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Abstract Introduction Mastering paediatric laparoscopic surgery competency (PLSC) is technically challenging. The present study aimed to determine whether the inter-academic PLSC degree (IAD_PLSC) practical training program enables trainees to improve their skills. Methods This retrospective study included trainees enrolled in the IAD_PLSC program in 2021 and 2022 which included two separate 12 h-sessions. Trainees practiced to perform intracorporeal laparoscopic knots (ILK) using 5- and 3-mm instruments on a pelvi-trainer simulator; Peg Transfer (PT) was used as a dexterity test; final marks added the adapted Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) score (out of 40) and time to complete ILK. ILK was considered a success in case the OSATS score > 27/40. Results A total of 43 trainees completed the IAD_PLSC program. N = 37 (86.0%) mastered the ILK (OSATS score > 27/40) using 5-mm instruments at the end of session 1 and N = 33 (76.7%) at the end of session 2 (p = 0.41). There was no significant improvement in the median [interquartile range, IQR] OSATS score (32 [30–36] vs. 32 [28–34], p = 0.19), but the median [IQR] knot completion time improved significantly (184 s [161–268] vs. 166 s [128–218], p = 0.002). There was a significant correlation between the knot completion time and PT time at the end of session 1 (ρ = 0.58, 95% confidence interval, CI [0.31;0.76], p