CAS One Health

The CAS One Health is aimed at professionals working in One Health-relevant positions, particularly in environmental, plant, animal, and human health, agronomy, social and humanities sciences, economics, and law.

Objectives

The participants

• understand the fundamentals and governance of the One Health approach
• have a good understanding of key One Health methods and topics
• acquire competencies of systems thinking
• are able to evaluate and communicate the added value of the One Health approach
• are able to implement the One Health approach in their professional activities and collaborate across sectors

Academic achievements

The CAS One Health consists of 15 ECTS credits. The programme is divided into 9 modules delivered over the course of ideally one year. Completion of the CAS involves approximately 23 days of presence plus 210 to 285 hours of personal work. Each module includes a practically oriented assessment. Final certification requires the validation of two cross-module assessments.

Language

Formal teaching and course materials are in English. Some courses may be given in German. Informal exchanges, group work and assessments can be carried out in the preferred language (German, English, French).

Credit recognition

The CAS One Health ECTS have been officially recognised by the Swiss Veterinary Society GST/SVS as validating training hours. See here for more information.

The needs for recognition of the CAS One Health ECTS for medical doctors by the Swiss Public Health Doctors SPHD can be discussed, as well as any other equivalence needs for other professional organisations.

Course Programme

Individual thematic module (2027)

• TM1 (formerly TM6) - Vector-borne diseases and One Health >> 17-18 June 2027 (2 days)

This popular module is being offered as a stand-alone module in 2027. It is a good opportunity to discover the CAS; it can then be incorporated into the full programme. 

The full programme consists of four basic modules and five thematic modules. Thematic modules can be chosen from the list of proposed themes. 
The modules can also be booked individually.

Basic modules (2027-28)

(Each module lasts 3 consecutive days)

• BM1 - What is One Health? Foundations and Systems Thinking >> 6-8 September 2027
• BM2 - Thinking, collaborating and integrating knowledge for One Health >> 13-15 October 2027
• BM3 - One Health in practice: from integration to operationalisation >> 24-26 January 2028                                                       
• BM4 - One Health Governance and evaluation framework >> 29-31 March 2028

Thematic modules to choose from (2028-29)

(Each module lasts 2 consecutive days; choose 5 out of 6 for the full CAS)

• TM1 - Vector-borne diseases and One Health >> 15-16 June 2028
• TM2 - Global change and the One Health–Planetary Health nexus >> 18-19 September 2028
• TM3 - Health at the ecosystem-animal-human interface >> 2-3 November 2028
• TM4 - One Health surveillance and preparedness >> 11-12 December 2028               
• TM5 - Antimicrobial resistance and One Health >> 22-23 January 2029                                                 
• TM6 - Biosafety, biological risks and One Health >> 8-9 March 2029

More details on the modules are in the brochure and here.

Organisation

The course modules are organised by the Veterinary Public Health Institute (VPHI), which is part of the Vetsuisse faculty of the University of Bern, in close collaboration with other university institutes and public organisations conducting research, projects and fieldwork related to One Health.

Programme management

An interdisciplinary board composed of representatives from the University of Bern and other institutions is responsible for the scientific quality of the CAS One Health. The members of the programme board are:

• Prof. Dr. med. vet. Salome Dürr, VPHI, MCID, University of Bern (Chair)
• Prof. Dr. Irene Adrian-Kalchhauser, FIWI, University of Bern
• Prof. Dr. Claus Beisbart, Institute of Philosophy, MCID, University of Bern
• Dr. Sabin Bieri, CDE, University of Bern
• Dr. Franziska Oeschger, IFIK, MCID, University of Bern
• Prof. Dr. Ana Maria Vicedo Cabrera, ISPM, MCID, University of Bern
• Dr. med. Jörg Allmendinger, Canton Glarus
• Prof. Dr. med. vet. Thomas Lutz, One Health Institute, University of Zürich (ad interim)    
• Theres Paulsen, td-net, Swiss Academies
• Dr. med. vet. Chantal Ritter, GST, Canton of Solothurn       
• Prof. Dr. med. vet. Jakob Zinsstag, Swiss TPH, University of Basel

Lecturers

The modules are taught by recognised academics from the University of Bern and other universities as well as by experts from administration and practice. It is important to us that the lecturers from academia are familiar with the challenges of practice and that the lecturers from practice have the necessary academic qualifications.

Director of Studies

The Director of Studies is responsible for implementing the continuing education programme, accompanying the participants and advising interested parties.

Prerequisites: University degree or professional experience in fields related to One Health, including environmental, plant, animal and human health, social and human sciences, economics, law, etc.

Admission without a university degree or experience in One Health can be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Participants wishing to register for individual modules are welcome, subject to the availability of places.

Registration for the CAS 2027–29 is now open!

Register ↗

Cost

Price list

10% discount for MCID members and people affiliated with Vetsuisse Bern.