Designing, running, and evaluating clinical trials requires specialist knowledge across a team of people. Their complexity often means many early-career researchers don’t get exposed to sufficient clinical trial design of modern methods or the practical considerations and the impact that these choices have on the quality of the research. The purpose of this training course is to provide researchers with the opportunity to access advice and support from experienced trialists and their peer-group through a bespoke programme of work.

The course is aimed at early-career researchers or researchers new to trials who wish to develop the essential skills needed to plan a clinical trial.

Priority will be given to applicants from Imperial College London and affiliated organisations. 

You will be asked to bring a research question that you have discussed with your academic mentor to the first session. During the course you will learn all the key statistical and operational considerations which are needed to run a clinical trial effectively. You will develop a protocol over the 13 weeks based on your chosen research question.

The course involves a mixture of online material and face to face small group tutorials. It is a bespoke programme of learning with a mix of independent learning and weekly peer-to-peer working.

The course is delivered over 13 weeks. This will include 8 learning weeks (online material and in-person small group tutorials), 4 reading week breaks and 1 final presentation to senior academics.

Within each learning week there is a collection of short videos that provide introductions to key topics and associated weekly tasks that are discussed within the weekly two-hour face to face tutorials.

You will have the week to review the online material, then the opportunity to consolidate the topic and apply this to your own clinical trial protocol in discussion with tutors and support from your peers in the group.

• Week 1: Preparing to Design a Trial (12 Mar 2024)
• Week 2: Classification of Clinical Trials (19 Mar 2024)
• Week 3: Late Phase Trial Design (26 Mar 2024)
• Week 4: BREAK - Reading week (02 Apr 2024)
• Week 5: Protocol Development (09 Apr 2024)
• Week 6: Collecting Data (16 Apr 2024)
• Week 7: Statistical Considerations (23 Apr 2024)
• Week 8: BREAK - Reading week (30 Apr 2024)
• Week 9: Trial Operations (07 May 2024)
• Week 10: Analysing and Reporting Trial Outcomes (14 May 2024)
• Week 11: BREAK - Finalise protocol (21 May 2024)
• Week 12: BREAK – Finalise protocol (28 May 2024)
• Week 13: Presentation Session (04 Jun 2024)

•  Optional Remote session: Patient and Public Involvement (04 Apr 2024, 13:00 to 16:30)

• Follow up drop-in PPI Remote session (11 Apr 2024, 13:00 to 14:00)

The next course will run from Tuesday 12 Mar to 04 Jun 2024.

Tutorials take place on Tuesday evenings, 18:00 to 20:00 at the White City Campus.

No. The main part of the course is designed to be delivered face to face in small groups of 8 to 10 people.

The tutors are experienced ICTU staff working in Clinical Trial Statistics, Methodology, Operations and Clinical Data Systems.

Registration is now open. Link to ICCT registration form

Places on the 2024 ICCT course are limited to 10 delegates. Please note that registration may close early if there is a high number of applications so you are encouraged to register early.

The course costs £900.

Please note that full payment must be transferred to ICTU on acceptance of your course place.

ICTU is unable to provide funding for this course.  If you don’t have access to funds through a training grant, for example a fellowship then we recommend you speak to your supervisor or Head of Department about funding options.

You must have:

• Basic knowledge of clinical research
• Sufficient time to complete the homework
• Availability to attend 9 face-to-face sessions (8 tutorials and 1 final presentation)
• A research question to develop during the course
• A named academic supervisor/mentor
• Funding confirmed prior to the course starting.