Students and young professionals
Explore this page to find out more about the work of the WTO, opportunities for students and young professionals, and how trade is relevant to you and your country.
Opportunities
Videos
News
WTO interaction with students/young professionals
WTO Young Trade Leaders Programme
The Young Trade Leaders Programme aims to foster a better understanding of the WTO's work and international trade among young people by creating a network of "Young Trade Leaders" around the world. People between the ages of 18 and 28 who have a strong interest in international trade are encouraged to apply. The programme for each new cohort lasts one year.
Young Professionals Programme
The WTO Young Professionals Programme provides an opportunity for qualified young professionals from developing and least-developed members of the WTO to enhance their knowledge regarding the WTO and international trade issues. The programme aims to attract professionals from members under-represented in the WTO Secretariat. The selected young professionals are allocated to a specific division of the WTO Secretariat for one year.
WTO 101
Each year, the WTO hosts an exclusive student-only event focused on global trade and its impact. Details about the 2025 event and how to register are available here.
Essay Award for Young Economists
The WTO has established an annual WTO Essay Award for Young Economists. The award, which carries a prize of CHF 5,000, aims to promote high-quality economic research on the WTO and WTO-related issues and to reinforce the relationship between the WTO and the academic community.
WTO Chairs Programme
The WTO Chairs Programme aims to enhance understanding of the trading system by stimulating teaching, research and public debate on international trade at universities and research institutions in developing and least-developed countries. Under the programme, academia, students and trade law experts undertake research of relevance to government policy makers and other stakeholders. The Programme comprises a total of 39 institutions.
Jackson Moot Court Competition
The John H. Jackson Moot Court on WTO Law is a simulated hearing of the WTO dispute settlement system. The teams prepare and analyse a fictive case and present their arguments both for the Complainant and the Respondent in front of a Panel which consists of WTO and trade law experts. Universities from around the world participate in the competition.
Public Forum
The Public Forum is the WTO’s largest annual outreach event, which provides a platform for participants to discuss the latest developments in world trade and to propose ways of enhancing the multilateral trading system. The event regularly attracts over 1,500 representatives, including civil society, business, governments, parliamentarians, inter-governmental organizations, academics and students.
Student group visits to the WTO
Institutions wishing to organize a student group visit to the WTO should address their request to:
Videos
What is the multilateral trading system?
Santiago Wills, Director of the WTO's Council and Trade Negotiations Committee Division, describes the origins of the multilateral trading system.
30 Years of the Marrakesh Agreement
The global community came together in 1994 to reinvent the multilateral trading system, signing the Marrakesh Agreement, which established the WTO — a global achievement in cooperation. DG Okonjo-Iweala narrates the history that led the world to that moment, and the achievements since then under the "spirit of Marrakesh".
Let's Talk Trade video series
In this video series, WTO staff talk about trade topics in everyday language, using examples and metaphors to bring these concepts to life.
Trade matters to me
A compelling video that looks at our daily lives, highlighting the impact of trade on our day-to-day activities: from what we eat to what we wear, from simple objects to complex engineering, from our morning coffee to the infrastructure around us. It provides specific examples of how trade helps to improve the lives of citizens around the world.
Trade Starts Here: Olivier Madiba
In the first episode of the “Trade Starts Here” video series, we are pleased to introduce Olivier Madiba. In Yaoundé, he and his team are putting the final touches on their first video game, based on African myths, traditions and history.
Trade Starts Here: Luisa and Olman
Trade and environmental protection can go hand in hand. La Paz Fruits, an 11-year old fruit processing company in Costa Rica, is one example. Luisa Chacón and Olman Briceño tell us how they built the first certified carbon-neutral company in their sector and became the leading frozen fruit exporter in Costa Rica.
Adapting to a changing world: WTO Public Forum
Various factors are rapidly transforming the trading landscape. This year the WTO Public Forum sought to hear what businesses, traders, academics and officials around the world expect from the global trading system today and how global economic cooperation could work in the future.
Trading Stories
Trading stories is the film series that goes behind the headlines and shows what Aid for Trade is doing on the ground in eight of the poorest countries worldwide. The Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) has been helping put trade back into people’s hands, catalysing a new trade momentum and building future prosperity.
What is the WTO?
The World Trade Organization deals with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. More
Learn more
- The WTO... In brief
- Understanding the WTO
- 10 things the WTO can do
- What does your country trade?
Who are its trading partners? - How much do you know about trade and the WTO?
Our interactive learning programme allows you to go at your own pace and test yourself as you go.