The EAPCI Education and Training Grant programme offers grants of €25,000 to support a 12-month period of clinical training in interventional cardiology for interventional cardiology fellows from EAPCI member countries. The call for applications for fellowship host centres closed on 30 November 2024 and the EAPCI Fellowship Grants Committee is currently reviewing applications. The call for applications for fellows runs from December 2024 to January 2025.
Given that a key aim of the EAPCI is to define standards for competency and excellence in interventional cardiology, host centres are required to meet EAPCI criteria to provide training. This ensures that the grant awardee obtains the highest standard of training and benefits from their fellowship. Host centres benefit from the integration of the EAPCI grant winner into their daily activities and training programme, providing education in skills and techniques not available in the fellow’s home country or institution. Throughout the years, lifelong friendships and collaborations have been formed between EAPCI host centres and grant winners. The shared knowledge, training and education benefit not only the original EAPCI grant winner but also his or her colleagues and fellows when they return to their home institution.
EAPCI members under the age of 40 on the day of the application deadline who have completed the majority of their cardiology training but have not yet obtained a “permanent”, “senior staff” or “consultant” position are eligible to apply. Candidates are required to submit an application form. In previous years, several candidates applied with incomplete or inadequately completed application forms which lead to lower evaluations from the EAPCI Fellowship Grants Committee. Therefore, potential applicants are advised to read the requirements thoroughly and to give themselves sufficient time to ensure that their application best reflects their career and scientific achievements to date, their motivation for application, plans for the grant period, career goals after the grant period and the potential impact of the grant. It is understood that not all EAPCI members have had the same opportunities to build previous personal or institutional connections with host centres, and thus, applications are welcome from candidates who have a pre-agreement with a centre as well as from candidates without a pre-agreement. A list of host centres is available on the EAPCI website, and candidates are encouraged to make contact with host centres and to express a preference in terms of centres and countries if a pre-agreement is not in place.
The EAPCI has the lowest female representation (15.3%) within the ESC organisations, however, it has made a commitment to offer equitable access to training for all. Since 2018, 50% of Fellowship Grants have been awarded to men and 50% to women. Whilst gender is one variable in disparity, EAPCI is also cognisant of socioeconomic disparities and that the opportunities to obtain training and education within member countries varies. Therefore, the ability to obtain skills during an EAPCI Education and Training Grant and return to an ESC member country and develop new programmes and improve the overall access to interventional cardiology care within the ESC member country is an important consideration when reviewing applications. Furthermore, it is recognised that due to population sizes and procedural numbers in some ESC member countries, it may be necessary to train abroad in order to obtain the depth and breadth of experience to become adequately trained and competent.
Applications for the 2025 EAPCI Education and Training Fellowship Programme close on 31 January 2025, and the winners will be announced at EuroPCR 2025 and PCR London Valves 2025.
