The WTI, established in 1999, is one of the world's leading research centres and training institutes in international trade law. The WTI's training and education programmes are both offered in Switzerland and abroad. It has become increasingly apparent that there is a huge deficit in knowledge and expertise, particularly in developing countries, in this relatively new and under-studied field. For this reason, the WTI is now offering students from all over the world the possibility to follow one of its training programmes. It is hoped that this programme will make a contribution to bridging the knowledge gap and redressing some of the asymmetries between developed and developing countries in the role that they play in the world trading system.