The Academy for International Relations helps central government staff with an international role to learn and develop. We provide learning activities in both Dutch and English, geared to staff with an international role at every stage in their career.
Guide
The Academy for International Relations’ learning activities fall into four categories:
- International and diplomatic curriculum
- This is how we work at BZ (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- Personal development
- Current affairs series
Below you will find some examples of learning activities within the various categories and sub-categories. This will make it easier to find your way in all of our learning activities.
- Staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA/BZ) will be automatically logged in the learning portal. For a complete, up-to-date overview of learning activities, go to the online catalogue.
- Are you a Dutch government official but not working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Complete this form to create an account for the Academy of International Relations learning portal. If you are already registered, log in here.
In addition, on this page you will also find information about other learning options, conditions and rules of play for learning at the MFA/BZ.
1. International and diplomatic curriculum
This part of the curriculum is oriented towards developing knowledge and skills for jobs with an international focus. Topics include trade and investment promotion, gender, migration, religion and various regional studies. Many of the courses are open to civil servants from across central government.
See below for learning activities that are both useful and necessary if you have an international role and are also available in English.
Economic and diplomatic expertise and skills in the field of international trade and foreign investment are essential in an increasingly integrated and complex global economy. Take, for example, the skills you need to help Dutch businesses with their activities in foreign markets, and knowledge of sustainable economic development in developing countries.
Learning activities include:
- Trade and Investment Promotion
- Basics of Trade Promotion (e-learning)
- Business for Development Works (+advanced)
- Webinars Economic Diplomacy
View the full list of international trade and investment learning activities (for MFA/BZ employees).
View the full list of international trade and investment learning activities (for Dutch government officials).
For productive international cooperation, up-to-date knowledge of both policy and implementation is essential. The Academy provides learning activities on topics like food security, energy, climate and migration.
Learning activities include:
- Business and Human Rights
- MHPSS in crisis situations: Mind the mind!
- How to respond to climate change in developing countries (e-learning)
- Food and nutrition security (e-learning)
- Gender…(of)course (e-learning)
- The Dutch approach on SRHR (e-learning)
- H2Online (e-learning)
- Migration: Behind the scenes - The training
View the full list of international cooperation learning activities (for MFA/BZ employees).
View the full list of international cooperation learning activities (for Dutch government officials).
In order to contribute to peace and security in the world, you need expertise in policy and implementation. But in-depth knowledge of regions is also essential. The Academy provides learning activities on every region in the world, focusing on topics like history, human rights, migration, security, trade, religion and money trails.
Learning activities include:
- Introduction to World Religions
- Training courses on various regions
- Tech Diplomacy
View the full list of peace, security and regional policy learning activities (for MFA/BZ employees).
View the full list of peace, security and regional policy learning activities (for Dutch government officials).
It is of essential importance for staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and staff with international roles at other ministries to have an excellent command of at least one foreign language. This makes a crucial difference in representing the Netherlands abroad, enabling us to protect our interests more effectively and achieve better results.
Find out more about languages and language courses (for MFA/BZ employees).
Find out more about languages and language courses (for Dutch government officials).
2. This is how we work at BZ (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are committed and want to excel in their field. But these days, you need more than expertise in your own field. Besides subject knowledge, it is essential that BZ-specific knowledge and skills are up-to-date for every BZ employee. These include working safely with information, digital skills, diplomatic skills and policy and implementation at BZ.
These learning activities are specifically designed to improve the general development of all employees working at BZ, in The Hague and at the missions. A number of learning activities are also open to civil servants in international positions.
As a representative of the Dutch government, you have to be able to be forward-thinking in the diplomatic world.
Learning activities include:
- Strategic foresight and forecasting
- Various writing courses:
- Writing effective messages
- Writing effective management proposals
- Writing policy papers for the Minister
View the full list of diplomatic skills learning activities (for MFA/BZ employees).
View the full list of diplomatic skills learning activities (for Dutch government officials).
These learning activities aim to improve the quality of policy, commissioning and collaboration in and between policy fields.
Learning activities include:
- Policy and Implementation for the missions
- Defining clear assignments (also available as team training)
- Managing evaluations
- Stakeholder analysis (also available as team training)
Go directly to the learning portal to find your learning activity (for MFA/BZ employees).
Log in to the learning portal to find your learning activity (for Dutch government officials).
Learning activities under this heading include more than practical training. It’s essential to be able to navigate a digital information structure, work with online systems and process information securely.
Learning activities include:
- Information Security - YOU are the key to our protection! *
- Information management at BZ; 247Plaza *
- Digital skills: various e-learning activities
Go directly to the learning portal to find your learning activity (for MFA/BZ employees).
Log in to the learning portal to find your learning activity (for Dutch government officials).
3. Personal Development
As a BZ employee, you are committed to your work and want to excel in your profession. Make sure you work on your own professional skills in addition to your subject expertise. Developing yourself personally makes you stronger in your work.
