Call for Applications

Deadline: 20 February 2026 at 18:00 (Korea Standard Time)

Background

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face significant inequity in terms of access to vaccines and other biologics and are actively working to establish biological manufacturing in their regions. However, establishing such manufacturing capacity, through bilateral technology transfer or through local R&D efforts, is often constrained by the shortage of a trained workforce in biomanufacturing.

To address this gap and to build biomanufacturing capacity in LMICs, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the Republic of Korea as a Global Biomanufacturing Training Hub. In 2023, WHO and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) of the Republic of Korea signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the Global Training Hub for Biomanufacturing (GTH-B). In May 2024, the GTH-B Support Foundation (GTH-B SF) was established to conduct and coordinate the GTH-B training programs as a non-profit foundation, under the Civil Act with the approval of the MoHW.

The hub is mandated to provide training in the manufacturing of high-quality vaccines and biologics in an industrial setting to resolve inequality in access to vaccines and biologics worldwide by expanding manufacturing capacity in LMICs.

Since 2022 in collaboration with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), GTH-B has offered two introductory courses: ‘Introductory Course for Biologics Development and Manufacturing’ and ‘Introductory Course for Standard Practice (GxP)’. These courses have been provided to 1190 participants from 75 different low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) so far.

For the fifth year in agreement with WHO, the Republic of Korea is organizing a new training program with a focus on an introduction to biologics development & manufacturing in June 2026 for 130 trainees from LMICs. In addition, GTH-B SF will be collaborating with IVI for this training.

Course Period

Dates for the 2026 Introductory Course for Biologics Development and Manufacturing: Tuesday, 16 June 2026 – Friday, 26 June 2026 (2 Weeks)*

Course Objectives

After completing the course, participants will have foundational knowledge about various areas that are related to biologics manufacturing.

The course includes pre-clinical & clinical trials, biologics manufacturing processes, quality control & assessment, and regulatory affairs to develop and produce vaccines and biologics, among others.

Content and Structure

This course will consist of preliminary online courses followed by two weeks of in-person courses. At the end of each session, participants will be required to test their learning through online or in-person assessments. Certification will be awarded to participants who achieve 100% completion of the online sessions and 90% completion of all required assessments during the in-person courses.

Refer to the Tentative Course Outline for more details on the curriculum.

Eligibility, Limitations, and Selection Criteria

The course targets individuals employed by entities in countries formally registered as LMICs on the OECD DAC list and currently involved in the production of bioproducts including vaccines, therapeutics, monoclonal antibodies, etc.

Training and services will be provided exclusively to selected individuals and cannot be transferred or shared. Applicants are expected to demonstrate in their application how they intend to apply the experience gained during the training program and their commitment to return to their home institution upon completion.

The priority selection criteria for this course are as follows:

• Possess an educational background in the field of life sciences
• Hold a position as a technician, engineer, scientist, or manager with up to 6 years of experience in biomanufacturing or related field
• Be employed by a company registered as a legal entity in an LMIC conducting activities within the scope of biomanufacturing
• Be a citizen of, and resident in, an LMIC
• Have at least an intermediate level of spoken and written English
• Demonstrate in the application how the acquired knowledge, skills, and competencies during the training will be applied within the applicant’s organization upon completion
• Explain in the application the relevance of the training to a professional project

Application Procedure

All applications must be submitted via online application form by 18:00 Korea Standard Time (KST), 20 February 2026.

The online application form is available at the ‘Apply’ page at the following link: https://ivionlinecampus.www.ivi.int/

Applicants must provide the following information:

• Personal information including name, gender, date of birth, nationality, country of residence, passport information, contact details, etc.

Note: Primary contact must be through an official email from the applicant’s institution or organization (e.g., @university.edu, @institute.int, @organization.org, @gov.kr). Personal email accounts (e.g., @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @hotmail.com, etc.) are not accepted.

• Educational background and level of English proficiency
• Professional background
• GTH-B training history (if applicable)
• Course preparation information (travel, dietary restrictions, etc.)

Applicants must upload the following documents:

• Copy of a valid passport
• Letter of endorsement from the director of the applicant’s institution confirming the applicant’s capability to successfully undertake the training and certifying their current employment status. (Refer to the endorsement letter sample in the online application form of the website.)

Applicants must demonstrate the following:

• A description of their current position and justification for their selection
• A description of the relevance of the training to their professional project
• A description of the knowledge and skills they wish to acquire during the training
• A description of their organization’s needs related to the training and the anticipated impact on their institution
• A description of the plan to apply and share the acquired knowledge and skills after returning to their home institution upon completion of the training
• Agreement to the GTH-B code of conduct

Selection process

The selection process includes the following steps:

• Eligible applications will be reviewed by the selection committee consisting of members recommended by the MoHW of the Republic of Korea and WHO.
• When the selection process is completed, participants will be informed of the next steps and necessary information by e-mail.
• Due to limited capacity, a maximum of 5 participants from each organization will be allowed to participate.
• The Selection Committee may limit participants from any single country to 10% of the total selected participants if accepted applications exceed total enrollment capacity.
• For institutions involved solely in animal vaccine production, a letter from the institution should be addressed to the GTH-B with an institutional plan to expand its scope to human vaccines.

Financial Provisions

The course is offered free of charge to participants. Accommodation and breakfast will be provided during the course days and on weekends. Lunch will be provided ONLY on weekdays.

The trip cost to and from Seoul, Republic of Korea will NOT be covered. Applicants must fund travel related costs at their own expense. It is recommended to schedule the return flight within 3 days following the conclusion of the course. Selected applicants will be responsible to obtain any vaccinations and visas which may be necessary for travel. Supporting documentation will be provided for visa applications if required.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) of the Republic of Korea and the World Health Organization (WHO), are dedicated to promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in science. We especially encourage women to apply as well as any qualified applicants regardless of sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious, cultural, and social backgrounds, or (dis)ability status.

Further Information

For any questions regarding the application, please contact the GTH-B Support Foundation at gthb@gthbsf.org

Applicants will be notified upon receipt of the application. Acknowledgement of the application does not imply that the participant has been selected for the program. A separate notification will be sent to selected applicants.

*Schedule and course details are subject to change.