Education, training and coaching

There is probably no better contribution towards sustainable development than investing in people and building capacities at all levels. KIT Royal Tropical Institute plays a major role in this by offering a range of education and capacity building services, from formal education at masters level to client-oriented training and coaching support. Our training and coaching programmes are tailor-made to address the unique objectives and capacities of the requesting organisation.

Masters and advanced course programs

KIT offers Master’s programmes as well as advanced courses, most notably in the area of public health and gender. Using modern, interactive teaching, the programmes are designed to equip professionals with the in-depth knowledge, skills and expertise to address public health and gender-related challenges around the world. Course facilitators are leading professionals in their field, combining high academic profiles with practical “field” experience. By bringing together experts from KIT and other organisations, countries and regions, these courses create a forum for exchanging experiences among a broad range of development practitioners and networking that impacts long after the course. The KIT Alumni network is a dynamic community with a global presence nurturing lifelong friendships and professional contacts across the world.

KIT’s Master programmes are offered in cooperation with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and are accredited the Dutch Flemish Accreditation Organisation. In addition advanced courses are accredited by TropEd, an international network of institutions for higher education in international health.

Tailor-made training programs

KIT is widely known for providing direct capacity building to client staff in our fields of expertise in health, agriculture and agricultural innovation, intercultural communication and gender, tailored to the need of the client. This is always based on a thorough analysis of the client’s context and its learning needs. KIT’s tailored training programmes utilise workshop-style trainings and learning events that are spread over time and interchanged with periods of putting learning into daily practice. Our trainings are highly interactive with both theoretical inputs and ample opportunities for practical exercises, role play, and group work. Training efforts can be made more effective by combining them with additional organisational development support. Working closely with training organisations and professionals in the client’s countries also ensures the long-term sustainability of training efforts.

Adult education and training of trainers

To enhance the long-term impact and sustainability of training programmes, KIT strengthens the capacity of local trainers—those working within or with clients—so that they are well equipped to provide effective and quality training.  Such training of teachers and trainers addresses the fundamental understanding of adult learning as the basis for internalizing a more creative and interactive educational approach and training forms.

E-learning

You do not have to come and join us to be able to benefit from the short courses and tailor-made trainings by KIT experts. Making use of its own virtual learning environment “KIT Virtual Grounds”, KIT offers various E-learning courses for professionals in health and international development. These distance-based courses typically combine a number of weeks of highly interactive learning with different teaching methods, including self-study, presentations, videos, discussions, and assignments.

Educational games

Offered as part of larger educational programmes or as stand-alone training activities, KIT facilitates student learning through the use of elaborate, educational games. Whether in the form of board games or online games, these games are effective ways to create close to real-life learning experiences and build participants’ problem-solving skills in a specific area. Several major games such as “The Health Resources Allocation Game”, “Sichingo!” and “The Health Champions Game” have been developed by KIT for use during the master courses.  KIT is also happy to share these games with other educational institutions who want to use them in their educational programmes.

Coaching

KIT experts support professionals in their work through focused coaching services. Closely linked to other forms of capacity building or collaboration in other activities, KIT organises a trajectory with a number of  1-on-1, interactive sessions with client staff, often at long-distance and using modern web-based communication tools. In these sessions, KIT and client staff review work developments, jointly develop alternative pathways and plan ways to further strengthen the work under review and the role of client staff.

Gender training