Top 14 free e-learning platforms for international development consultants DevelopmentAid

While the demand for international development consultants has increased worldwide over the last few months, sealing consultancy deals and winning tenders remains highly competitive.

Today, over 135,000 development professionals have registered and created their profiles on DevelopmentAid’s expert database. According to our 2025 analysis, most of these experts hold at least a Master’s degree and have over 16 years of experience. How can someone stand out in such a qualified and experienced pool of candidates? Upskilling is definitely part of that, particularly at a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping the way we operate across so many fields, from project management to marketing.

In this article, we present 14 e-learning platforms where international development freelancers can acquire new knowledge and develop fresh skills to increase their competitiveness and remain relevant. Most of these platforms offer free courses and allow students to gain a certificate upon completion.

From learning the basics of transparent, circular, and sustainable public procurement to addressing e-waste through data and statistics, and increasing skills in persuasive presentations – most training programs featured here are free of charge. Read this article to decide upon your next educational milestone, and for even more opportunities, become a DevelopmentAid member and subscribe to our newsletter.

#1 – UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)

The Digital Learning Centre at the UN DESA offers a collection of e-learning courses to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Training topics include:

#2 – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

The eLearning Academy, hosted by the FAO, offers multiple capacity building lessons on subjects regarding food security, nutrition, and natural resources, such as:

The courses are free, multilingual, and include the ability to gain certification after successfully completing an examination.

#3 – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

The IAEA offers free training modules and webinars on nuclear energy and related content. Some of the content in its catalogue includes:

#4 – InforMEA learning

The United Nations Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (InforMEA) offers multiple e-courses on international legislation covering biological diversity, chemicals, climate, environmental governance, farming, and aquatic ecosystems. Some examples of the e-courses open for enrollment include:

Each course offers a certificate of completion and, by completing all the courses within a given category, students can earn a diploma.

#5 – International Organization for Migration (IOM)

The E-Campus of the IOM hosts several self-paced e-learning lessons on migration-related topics. This platform offers lessons in five different languages:

Spanish, English, French, Italian, and Arabic. Courses are grouped by thematic area, and completion certificates are available. Current training lessons include:

#6 – International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Unlike most other platforms featured on this list, as well as a self-paced curriculum, the ITU Academy includes face-to-face and online instructor-led courses. Some are paid, some are free, but all come with the ability to gain certification. The catalogue covers a wide range of skills and knowledge in the digital arena, from cybersecurity to e-government and big data. Some of the free courses currently available include:

Most are taught in English, but a few are also available in other languages, for example, Arabic, French, and Spanish.

#7 – SDG Academy

The SDG Academy provides a variety of online learning experiences on different aspects of sustainable development, including:

Online sessions are free but obtaining a verified certificate requires the payment of a fee. However, students can apply for financial support to cover the cost of this. The duration of each module varies with some being completed within one week, while others are expected to take over three months.

#8 The One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:e-Learn)

UN CC:e-Learn is an initiative supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, which offers industry-relevant training on climate change, the green economy, and the circular economy. All the courses are online and most are self-paced. Certification is available at a small cost (US$ 30 or less).

The UN CC:e-Learn catalogue currently includes around 140 courses, such as:

#9 – UN Women

The Training Centre eLearning Campus of UN Women focuses its capacity-building education on gender equality, women’s rights, and women’s empowerment. The e-courses are mainly delivered online and in an asynchronous format. Examples include:

It is unclear if this platform offers certification, but all courses can be completed at no cost.

#10 – UNESCO

UNESCO’s Open Learning platform is home to dozens of e-learning modules that are permanently open for enrollment on an asynchronous basis. Currently, the platform focuses on education and environment-related topics. There is no charge to enrol on the modules but it is not specified if certification is awarded upon completion.

Modules available include:

#11 – United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

UNITAR’s website hosts over 400+ online, self-paced courses. The diversity of topics covered is vast, ranging from peacemaking to migration and corporate social responsibility. The courses are mainly free of charge and at least some offer a certificate of completion but the course description should be read to make this clear.

The course catalogue comprises:

#12 – World Health Organization

The WHO Academy supports capacity building in health through a wide collection of e-learning, self-paced training sessions, such as:

All the training sessions we checked offered certificates of completion, and some were even eligible for Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits.

#13 – World Bank

The Open Learning Campus set up by the World Bank consists of a comprehensive library of training resources across five focus areas: people, prosperity, planet, infrastructure, and digital. This library therefore, enables upskilling in a wide variety of fields, from communication to nutrition and gender equality.

Some of the self-paced courses available include:

#14 – Udemy

Udemy is one of the world’s largest e-learning platforms, offering courses of a diverse nature from business and marketing to personal development. While most courses require a fee to be paid, Udemy also offers a few free courses but these do not have a certificate of completion available.

Some examples of the free courses that could be useful for development professionals include:

Final thoughts

Now that you know where to find your next professional training course, the question is, which should you enroll on? Consider the four fundamental pillars that you should target:

1️⃣ New skills in your field or adjacent fields: The world is evolving quickly, and you have to keep up with the latest developments. No surprise there. Our advice would be to track which priority topics are trending in your field or adjacent fields, and learn about those. At DevelopmentAid, we publish monthly updates on tendering trends in the development sector, so following those can help you to stay up to date. Read our January and February insights.

2️⃣ Artificial intelligence: Regardless of your personal opinion on the use of AI tools, the reality is they have already changed the way many professionals do their jobs. These tools are saving bidding teams 16 hours in the analysis of tender documents. Communication experts use ChatGPT and Claude as their writing assistants and personal note-takers provide meeting minutes as soon as the call is over. If you don’t learn how to integrate AI into your workflow, you are in great danger of being left behind and becoming even less competitive in the consultancy market.

3️⃣ How to market yourself: You can be the most technically gifted expert in your field, but if you don’t know how to successfully market yourself and your services, you may still struggle to win clients and are likely to face the notorious feast-famine cycle. Enrolling on some marketing courses could therefore be very helpful. If you are tight on time, go directly to a LinkedIn marketing or branding training. In an earlier article, we covered why LinkedIn is an essential tool for individual consultants to find and be found by clients. Go have a read!

4️⃣ Structure your freelance career as a business: Business models, client management, pricing, negotiations – development consultants often have knowledge gaps in these areas, but they are vital for a successful freelance career in the long-term. If you can charge €50 per hour instead of €25, that will double your income without you having to do any extra work. So, are you sure you are charging an adequate hourly rate? Better enrol on a course and find out!

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Top 14 free e-learning platforms for international development consultants