With NCU support the ANCR have hosted a summer school every second year since 1991, aimed at students in epidemiology (Medicine, Statistics, Biology, Nursing, Public health etc.). Gradually the course has been opened for PhD students and newcomers to epidemiological and clinical research. The course has been instrumental in attracting new researchers to cancer statistics and epidemiology where the Nordic Countries and the NCU can contribute importantly to global cancer control.
The aim of the course is to increase research competence and the utilisation of population-based databases in cancer (cancer registries etc.) for new knowledge, benchmarking and follow-up and thus policy development and evidence base for cancer societies.
The collaboration between the Nordic Cancer Registries and the NCU on training is unique as a tool to recruit and stimulate the next generations to cancer research, to enhance and support the networking within the Nordic countries in cancer research and epidemiology. The most prominent area where Nordic countries can contribute as no one else is in the field of population-based research due to the wealth of registries. The Summer School not only stimulates future use but also presents the use of registries – and secures that information from a 25 million population – is used to improve cancer care and prevention – not only for Nordic people but also world wide by producing solid unambiguous results compared to many other settings.