As part of its aim to share rural development experience and insights with other development practitioners, IIRR offers short-term international and regional training courses. These courses focus on IIRR’s practical field experiences and participatory approaches, along with the experiences of participants and other development organizations. The courses draw from IIRR’s 40 years of conducting international training and 80 years of rural development experience.

International training courses offered by IIRR are usually 2-4 weeks in duration. They combine interactive presentations, discussions, hands-on exercises and field visits. During most of IIRR courses participants develop individual action plans to ensure that after the course they put into practice what they learnt.

In addition to training courses IIRR also responds to requests for customized courses and study programs for teams of eight or more participants from a particular country or organization. These specially designed courses enable participants to adapt their learning and field observations to meet their organizational and professional development needs.

How to apply for IIRR International Courses

Most of IIRR's international courses are held at the Y.C. James Yen Center in Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Applications for registration for attending an international course generally follow the following steps:

1.  Applicants submit to IIRR their filled-in application form along with other required documents as may be appropriate:

• Official Nomination Form by his/her organization
• Certificate of Financial Support by the Sponsor
• Organizational Chart indicating the number of staff in each unit and the applicant's position in the organizational chart
• Medical Examination Certificate (may be submitted later once the applicant qualifies to be accepted to the training course)
• Certificate of English Proficiency (applicant will be notified if this is necessary)
  

2.  IIRR notifies each qualified applicant and sends an official acceptance package consisting of the following documents:

• Cover letter of the Training Coordinator addressed to the Nominating Official
• Letter of Acceptance signed by the Training Coordinator with instructions to send their course fee payments to a designated account as soon as possible
• Endorsement Letter for obtaining the necessary travel documents signed by the Human Resources Director
• Participant's Travel Information Guide
• Listing of other documents for submission that might be required by a particular course, e.g., pre-course preparations for those attending the International Course on Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) and additional information requirements for those attending the International Course on Rural Development and Management and confirming the acceptance of nominated applicant/s to the training course Official Nomination Form by his/her organization
  

3.  Certain nationals are notified if they are required to secure a travel visa in their country of origin. Other nationals, through some country-to-country agreement, can secure their visas upon arrival in Manila.

4.  Prior to departure, the applicant gives IIRR an updates on the status of his/her flight schedule including the airline to be used, the expected time of departure (ETD) and expected time of arrival (ETA).

5.  IIRR picks up the applicant at the airport upon completion of immigration and customs formalities.