ONLINE video learning platform Continulus was set up by Eoghan Colgan to give wider access to global experts in healthcare. It is now in more than 47 countries.

Name: Eoghan Colgan

Position: Founder and CEO of Continulus

WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS

I STARTED medical school in Belfast in 1996 with an ambition to become a paediatrician and work for Medecins Sans Frontieres, in Africa. In 1998 I worked for a summer in the Ivory Coast where I contracted cerebral malaria and nearly died. My only comfort at that time was a cassette of Jeff Buckley’s Grace album, given to me by my brother, and which I played on repeat during my recovery.

I was alone in a mud hut with out-of-date fluid drips nailed into the wall with string. There were no mobile phones and I couldn’t contact my family, so the comfort that cassette gave to me is indescribable. When I returned home, I would suffer from a weakened immune system for a long time and would later be advised to avoid returning to Africa for a number of years. At the same time, I had a heightened passion for music which led to me spending four years in the music industry.

When I met my now wife, and we decided to settle down, I returned to medicine and started to catch-up in my career. And it was then that I learned of the frustration with access to global experts in healthcare. This is traditionally through courses and conferences which are limited by location as it’s costly to travel and pay conference fees. The actual time learning is crammed into a very short space of time and the time away from family and work is tough.With numerous courses a year the collective carbon footprint is significant.There were many courses and conferences I wished to attend but I couldn’t afford it. So, I decided to invite the speakers I wished to see to Scotland to teach health professionals here.

It wasn’t so different from my days organising my own gigs and tours – hire a venue, book an act, promote, and sell some tickets. For the first two years we ran courses and conferences like this.

One of those courses was with an educator from US called Rich Levitan, arguably the world-authority on emergency airway management. The impact of his course was so great that I realised it needed to be shared to a wider global audience.

So, I asked him would he let me create an online version of his course. To my amazement, he agreed, and so began the journey into online education. Suddenly all courses and conferences have been cancelled due to Covid-19, focusing attention on the online delivery of CPD when many had never considered it before. So, it is certainly a ripe time for the business. In the past two years we have added multiple additional courses and developed lecture programmes in various medical and nursing specialties. We have users from more than 47 countries including many African countries Plus, we have sponsored many healthcare projects across the African continent. In the end, I was able to support healthcare in Africa, but not in the manner that I intended nearly 25 years ago!

WHAT IS THE TARGET MARKET?

ALL healthcare professionals globally. We started in Emergency and Critical Care but aim to branch out into all healthcare specialties. We have users from more than 47 countries and are exploring language translation to reach a broader audience.

HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?

WE believe we have a number of competitive advantages over other similar businesses as we focus on making Continulus the leading healthcare CPD in the world accessible for everyone.

Our continually-updated programme of live and interactive lectures, conferences and podcasts has a global faculty of the world’s leading healthcare experts. We have a superior platform with features such as discussion forums, time-stamped note-taking and a multi-camera video player that allows users to watch masterclass videos with leading experts, choosing their preferred view in real-time.

Another USP is our commitment to equitable access for all – we subsidise access in middle-income countries and provide free access in low-income countries, making it affordable for everyone and free for those with little. We invest time and money overcoming any barriers to access in LMIC’s (low-to-middle-income countries) and we donate to healthcare projects in poorly resourced areas.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

I ENJOY the creativity and doing something that can make a difference. and I enjoy meeting new and interesting people that I would never have met outside of the business.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS?

WE hope to be the leading provider of expert healthcare CPD, making it accessible for all healthcare professionals globally.

We aim to cover a broader range of healthcare topics, and explore new ways to enrich education through digital technology. We believe making expert knowledge more accessible will improve healthcare standards globally.