A modern vivarium is changing quickly. Teams are moving away from training that depends on shadowing and paper SOPs toward digital, visual, and standardized systems that reduce interpretation and help new staff reach competency faster.
Several forces are driving this shift: pressure on workforce retention, growing expectations around animal welfare, more attention to reproducibility, and new opportunities from digital tools and automation. To understand what this means for research organizations, let’s explore five trends shaping the future of vivarium training and influencing how teams build skills, maintain quality, and work across global sites.
📈 Trend 1: Digitalization of SOPs and Training Workflows
Many facilities still rely on printed SOPs, PDFs, or local documents that differ from site to site. This makes it difficult to keep versions aligned and to show a clear, unified picture of training consistency during internal quality reviews. When technicians learn procedures informally, steps can drift over time, increasing the risk of deviations and rework.
Teams are now moving toward centralized digital workflows that connect SOPs, competency checklists, and assessments in one place. Digital SOP videos reduce ambiguity by showing the exact technique, helping teams improve reproducibility across locations and trainers. They also shorten time to first independent procedures and minimize rework, creating clear time and cost savings.
These systems strengthen the quality of pharma training programs by linking content to version control and providing transparent records for internal audits and cross-site alignment. For global organizations, a unified training platform makes it easier to track progress, meet quality expectations, and support a distributed workforce.
📈 Trend 2: Immersive Simulation for Low-Risk Skill Development
Many practical vivarium skills benefit from repetition before a trainee works with animals. VR and AR tools offer a way to practice key steps in a low-risk environment and support the 3Rs by reducing the need to use animals for early-stage learning. Research shows that VR animal-handling simulations can improve preparedness and confidence before hands-on sessions.1,2
Pairing simulation with procedural video content offers two advantages: a clear visual demonstration of the exact technique and the opportunity to rehearse it virtually. This approach supports immersive simulation vivarium training and can strengthen animal facility training by improving consistency, reducing animal stress, and helping new staff feel more confident before their first live procedure.
📈 Trend 3: Embedding The 3Rs in Everyday Training
The 3Rs—Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement—are now a core expectation in modern vivarium programs.3 Training is shifting from a basic overview of ethical principles to practical, technique-level guidance that affects day-to-day decisions. This includes content on welfare-focused handling methods, enrichment practices that reduce stress, and study-design concepts that support reduction. It also involves knowing when non-animal models or in vitro systems can answer a question effectively.
During JoVE’s recent webinar The 3Rs in Action: Reducing Reliance on Animals, Dr. Aurélie Thomas of AstraZeneca emphasized that the real shift is about aligning the scientific question with the most appropriate method. As she noted, “It’s about choosing the right model and the right technology at the right time to answer the right question.”
Training that reinforces this mindset helps technicians, researchers, and managers consider alternatives, refine their approach, and understand how welfare practices directly influence data quality.
📈 Trend 4: Upskilling Technicians for Automation and AI Integration
Vivarium operations are increasingly supported by automated systems, digital monitoring tools, and AI-driven insights. Technicians now work in hybrid environments where human skills and automated processes support each other. The challenge is not only installing new tools but ensuring that staff know how to interpret outputs, recognize system limitations, and respond appropriately to alerts or unexpected conditions.
Modern vivarium training programs are beginning to include new competency areas:
- 🔸 Understanding how automated monitoring systems collect and interpret data
- 🔸 Recognizing system limitations and knowing when to escalate issues
- 🔸 Basic data literacy for interpreting trends or alerts
- 🔸 Safe interaction with automated equipment
- 🔸 Digital safety and cybersecurity practices relevant to research environments
📈 Trend 5: Standardizing Training Across Multisite Vivarium Networks
Many biopharma and CRO organizations now operate across multiple regions or rely on contract vivaria, making multisite vivarium training standardization a priority. Without a shared framework, procedures can diverge, local adaptations may accumulate, and training materials may not translate well across languages or cultural contexts.
A multisite-ready design pairs a global core curriculum with local adaptations. The core content covers essential procedures, animal welfare expectations, and foundational competencies. Local materials account for national regulations, facility layouts, and regional needs.
Standardized visual materials and structured modules offer a consistent baseline for all sites, reducing variability and accelerating onboarding for global teams. Multilingual formats support consistent learning for international staff. This approach strengthens biopharma workforce training and helps maintain reliable, reproducible performance at scale.
Building A Future-Ready Vivarium Training Strategy
Together, these trends show how vivarium programs are moving toward greater consistency, better use of technology, and stronger alignment with welfare and quality expectations. They also highlight a common direction: building vivarium training that is digital, reproducible, automation-aware, and scalable across global teams.
As organizations plan for 2026 and beyond, it may be helpful to pause and consider a few practical questions:
- 📌 Are SOPs delivered in a format that reduces interpretation and supports global consistency?
- 📌 Where can simulation reduce risk and improve readiness?
- 📌 Is the 3Rs mindset embedded in daily decision-making?
- 📌 Are teams prepared to work with automated and AI-supported tools?
- 📌 Can you clearly demonstrate competency progression and training consistency across locations and partners?
If you’d like to build a scalable, future-ready training program, JoVE’s visual resources can help get you started.
- Tang, F.M.K., Lee, R.M.F., Szeto, R.H.L., et al. (2020). Experiential learning with virtual reality: animal handling training. Innovation and Education 2(2) https://doi.org/10.1186/s42862-020-00007-3
- Yamauchi, A., Oshita, R., Kudo, A., et al. (2024). Development of a virtual reality simulator for training canine endotracheal intubation technique and evaluation of the educational impacts. The Veterinary Journal 307(106203). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2024.106203
- Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. (2010). Official Journal of the European Union L, 276. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32010L0063