UNITAR
The Learning Solutions team at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is dedicated to equipping future professionals with essential skills to navigate the ever-evolving global landscape. Future leaders need the tools to tackle complex problems and seize emerging opportunities. By focusing on innovation, strategic foresight, and problem-solving, we ensure that our internal team, external partners, and training participants are prepared to help create a better world.
Living Our Approach
We do not just teach these skills; we live them. Our team embodies a culture of continuous innovation, regularly brainstorming new methods to improve our team dynamic and training programmes. By solving our team challenges with the tools we teach, we ensure that our methods are refined over time, effective, and grounded in real-world application.
Innovation
We foster creativity through tailored programmes that encourage innovative thinking and practical application. Our workshops and courses emphasize the importance of developing new ideas and solutions, empowering participants to drive change within their organizations. Our team regularly engages in creative problem-solving sessions to enhance our training modules, ensuring they remain cutting-edge and relevant.
Strategic Foresight
Aligned with the principles of UN 2.0 Strategic Foresight, our training helps individuals and organizations anticipate and prepare for future trends and disruptions. By utilizing tools and methodologies in future thinking, we enable participants to develop proactive strategies that align with long-term goals and uncertainties. Internally, we use these same techniques to forecast and prepare for shifts in the learning and development landscape, keeping our programmes ahead of the curve.
Problem Solving through a Systems Thinking Lens
“Successful problem solving requires finding the right solution to the right problem. We fail more often because we solve the wrong problem than because we get the wrong solution to the right problem.” - Russell Ackoff.
Through our external services, we support our partners in critically identifying the right problems and finding appropriate training solutions. We adopt a systems thinking perspective when designing solutions, exploring problems, root causes, and potential leverage points to ensure our interventions are targeted, systematic, and effective. We integrate approaches such as systems thinking, behavioural science, and design thinking to take a holistic perspective on problems, better-informing decision-making towards finding the right solutions. Through real-world scenarios and hands-on exercises, we train participants to approach challenges methodically and effectively, ensuring they can devise sustainable solutions. We continually refine our problem-solving processes by addressing our operational challenges, thus validating and improving our work.
Success Stories
Our programmes have transformed numerous careers and organizations. For instance, a recent participant of our eLearning Training of Trainers (TOT) course successfully helped her team facilitate group processes leading to long-term change and transformation: "This is one of the best courses I have ever taken. The tools and resources have helped our teams create engaging and transformational learning environments." - eLearning TOT participant.
Internally, our team has leveraged these skills to optimize our workflow and enhance collaboration, resulting in more effective programme delivery. “Since shifting our team structure and culture to one that is less hierarchical and rigid and more fluid, interconnected, and agile, we have seen a radical change in our ability to innovate, work efficiently, and increase the quality of our work over time. We have probably increased our innovative output by 300% by taking a more systemic and holistic approach that values creativity, trust, wellbeing, and purpose.” - Tissione Parmar, Team Leader, UNITAR Learning Solutions.
Conclusion
By integrating innovation, strategic foresight, and problem-solving into our learning solutions and daily operations, we prepare future workers to excel in their careers and contribute meaningfully to their industries. Our commitment to these core areas ensures that our Learning Solutions team remains at the forefront of workforce development, driving success and resilience in an unpredictable world.
Are you ready to equip yourself with the skills necessary for the future workforce? Explore our Learning Solutions catalogue of training programmes and services designed to enhance your creativity, analytical thinking, emotional intelligence, leadership, and more.