<< Background >>The UPPSCAle strategic partnership is a powerful transnational collaboration aiming to innovate, improve and standardise Bachelor Physiotherapy pain science curricula across Europe. Pain science is a core field in a physiotherapy curriculum and physiotherapists are essential members of healthcare teams managing people with pain within a biopsychosocial framework. Chronic pain affects millions of people worldwide across the lifespan and is a global cause of disability in the developed and developing world alike. Poorly managed pain is costly not only for the affected individuals and their families (12-30% EU member states) but also for governments and taxpayers with estimated direct and indirect costs of chronic pain are between 2-3% of GDP across member states (annual cost of 441 billion euro to Europe).Pain management is the primary reason people attend physiotherapy for treatment. The International Association for the Study of Pain 2010 Declaration of Montreal states that all patients have the right to have access to the appropriate assessment and treatment of pain by adequately trained healthcare professionals. However, there is currently no standardised curriculum or common training framework for physiotherapists, with professional education about pain management repeatedly documented as inadequate worldwide. Hence the inequities in pain science knowledge across Europe results in inequitable health service delivery and costs and most importantly to significant differences in patients quality of life.Greater connectivity between higher education systems with standardised curricula will also reduce obstacles that face physiotherapists applying to practice their profession across geographical borders in EU member states. Once graduated Physiotherapists are consistently the 4th most mobile regulated profession that travels abroad to practice their profession in the EU. Under the EU Directive 2005/36/EC in principle physiotherapists are permitted freedom of movement to practice their profession across geographical borders of EU member states. However, as there is no common training framework for physiotherapists, and training requirements differ from country to country, having professional qualifications recognised can be challenging between one EU member state and another. A standardised curriculum in pain science physiotherapy could reduce challenges that graduates face and serve as a test case for physiotherapy curricula as well as other health professional Bachelor programmes. In summary, there is a need for the exchange of best practices pain science through the development of sustainable products for faculty as well as students. This project is therefore timely, with the right partners and with the right blend of expertise to develop a cadre of highly trained academics capable of addressing current and future needs.<< Objectives >>The UPPSCAle project objectives are focusing on harmonising pain science education across Europe by offering a roadmap for all academics in Bachelor programmes seeking to ensure their graduates can meet the evolving challenges of pain management. The project will take advantage of the considerable expertise of all the partners involved to achieve this through the various project activities and outputs that can be utilised by academics across EuropeUPPSCAle has three main objectives:Objective 1: Curriculum bench marking of Bachelor Physiotherapy pain science curricula against international best practice (European Pain Federation EFIC Pain Physiotherapy curriculum) to identify gaps in learning. ; Objective 2: Augmenting knowledge and skills through evidence-based professional practices;Objective 3: Enhancing and standardising Teaching and learning methodology based on dynamic Open Education Resource that addresses identified limitations to support academics with student learning across Europe and beyond.<< Implementation >>Three core project activities (PA), one building on the next will be undertaken(i)Needs Analysis: A curriculum review process mapping partners current pain science curricula against international best practice (European Pain Federation Pain Physiotherapy curriculum) will be undertaken, facilitated by experts in curriculum design in NUID UCD Teaching and Learning Centre.(ii) Capacity Building: Two week long face to face Teach-the-Teacher Pain Schools will be developed to standardise and up-skill academic partners with both theoretical and hands-on skills development sessions. Materials developed for and during the Pain Schools Outputs will be incorporated into the Open Education Resource.(iii) Addressing Limitations: An open education resource will be developed and maintained on key and emerging pain science knowledge to ensure that Bachelor Physiotherapy programme curricula content can meet the evolving challenges of pain management across Europe and beyond. Through all three core PA dissemination of progress and project results (PR) will be disseminated widely through the UPPSCAle communication strategy in partner countries and beyond to allow other institutions join in the curriculum review and enhancement process, to build a community of physiotherapy academic staff (special interest group) to further develop and enhance pain science education.<< Results >>This 24 month project results include a number of sustainable outputs that will enhance and standarise pain science education in Bachelor Physiotherapy programmes across Europe:1. Open educational ResourceThe OER will house all educational outputs from the UPPSCAle project; gaps identified through the curriculum review process can be addressed by accessing the Teach-the-Teacher Pain School Manual and the knowledge and skills content on the OER. This will augment and promote state-of-the-art pain science education that healthcare professionals, patients and health services will benefit from. The OER will be hosted by UCV and be accessible.2. Open source files accessibilityUPPSCAle Project results will all be freely available for institutions removing barrier of funding issues that arise in institutions across Europe.3. Curricula availability & comparisonsAcademics can review and augment their current pain science curricula using a pedagogically sound approach against international best practice recommendations (European Pain Federation EFIC Pain Physiotherapy curriculum). 4. Special interest group The UPPSCAle project will develop a special interest group for academic physiotherapist teaching pain science to engage with each other, sharing knowledge on the topic. It will also allow for discussion around the development of a common training framework for physiotherapy education. This would ultimately enhance patient care, reduce healthcare costs and limit obstacles faced by physiotherapists seeking to have their qualifications recognised when they wish to practice professionally across geographical borders of European Union member states. 5. InterconnectivityThis project will further enhance inter-connectively and teaching excellence between universities in Europe, increasing their capacity to operate jointly at transnational level, boosting internationalisation of their educational and research activities, and through exchanging or developing new practices and methods as well as sharing and confronting ideas.