-level expertise in human, animal, or environmental health. The course reflects on lessons learnt from the pandemic on cross-sectoral collaboration under the One Health approach. The first modules of the course were realised by the Karolinska Institutet with a focus on the conceptualisation of One Health and the way forward to strengthen the concept. Building on this, the Federation of European Academies of Medicines (FEAM) collected case studies on the implementation of One Health from all over the world.

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·       “Strengthening territorial response for better health”, aims to share best practices among health authorities and policymakers. The European Regional and Local Health Authorities (EUREGHA) and Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya (AQuAS) delivered modules about the organization of territorial response toward better preparedness and resilience of healthcare systems at local, national and European levels. Mental Health Europe (MHE) completed the course with a module on ending stigma and improving mental health.

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·       “Data science perspectives on pandemics management” addresses policymakers and decision-makers in the public sector. Several partners contributed to the development of materials for the course, including the Politecnico of Milano (POLIMI), the Delft University of Technology, ISI Foundation, and the University of Pavia (UNIPV). The course provides a general overview of data-driven strategies applied to problems related to the pandemic and its impact on the economy, society, and individuals.

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·       “Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare Management” seeks to sensitise healthcare workers about the possible uses and limitations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) ahead of future pandemics and health crises. The course was developed by the Goethe University Frankfurt and provides a general overview of AI, trust, and applications in the healthcare sector.

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To attend the PERISCOPE MOOCs, it is necessary to create a Coursera account. The courses have free access, but it is possible to earn a completion certificate for a fee.