A curated selection of five free online courses for Chevening scholars, alumni, and applicants covering human rights, data-driven policymaking, gender and environment, water governance, and urban development.
Inclusive societies are built through more than good intentions. They depend on systems that combine evidence-based policymaking, participatory governance, social equity, and respect for human rights. For policymakers, development practitioners, and future leaders, the following free online courses offer practical tools to understand how data, gender, governance, resources, and rights shape inclusion in practice.
All courses listed are free to access or audit, although some platforms may charge a fee for optional certificates of completion.
This course explores how human rights frameworks operate in practice and why exclusion persists even where legal protections exist. It examines the structural drivers of poverty and vulnerability, and how these intersect with governance and development systems. Through global case studies, it highlights the gap between formal rights and lived realities, and how policy can help close that gap.
Best for: Policymakers, human rights practitioners, development professionals, and NGO workers focused on equity and social justice.
This course introduces the use of data in public policy design and decision-making. It builds practical skills in interpreting development indicators, working with statistical information, and using data visualisation to inform governance. The course draws on real-world datasets to demonstrate how evidence can improve public sector planning and accountability.
Best for: Policy analysts, civil servants, development practitioners, researchers, and anyone working in evidence-based decision-making.
This course examines the intersection between gender equality and environmental outcomes, showing how climate and environmental change affect groups differently. It introduces international frameworks and practical approaches for integrating gender considerations into environmental and climate policy.
Best for: Environmental professionals, climate policy practitioners, gender specialists, and development workers in sustainability-focused roles.
This course focuses on the governance of shared water resources across borders. It covers international water law, diplomacy, institutional arrangements, and negotiation processes. It highlights how cooperation and governance frameworks are essential for managing scarce and shared natural resources sustainably.
Best for: Water resource managers, environmental policymakers, international relations professionals, and development practitioners working on natural resource governance.
This course explores how cities are shaped by complex and interconnected challenges such as migration, inequality, informality, climate change, and public health. Using the PEAK Urban framework, it examines how urban systems evolve and how policy can respond to rapid and unplanned urbanisation.
Best for: Urban planners, public policy professionals, development researchers, and practitioners working on cities and infrastructure.
For Chevening applicants, scholars, and alumni looking to strengthen their understanding of sustainability, climate action, and global development, these five free online courses offer practical learning across energy systems, environmental policy, and sustainable business.
Chevening Scholar Sodiq Usaefat is using his MSc at Imperial College London to advance sustainable infrastructure materials research, helping reduce the carbon impact of construction in Nigeria and across Africa.
These five free online courses offer practical strategies, expert insights, and real-world tools in leadership, resilience, change management, nonprofit impact, and entrepreneurial thinking