The virtual ERS International Congress 2020 will mark 10 years since the first ERS HERMES examination in paediatric respiratory medicine. The inaugural examination took place on 24 September 2011 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and now has become a well-known and recognised assessment within the profession throughout Europe and worldwide. In 2016, the first examination in paediatric respiratory medicine took place outside of Europe in Asia in collaboration with the Asian Paediatric Pulmonology Society (APPS). This delivery gave doctors outside of Europe the opportunity to take the examination and show that they are suitably qualified to a European standard. The ERS HERMES examination in paediatric respiratory medicine has not only evolved as a recognised European Diploma, it is also valued by many national societies as an international proof of knowledge and excellence. In 2016, the European diploma examination became a mandatory part of the Swiss Specialist Diploma in Paediatric Pulmonology.