About the Centre for International Development & Training

CIDT is a specialist in capacity strengthening services for international development agencies, projects and programmes. We offer practical solutions based on five decades of experience in 140 countries, with capacity strengthening at the heart of all that we do.

Our Vision
Strengthened capacity for inclusive and sustainable development

Our Mission
To be the partner of choice for empowering individuals, organisations and institutions to attain their full potential and reach their desired goals.

Our Values

Our staff

Our team represents a variety of specialisms and experience. We work closely with a small network of trusted associates and a wider network of specialised consultants worldwide and with many different strategic and implementing partners at global and local levels.

Ella Haruna
Head of Centre, Associate Professor of Development Cooperation

Annabel Azim
Senior Consultant/Lecturer

Daniela Baur
Consultant/Lecturer

Habiba Mohamed
Consultant/Lecturer

Mandy Smith
Administrator

Dawn Springthorpe
Senior Administrator

Wouter Hijweege
Principal Associate

Russell Goffe-Wood
Communications Associate

Our history

The genesis of the present day CIDT goes back two decades before the University of Wolverhampton itself. From teacher training in agricultural colleges in the 1960s and vocational training of overseas agricultural teachers in the 1970s, an overseas unit of the Wolverhampton Technical Teacher’s College emerged.

The commission of in-depth study programmes in the UK, by the Overseas Development UNIT of the UK (ODA) marked the start of today’s CIDT. The Unit trained over 700 overseas agricultural teachers and, during these early years, carried out its first overseas assignments providing technical assistance. By the end of the 1970s, it was a small but effective team with a growing track record and reputation for excellence in technical training in agriculture.

The Overseas Unit grew in strength and scope of its activities and by the mid-80s had become a semi-autonomous and self-financing unit within Wolverhampton Polytechnic. In 1984 the Overseas Unit was renamed the Agricultural Education and Training Unit (AETU) to clearly reflect the core work of the growing team. The AETU enjoyed partnerships in Fiji, Sudan, Nepal, Tanzania and Bangladesh to support capacity development of agricultural institutions.

During the 1990s, reflecting the paradigm shift in international development towards people-centred development, CIDT moved strongly into the environment sector, into social development and gender, and into formal school-based education, to complement its on-going adult education services. In 1993, a postgraduate PhD and Masters programme in Development Education was initiated and ran for 14 years. Competitive bidding for development work was becoming the norm, and CIDT won its first contract to manage a four year institutional strengthening project of the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education. In 1995, the AETU was renamed as the Centre for Rural Training and Development (CRDT).

Since the millenium, In the fast-changing global landscape, the Centre’s scope widened beyond rural development, as it responded to a broader set of needs and requests. Accordingly, in 2001, its name was changed to the one we use today: Centre for International Development and Training (CIDT). It became quite unique in the UK academic sector, as a university department of international development that is based not on teaching, rather that is a self-funded centre involved in a blend of consultancy and project/programme management services.

CIDT@40 Brochure

This brochure features a detailed history of CIDT, from the early years until 2012, when we turned 40 years old.