With the midpoint of the year merely days away (at the time of writing), you might find yourself reflecting on the year so far (glass half empty) or imagining what still lies ahead (glass half full). The idiom “glass half full or half empty” is attributed to Josiah Stamp, who, if you were wondering, was an economist. So, why not put your stamp on the rest of the year?

If you are wondering how – well, as a thought, why not upskill? If that is what you want to pursue, then you are in luck, as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) announced on June 3 that it had significantly upgraded its e-learning platform, aimed at improving usability, security and performance for anyone who is interested in deepening their understanding of international trade law and the multilateral trading system. The e-learning courses are primarily meant for trade practitioners.

The WTO upgrades mark a major step forward in expanding access to its e-learning courses. The courses form part of the WTO’s technical assistance programmes, which it delivers to build trade capacity in developing and least- developed member and observer countries. The courses are also freely accessible to the wider public across all sectors.

The WTO’s head of e-learning said of the upgrades: “We are excited to launch the upgraded platform, which reflects our continued commitment to accessible and high- quality trade-related learning. The improvements will enable users to navigate more easily the e-learning platform, manage their learning more effectively, and engage more deeply with the WTO’s online training.”

Key upgrades to the platform include: a) a redesigned user interface featuring intuitive navigation, improved accessibility features and simplified access to the course catalogue, certificates and support resources; b) a refined course catalogue with advanced search and filtering options, making it easier to find courses by language, level, topic, training path and duration; c) greater flexibility in assessments, including extended time limits, retake opportunities for final exams, and enhanced dashboard tools for tracking progress; d) strengthened community engagement through updated discussion forums and mobile application notifications to foster collaboration among participants; e) simplified access to learning reports, empowering learners to easily monitor their progress; f) a newly developed help centre offering comprehensive guidance on technical requirements, registration, eligibility, certification criteria and more; and g) enhanced data protection through advanced security measures to safeguard user information and ensure a safe digital learning environment.

The WTO e-learning platform offers 176 free courses covering various WTO agreements and trade-related issues, with additional courses under development. At present, the platform is used by more than 13 000 government officials from developing and least-developed member and observer nations enrolled in these courses, along with more than 9 000 e-learners from academia, the private sector and other professional communities. The upgraded platform is designed to focus on the effective transfer of applied knowledge, skills and competencies through a diverse toolkit of training products and methodologies, which includes online e-learning, blended learning, self-training courses, online webinars and mobile learning.

Online e-learning offers multilingual self-paced courses, accessible free of charge online and in downloadable format. The courses allow you to learn about a trade-related subject based on your individual needs and interests, allowing you to study at your own pace, anywhere and at any time.

Blended-learning offers a mix of virtual and face-to-face elements where the learner has access to virtual classrooms set up for this purpose on the platform. These virtual classrooms support the learner in his or her learning journey and provide access to all course materials and tests 24/7, on any device.

Live sessions enable registered participants to attend fortnightly webinars on topical e-learning and WTO issues. These seminars present an opportunity to complement self-study with live discussions with peers and other WTO/trade experts, and to apply the acquired knowledge in a practical learning environment.

Mobile learning allows participants to download the WTO e-learning app, with all courses fully compatible with smartphones and tablets. The mobile application allows for the downloading of all courses, and enables participants to read the training material offline. This brings more flexibility to the learning journey and enables learning on the go.

To get started on your e-learning journey, visit https://www.learning.wto.org/