Lupus Academy: Keeping Education Live, Virtually

Abstract

Delivering medical education meetings in person and online presents different challenges, as highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lupus Academy education programme is a decade-old initiative, led by a steering committee of 12 international experts in lupus, with an established following of over 7000 global learners. The COVID-19 pandemic has made educationalists think differently about ways to provide medical education. Early in the pandemic, the Lupus Academy created a new technical platform and scientific programme structure to deliver its education online to its global audience. Many challenges confronted the effective delivery of this education, including video steaming, audience engagement and interaction, and timely delivery of content across multiple time zones. The Lupus Academy adapted well, and its 2020 meeting was a success. The lessons from this meeting helped create a further improved meeting format for 2021, which like 2020 saw over 3000 participants from 101 counties attending. This success was driven by necessity, yet learners still want 'in-person education' . As and when the world opens for travel, a newfound digital literacy will create hybrid programmes that serve both 'in-person meetings' with digital elements, bringing education to a broader audience online at the same time.