FAQs


What is Kaya?

What is the Humanitarian Leadership Academy?

How much do the courses on Kaya cost?

How do I create an account?

What languages are the courses available in?

How do I change the platform language?

How do I search for and join a course?

Why do I need an account to join a course?

Why can’t I join some courses?

How do I participate in a course?

A course module isn't loading: it says "pop-up blocked".

How can I track my learning?

I completed a course, but it says I haven't

I have run out of quiz attempts, what do I do?

Will I get a certificate when I complete a course?

How do I print my certificate?

What is a digital badge?

What browser should I use to access Kaya?

What do I do if I have forgotten my password?

How do I change my Kaya password?

How do I change my profile information?

Is there a Kaya app?

Can I access Kaya offline?

What is online learning?

What is blended learning?

My organisation has a portal on Kaya, how do I access it?

How do I partner with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy?

How do I subscribe to the Kaya newsletter?

My question isn't on this list



What is Kaya?

Kaya is a free, global learning platform for the humanitarian sector brought to you by the Humanitarian Leadership Academy. Here you will find both online and in-person learning opportunities relating to a broad range of topics including the humanitarian essentials, technical and programmatic areas, management essentials, and personal and professional development. If it's your first time on Kaya, then check out the Quick Start Guide. From there, you can navigate the full course catalogue to find courses that are relevant to you.


What is the Humanitarian Leadership Academy?

The Humanitarian Leadership Academy’s mission is to enable people to prepare for, respond to and recover from crises in their own countries. To achieve this, the Academy acts as a catalyst for the improved quality, accessibility and sustainability of learning. We aim to systematically remove barriers to learning opportunities, thereby democratising access to essential knowledge and skills, so that humanitarian work is more effective, immediate, and local – saving lives and safeguarding livelihoods as a result. Central to the achievement of this mission is our global learning platform, Kaya, through which we provide free learning opportunities to individuals, as well as a range of products and services to organisations that we partner with.


How much do the courses on Kaya cost?

All courses on Kaya are completely free, unless it specifically says otherwise – you will be able to find any cost information on the summary page of each course. To join Kaya courses you will need to create an account, which you can do so for free here. Once you've registered, an email will be sent to your address that contains instructions to confirm your account. If the email does not arrive, please check your junk mail folder. You will be given an option to resend this email if you try to log into your account again.


How do I create an account?

You can register for your free Kaya account by clicking here. Fill in the mandatory profile information, and then you will be sent an email with simple instructions on how to confirm your account. You should receive a confirmation email within 30 minutes of creating your account; often much sooner. But if you’re not seeing the email in your inbox you can try these steps:

1. Refresh your web browser or inbox – Occasionally you may need to manually refresh your browser or inbox to check for new emails.

2. Check your Spam or Junk folder – Your ISP or corporate domain may be configured to deliver our emails to your Spam or Junk folder.

3. Request another confirmation email to be sent – If you try to log into Kaya using the same email address and password of the account that you’ve just created, you’ll be given the option to resend the confirmation email.

4. Add the Humanitarian Leadership Academy to your safelist – Try adding "@humanitarian.academy" to your safe sender list in your email client, then request another confirmation email to be sent by following the step above.

5. Use a different email address – When all else fails, try using another email address to create an account on Kaya.


What languages are the courses available in?

Currently Kaya is available in English, Spanish, French and Arabic as main platform languages, but you can find courses in many other languages. Check out the full course catalogue here, and filter by ‘language’.


How do I change the platform language?

When logged out, the platform language can be changed by clicking the appropriate language (English, French, Spanish or Arabic) found in the top right-hand corner of your screen. When logged in, click on your profile icon to access the language options.


How do I search for and join a course?

You can search for a course in the course catalogue. You will find individual courses as well as whole pathways of learning that you can take part in. You can use the filters at the side to change the results you are shown. Click 'Learn More' on the course card of the result that you are interested in to be taken to the course summary page. There you can see more information about the course, and you can join it by clicking on the green 'Join course' button. On a mobile phone, this button will be underneath the course description. On a larger screen, it will be on the right-hand side of the page. If it is a self-directed course, you can take part in the course activities and resources immediately. If it is a face-to-face event, or other scheduled event such as a webinar or a MOOC, the event trainer will be in touch with you with more details when the event is due to begin.


Why do I need an account to join a course?

We need to know which courses you take so that we can keep a record of your progress, record your grades and workshop bookings, award you your certificates, suggest other courses that you might be interested in, and to look at the impact of the courses we offer and make sure we are creating courses that you want to join. For more information you can see our Privacy Policy. You can register for your free Kaya account here. Once you've registered, an email will be sent to your address that contains instructions to confirm your account. If the email does not arrive, please check your junk mail folder. You will be given an option to resend this email if you try to log into your account again.


Why can’t I join some courses?

Most courses on Kaya are free and can be accessed by everyone. There are some courses however, that are restricted to specific groups of learners (and require a password) or include a face-to-face activity that has a limited number of places. More information will be given in the course description on the course's summary page, including instructions on how to request access or be put on a waiting list, if possible.


