Global Cooperation with Local Impact
Are you engaged in a small development initiative? Do you want to learn how your project can have a positive global impact? Then this three-day course is for you.
Registrations now open
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and registrations will close at course capacity
Duration: 28.01.–30.01.2027
Teaching format: Classroom
Course objective:
This course provides participants with a foundational understanding of the key concepts, actors, and approaches used in international development cooperation. It offers a critical overview of historical trends, aid modalities, and their role in addressing global challenges such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. Through lectures, real-world examples, and group discussions, participants are introduced to the practical tools and concepts used in both development and humanitarian work.
Key topics:
- What is development? Why does poverty and inequality exist?
- Brief history of and evolution of development cooperation
- Colonialism, colonial legacies and critical perspectives
- Good practice: Aid effectiveness; locally led development; participatory approaches; institutionalization; ethics
- Actors and forms of development cooperation
- Basics of project cycle management and donor reporting for international cooperation
Participants: The course is intended for people who work on small development related projects or initiatives, or who have a strong interest in this area.
Admission: There are no entry requirements.
Course fee: CHF 570
Language: English
Lecturers:
- Shruti Patel, NADEL (coordination)
- Isabel Günther, NADEL
- Kenneth Harttgen, NADEL
- Chris Humphrey, NADEL
- Medinat Malefakis, NADEL
- Fritz Brugger, NADEL
- Max Morel, NADEL
Course venue: ETH NADEL, Clausiusstrasse 37, 8092 Zürich
Certificate: Participants will receive a certificate of completion. The course is not part of the CAS or MAS degree programmes. No ECTS points can be obtained.
