On Friday, 26 February, Dermot O'Flynn, Professor Ciaran O'Boyle, Roger Duggan and Eric O'Flynn were awarded the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Award by the Irish Institute of Training Development for their world class teaching methodology which was contextually appropriate to the challenge of training 252 surgeons in 10 COSECSA countries over a five-year period.

This programme ensured the quality and consistency of training surgeons across 88 teaching hospitals in central, east and southern Africa and was a very successful collaboration between the Institute of Leadership and COSECSA.

Dermot O'Flynn said “that the IOL was delighted to have been asked to be part of this training initiative and that we now look forward to Phase Two of our involvement which will be the development of surgeons as a clinical leaders in their countries”.

In order to ensure quality and consistency of training across its training hospitals (currently numbering 88), COSECSA requested the collaboration programme to work with the RCSI Institute of Leadership to develop a blended "Train the Trainer" programme for its surgical trainers. Completion of this blended programme was to be the only means by which a COSECSA Fellow could become a COSECSA Accredited Trainer.

Professor Ciaran O'Boyle praised the contribution of the Institute team to the training initiative. He also recognised the leadership shown by RCSI in taking on the role of academic partner to COSECSA . "This," he said, "is a reflection of the core values of the College and represents its fundamental mission to educate, nurture and discover for the benefit of human health."