Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration and Module 1 Mediation Delivered Successfully this Year

The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) is committed to delivering world-class alternative dispute resolution (ADR) training to individuals who want to learn about dispute resolution. Following lockdown, it moved all of its training and assessment online by integrating a virtual classroom into its learning platform. This has enabled it to carry on delivering its programmes.

Two such courses include the Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration, which is usually run in Oxford each year, and its Module 1 Mediation programme. The Diploma enables individuals, including those with an arbitration or legal background, to deepen their knowledge in international commercial arbitration, normally through a residential programme in Oxford over 9 days. The Mediation programme consists of 5 days of face to face workshops, followed by a sixth day of assessments. Individuals who pass the course and apply for CIArb Membership (MCIArb), become CIArb Accredited Mediators.

This year, both programmes were successfully adapted for virtual delivery. The Diploma ran for 4 weeks in September 2020, and the Mediation programme was extended to 7 weeks and the pilot concluded in October 2020. The virtual Diploma will be running again in March 2021 and the virtual Mediation programme in February 2021. The links for both programmes are below.

The Diploma in International Maritime Arbitration, directed by George Lambrou FCIArb, is currently being run virtually and will end in December 2020.

Here, the Director of the virtual International Commercial Arbitration Diploma programme, Professor Dr Mohamed Abdel Wahab MCIArb, and the tutors on the virtual Module 1 Mediation Programme, share their thoughts on the virtual courses that ran in the summer.

Prof. Dr. Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab MCIArb, Director of the CIArb’s Diploma on International Arbitration:

“This year, owing to the COVID-19 crisis, the CIArb took a bold and welcomed decision to deliver the 2020’s Diploma Course on International Arbitration virtually. Using a combination of online platforms and innovative teaching techniques, the CIArb successfully delivered its first ever fully virtual Diploma Course on International Arbitration. The 2020 virtual edition of the Diploma Course commanded global respect and amassed great success that reverberated across the globe. This success was due to a combination of factors including: (i) proper planning, coordination and full support from the Education and Training Department of the CIArb; (ii) the outstanding programme balancing tradition and innovation in international arbitration; (iii) the brilliant, diverse and world class faculty and tutors; (iv) the diverse group of engaging participants who were selected following a competitive and rigorous process of objective screening; and (v) the great teamwork and spirit that guided us all through. The success of this virtual edition of the Diploma Course and the overwhelming demand that ensued, represent a silver lining of the COVID-19 crisis and are a testament to the fact that COVID-19 cannot stop dissemination of knowledge and education. To me, the success of the virtual edition of the Diploma Course represents a major milestone as Director of the Diploma Course, and I am both honoured and thrilled to be part of the team that delivered this first fully virtual edition of the CIArb’s flagship Diploma. Whilst it is difficult to virtually replicate the Oxford residential experience, this virtual edition has already spawned its own aura, such that it may, in due course, present itself as a plausible additional option, alongside the Oxford residential programme, in a post-COVID-19 world. The Diploma Course on International Arbitration, be it virtual or residential, continues to set gold standards in international arbitration trainings globally, which affirms the CIArb’s leading edge in global trainings on dispute resolution at large”.

Corrado Mora FCIArb, Tutor, Module 1 Virtual Mediation Course:

“The challenges underlying this truly innovative course, in the international mediation training landscape, were visible and intriguing: how to turn “virtual” a kind of training which is largely practical and related to interpersonal, communication-based skills? How to train remotely a group of participants with different professional backgrounds, joining from many different countries and cultures, time zones, and quality in connection or devices. And how to perform all this, training - not just to manage a physical mediation, but also to mediate online, given the immense differences between the two, and how the latter requires solid mediation skills, plus the ability to convey them on a virtual, technological platform.

A uniquely effective teamwork between the CIArb and us, the tutors, made these challenges to turn into a sound success.

The Knowledge and Skills Days went smoothly, visibly improving our participants’ skills, exposed to techniques and practical exercises and role-plays - a day by day growth in their abilities to help the parties through the difficulties of conflicts, on the path towards an agreement, coping all possible technological issues. 

A success (and a true satisfaction, as tutors) also acknowledging how a cold, virtual platform turned a tangible group of people, bonding and connecting as it happens within the more lively “physical” classroom.”

Wolf Von Kumberg FCIArb, Tutor, Module 1 Virtual Mediation Course:

“I could not agree more with Corrado. Taking the in-person course developed by David Richbell FCIArb, a father of mediation in the UK, to a virtual learning platform seemed a daunting task. Yet the results achieved in the virtual course, delivered a similar learning experience and outcomes to that of the physical course. In fact, the virtual course has the added benefit of permitting students to participate from many parts of the world, delivering a much more diverse experience. I feel that the virtual course will become a permanent feature of the CIArb educational offering”.

Leonora Riesenburg FCIArb, Tutor, Module 1 Virtual Mediation Course

‘The online mediation accreditation is an exciting development, to be celebrated. It is a rich and comprehensive program, structured to provide candidates with mediation tools, skills and techniques that can be applied in business and in life. The training is offered on a sophisticated online platform that is intuitive with user friendly functions for mediators to operate break-out rooms and e-flipcharts in the virtual space, providing candidates the opportunity to familiarise themselves with modern technologies that can be integrated in practice. It has been an absolute pleasure to be part of the faculty on the Online Mediation Pilot and Train the Trainer program ran centrally from CIArb London. I look forward to seeing the roll out of the online mediation offering throughout the global network, and to continue to support CIArb’s development of mediation training in future.

Register your interest for the virtual Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration planned for March 2021.

Register your interest for the virtual Module 1 Mediation course planned for February 2021.