These learning activities are specifically aimed at developing personal skills in general terms of all employees working at BZ, in The Hague and at the missions.
Go directly to the learning portal to find your learning activity (for MFA/BZ employees).
Log in to the learning portal to find your learning activity (for Dutch government officials).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strives to be an inclusive and diverse organisation that values integrity and a safe and supporting working culture for everyone. Together, we create space and acceptance for authenticity with the intention that everyone feels they belong. A working culture like this does not emerge spontaneously, but calls for an ongoing effort from all of us. The curriculum focused on D&I takes you on a journey from becoming aware of your personal (unconscious) bias, to applying principles of inclusive leadership in your daily work-life and methods such as engaging as a bystander in tensed situations, to create a psychologically safe working environment. You can follow the learning activities individually or arrange them for your team. This is in line with ambitions expressed by the Senior Management Board for the coming years in the broad field of Diversity, Inclusion and Safe Work Environment (1BZ).
Learning activities for BZs and BZ teams are:
- Presentation on D&I*
- Bias workshop (+ advanced) (also available as team training)
- Speaking Up! workshop (also available as team training)
- Webinars on discrimination and racism *
- Online lectures on unconscious bias*, a safe and inclusive working place, Coursecard and sexism
- Workshop Social Safety
- Inclusive Recruitment and Selection (also available as team training)
- Working across cultures, expand your cultural agility
Visit the Inclusion Plaza for more D&I learning activities or the Inclusion Plaza for teams (for MFA/BZ employees).
Know yourself – your qualities and talents, but also your weaknesses. A better understanding of your own personal style and motives will help you to collaborate more effectively with others.
Learning activities include:
- Coaching
Go directly to the learning portal to find your learning activity (for MFA/BZ employees).
Log in to the learning portal to find your learning activity (for Dutch government officials).
4. Current affairs series: on foreign policy and working in the international arena
As part of the study programme, the academy organises lectures throughout the year in cooperation with internal and external specialists on topical, international and directorate-transcending themes that are relevant BZ-wide and also interdepartmentally, in line with ESA strategic topics. The lectures bring together science, policy and practice. The lectures are offered online, making them inclusive, low-threshold and accessible to all colleagues in The Hague, at the missions and often also to civil servants in international positions at line ministries.
The themes include geopolitical news and power transitions, climate diplomacy, digitalisation and foreign policy, economic security, SDGs, religion and foreign policy, insight into Europe, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), intercultural negotiation skills, information about AIV reports, information about strategic policy notes and civil service professionalism (in conversation with top diplomats).
Do you want to stay informed? We announce new activities through internal messaging (SBV) and our LinkedIn page.
Onboarding *
Every two months, the Academy organises welcoming days physically in The Hague and online for the missions to give new colleagues a central and informative welcome so that they will quickly feel at home, be helped on their way and find their way in the organisation and get more connected to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BZ).
Onboarding at BZ starts on the first working day and lasts for 60 days. The programme consists of practical matters in the first weeks, such as explanation of our information and news facilities to an organisational and substantive introduction to BZ on central themes and key pillars: information on the organisational structure and culture, the strategic goals, 1BZ, a safe working environment, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), civil service professionalism, personal leadership and the importance of learning and development and the way we work at BZ.
Other learning opportunities: getting a PhD at BZ
View the options for combining your work at BZ with a scientific PhD track.
Every year, BZ offers two members of staff the opportunity to take up to 12 months’ leave to complete their doctoral thesis. To be eligible, candidates should:
- be able to show that they are making progress with their thesis.
- make a persuasive case that they are prepared and able to act as brokers between policymakers and academics in one or more of their future jobs at BZ.
See the course catalogue for more information on research leave (in Dutch).
In addition to research leave, staff with plans to write a doctoral thesis may apply for leave to start their research. The Policy and Academic Research Committee assesses the applications, which must be submitted by mid-January of the year in which leave is requested. Research leave enables the further development of a career track for in-depth knowledge acquisition.
For more information, get in touch with the Policy and Academic Research Committee by sending an email to Marije Balt.
Information and conditions for learning at BZ
Read about education support, conditions and rules of play for learning at BZ.
In order to learn and develop, you should first consider the activities on the Academy’s curriculum. But if you don’t find what you’re looking for, you may make use of the Education and Training Support Scheme, under which you may apply for time and money to do a course at an external institution. Find out more about education and training support for staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the conditions that apply on Rijksportaal (in Dutch).
If you wish to make use of the Academy’s learning facilities and activities, we expect you to comply with our terms and conditions. These contain rules on registration, cancellation and modifications, describe our integrity policy and how we process your personal data, and set out our obligations if the instructor is ill or unavailable. In principle, you will need the permission of your manager before registering for a learning activity.
Need help?
We hope this online study guide will help you choose your next learning activity.
If you need help choosing a learning activity, see our tips or make an appointment for a consultation session.