Frequently Asked Questions

Please see the 'Registering an account' page for guidance.

If you need to change either your name or password:

1. Click on your profile icon and select "Edit Profile" from the drop down menu.

2. Open the "General" section.

3. Edit your details in the text boxes.

4. Click "Update profile" at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

You can also change your password from the login screen by selecting "Reset Password" if you cannot remember it.

Sometimes you may need to change your account’s registered email address, such as if you have changed jobs or moved organisations and no longer have access to your old email address. 

Please note - there is currently a problem with the process outlined below. The change email link does not seem to work correctly for users logged in with a @nihr.ac.uk account, only for users with accounts registered under non-@nihr.ac.uk emails. If you need to change the email address for a @nihr.ac.uk user account, please request this from the NIHR Service Desk via this link (https://support.nihr.ac.uk/nihr).

To change your email address:

1. Go to https://portal.nihr.ac.uk/

2. Log in with your current email address and password.

3. Click "Continue".

4. Select "Change Email".

5. Review the information on the next page, scroll down and complete the provided form (Enter your New Email Address, confirm email and select a reason).

6. Click "Confirm".

7. You should then be provided with a green banner to confirm the change of email has been successful.

8. Log out or close your browser, and then log back in for this change to take effect.

The search function on NIHR Learn currently has some performance issues and so we recommend using the navigation bar at the top of the NIHR Learn website to find courses. Most of the platform's important courses and categories are linked in the navigation bar, so you can find most learning you need from there. You can also see the 'Explore Learning Row' and 'Featured Learning' sections on the main home page to find learning.

The top navigation bar also includes links to pages displaying courses you are enrolled in, any certificates you have earned with links to download them, as well as the platform's internal NIHR Learn Help area. On the right side of the site banner you can further find links to see and edit your profile.

You can access our GCP and Informed Consent training from the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and Informed Consent hub.

You can find the courses you are enrolled in from three places:

1. "My Courses" in the top navigation bar.

2. "My Learning" in the profile drop down menu.

3. The "Your Learning Row" on the main home page.

If you cannot locate a course that you believe or know should exist, the course may have been hidden by the administrator for significant updates or due to it being archived. In this instance, try to find contact information for the course owner and contact them directly, or contact the NIHR Learn Helpdesk if you are unable to.

If you see a message saying you cannot enrol yourself in the course, the course may not allow self enrolment and so users must be manually enrolled by the course owner. If this is the case, there should be contact details available alongside the message or visible in the course's category page. If not, contact the NIHR Learn Helpdesk.

The NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) is made up of the Coordinating Centre (CC) and 12 Regional Research Delivery Networks (RRDNs). The regional networks run their own face-to-face and virtual sessions for learning such as GCP consolidation and other courses.

You can navigate to the RRDN’s course spaces on NIHR Learn from the “Regionally Delivered Learning” option in the navigation bar. The current RRDNs are:

• East Midlands

• East of England

• North East and North Cumbria

• North London

• North West

• South Central

• South East

• South London

• South West Central

• South West Peninsula

• West Midlands

• Yorkshire and Humber

If you are not sure which RRDN covers your region, you can find out by checking the linked Google Map below, which includes links to each RRDN’s category in NIHR Learn.

RRDN Map

1. In the navigation bar, click on “My Certificates”.

2. The next page will display a list of all your certificates. Click on the icon in the “File” column to download a copy of the certificate.

Please note - some face-to-face/virtual courses do not use NIHR Learn’s in-built certificate feature and instead generate and distribute them separately. If this is the case it will be mentioned on the booking page, so ensure you always read any important information provided and contact your Local Learning Team if unsure. 

If you have any issues with accessing certificates:

• For face-to-face or virtual sessions - please contact your Local Administration team (find their email on the RDN website or in the Contact us page)

• For any other certificates - please contact the NIHR Learn Helpdesk.

If the date on your certificate shows a date in the past, it is likely that you have completed a course you have previously taken, resulting in the certificate displaying the original completion date.

It is important that your certificate shows the date the training was originally completed for audit purposes, for example to enable you to demonstrate that you completed the course prior to joining a research study. 

If you have been asked to repeat training you have already done, we recommend that you discuss with your employer/study PI/CI what evidence you need to demonstrate that you have repeated the course.

Please see the Contact us page for guidance on who to contact for different support queries.

For the best experience while using NIHR Learn, you will need a modern web browser, such as Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari.  

Please do not use Internet Explorer, as this is no longer supported. 

NIHR Learn is a web-based platform which provides access to our learning. You access NIHR Learn via the internet using the web browser on your computer/device.  This means that you can access NIHR Learn from any location which is connected to the internet, including from your home.  

Check which browser you are using at WhatIsMyBrowser.com.