Greetings from JIPMER We are pleased to announce that the Hospital Infection Control and Prevention (HICP) unit of the Department of Microbiology, JIPMER Puducherry will be conducting the ‘7th Advanced National Workshop on Hospital Infection Control’ between 23rd to 26th January 2024 (for four days) in JIPMER Pondicherry, India. The target group will be- (i) faculty/consultants (MD/DNB) working in infection control; (ii) Microbiology MD/DNB postgraduates (2nd and final year only) and (iii) infection control nurses. Infection Control is an essential component of any health care delivery system. Implementing infection control measures such as standard precautions like hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, environmental disinfection, equipment disinfection/sterilization etc. and transmission-based precautions can prevent the spread of microorganisms in health care settings. In times of COVID pandemic, the requirement of infection prevention and control (IPC) practices has increased manifolds. Unfortunately, an effective and robust infection control programme is lacking in most of the healthcare facilities in India and there is a dearth of infection preventionists in our country. Microbiologists play a crucial role in implementing the infection control programme and to initiate antimicrobial stewardship measures. Hospital infection control units in most of the healthcare facilities in India are supervised by microbiologists. More so, when the Government of India is planning to bring the infection control as a separate learning objective for the MBBS students, it is of utmost importance for every microbiologist to enhance their knowledge and hone their skills on infection control. Nurses are key in executing and implementing the infection control programme in health care services. Infection control nurses (ICNs) are the pillars of Hospital infection control and prevention (HICP) unit of the healthcare facilities. ICNs perform rounds, audits, surveillances and ensure the implementation of various infection control activities. Unfortunately, there are paucity of training program for infection control nurses in India. This workshop aims at providing training on various aspects of hospital infection control which range from hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, HAI Surveillance, bundle care audit, needle stick injury, biomedical waste audit, environmental surveillance, disinfectant policy, CSSD, endotoxin testing etc. The number of PARTICIPANTS selected for the workshop will be limited to 100 doctors which include Microbiologists (faculty, consultants, senior residents, infection control officers) working in infection control and Microbiology postgraduate (MD) students. In addition, 100 infection control nurses (ICNs) will also be selected for registration. Applicants should discuss with their HODs before applying. If they are selected as participants, they need to submit a declaration form countersigned by their HODs that they are working/ going to work in the infection control team of their institute and they will be responsible for implementing/augmenting HIC activities in their institute after completion of the workshop.