About the Diploma in International Volunteering

Hi Volunteers. Welcome to the Diploma in International Volunteering online course. We are very glad that you have decided to enroll in this course. Congratulations on making the choice to take yourself on this exciting journey. The online diploma course is a collaboration between Volunteer World and The Centre for Global Citizenship Studies.

This qualification is vocationally based and offers you the opportunity to demonstrate an achievement of practical skills, understanding and knowledge relevant to applying for funding and completing an international volunteering placement. The achievement of the qualification demonstrates the development of skills which will support you to succeed in Higher Education and gain employment opportunities.

Purpose and Aim

The purpose and aim of this course is to enable learners to develop the underpinning knowledge and skills required to:

• Understand the cultural, social, political and religious impact of volunteering
• Understand the implications and responsibilities of local laws, and the rights of children in the country of international volunteering placement
• Identify relationship issues due to workplace culture, language, workload and cultural norms

This course is based on the core occupational requirements for preparing for an International Volunteering Placement with key learning for the role as a volunteer, and understanding personal safety.

Learning structure

The Diploma in International Volunteering is structured into 6 sections:

• Orientation
  • About the Diploma in International Volunteering
  • Navigating the course and learning environment
• Module 1 – Preparing for an International Volunteering Placement
  • Culture in the country of international volunteering placement
  • The responsibility of the volunteer
  • Placement challenges
  • Planning, delivering, and evaluating activities
  • Reflecting on learning
• Module 2 – Reviewing and Reflecting on your Selection as an International Volunteer
  • The characteristics and motivations of an international volunteer
  • The skills and attributes relevant to an international volunteering placement
  • Your international volunteering placement plan
  • Putting your preparation into practice
• Module 3 – Fundraising to Support an International Volunteering Placement
  • Introduction to fundraising
  • Develop a personal fundraising strategy
  • Implement your fundraising strategy
• Module 4 – Undertaking an International Volunteering Placement
• Your volunteering placement area
  • Your personal volunteering plan
  • Volunteer-led activities
• Module 5 –  Reflecting on an International Volunteering Placement
  • Reflect on a volunteering placement
  • Global issues you may encounter
  • Evaluate a volunteering placement

How will you work through the content?

Learning content: Each module will be delivered in the form of a lesson with relevant subtopics.

Quiz: Once you have reached the end of a module lesson, there will be a quiz to complete before progressing on to the next module.

Compulsory tasks: Each module has tasks within the learning content that are compulsory for you to complete on the learning platform.

Assignments: Some modules have assignments which are compulsory to complete and submit.

Time: The learning material should be paced at 1 week per module (up to 8 hours per week). 1 week will provide you with sufficient time to complete the learning material and assignments.

Additional content: Within each module you can also access the Glossary and Bibliography for the module if necessary.

Self-paced learning

This course is designed as a self-paced learning course.  This means you can log in and complete the modules at your own pace.  Try to set a weekly schedule in order to maintain consistent learning.  You have a total of 12 months in order to complete the full Diploma in International Volunteering.