How do I participate in a course?

When you are on a course summary page (not viewing the catalogue search results, but instead the page that you are taken to when you click 'Learn more' on a course card), you will see a ‘Join course’ button. Once you have joined a course you will see a number of activities and resources that you can access and complete. Some of these activities will be e-learning modules, which will launch in a pop-up. You may need to allow pop-ups in your browser (see below if you need help with this).


A course module isn't loading: it says "pop-up blocked".

Some activity modules within a course open in new windows, called 'pop-ups'. If this isn't working, it probably means your browser is set to stop pop-ups from appearing. You can turn off pop-up blockers in your browser settings:

Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/pop-blocker-settings-exceptions-troubleshooting

Google Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95472?hl=en-GB


How can I track my learning?

You can see courses that you have started and those that you have completed in your ‘Record of learning’, which is linked from the main menu at the top of your screen under ‘My learning’. Here you can also access a list of face-to-face bookings that you have made.


I completed a course, but it says I haven't

Courses as a whole are completed once all of the activities within them have been completed. Sometimes you can only complete an activity if you have achieved a particular mark on a quiz, for example. Double-check that you have completed everything that you need to; make sure that all of the grey ticks next to each activity have turned green to show they are completed. If you are sure you have completed all the steps and the completion still isn't showing, submit a request to the course administrator using the 'Course support' block found on any course page.


I have run out of quiz attempts, what do I do?

If you have run out of attempts you can contact the course administrator using the 'Course support' block found on any course page, to request more attempts to take the quiz assigned to you.


Will I get a certificate when I complete a course?

Yes, if the course you have chosen offers a certificate, you have completed all of the course’s activities and you have met the relevant criteria. You will then be able to download it as a PDF.


How do I print my certificate?

You will need to be connected to a printer to print your certificate. This may mean you are unable to print from a mobile or tablet, depending on your setup. If you have the certificate, open in your browser and you can print it in the same way you would print a webpage. If you have downloaded the certificate, open it as normal in your PDF reader (eg. Adobe Acrobat Reader) and print from the ‘File’ settings. If you do not have a PDF reader on your computer, you can download Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for free from their website


What is a digital badge?

A digital badge is a digital version of a certificate, and there are a number of courses on Kaya that offer them. They are used to display ‘metadata’ explaining what you have done to earn the badge and can be shared on different social media platforms and on our digital badge platform, HPass. To find the courses which offer digital badges you can use the ‘format’ filter in the course catalogue, and you can find out more about digital badges and HPass here.


What browser should I use to access Kaya?

Kaya will work best on Google Chrome or Firefox. Unfortunately, we cannot be sure that all courses and their activities will launch correctly if you are using another browser. If you do run into any issues, we recommend that you therefore try accessing the course with a different browser.


What do I do if I have forgotten my password?

You can reset your password by clicking the 'Forgotten your password?' link on the registration page. We will send you an email with a link in it – click the link to be taken to the password reset page. We email you first to make sure you genuinely want to reset your password and that it wasn’t requested in error. However, please note that if you are using organisation SSO (logging into your organisation account) then you will need to request your password reset from your IT department.


How do I change my Kaya password?

If you have forgotten your password, you can follow the instructions above to reset it. If you remember your password but want to change it, log in to your account and click on your profile icon. Next, click ‘Preferences’ and then select ‘Change password’.


How do I change my profile information?

Log in to your account and click on your profile icon. Next, click ‘Preferences’ and then select ‘Edit profile’. Here you can change your name, location, personal and professional information, as well as upload a photo of yourself if you would like to.


Is there a Kaya app?

Yes. For more information and to download Kaya Mobile click here. The platform is also mobile responsive, which means that you can access it from the browser on your mobile device.


Can I access Kaya offline?

Yes. You can download courses and complete them while offline using Kaya Mobile. When you are next online, your completion status will automatically sync with your profile. For more information and to download the app, click here.


What is online learning?

Online learning is when you participate in virtual courses, that are made up of a number of activities and resources which you can complete, on the Kaya platform. You can also access Kaya courses offline using the Kaya Mobile app. This means you can download courses onto your phone and complete them without an internet connection.


What is blended learning?

Blended learning is a combination of online learning and face-to-face learning. Some of the learning will be completed on the Kaya platform and some of the learning will be delivered in a more traditional, facilitator-led workshops or training sessions.


My organisation has a portal on Kaya, how do I access it?

If your organisation has single-sign-on (SSO) you can visit the Kaya login page, and under ‘Other login options’ you will find the organisation name. Click this link, and you will be logged into your organisation's portal automatically. Some organisations do not use SSO and have their own login page which you will need to request a link to. If you experience any issues, or have any questions, please contact your organisation’s L&D department who will be able to assist you in gaining access to your portal.


How do I partner with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy?

Collaboration is the cornerstone of the Academy. We work with partners across the humanitarian sector and beyond, from technology companies to universities; local communities to multinational corporations. We draw upon the knowledge, expertise and resources of a range of organisations to ensure the best solutions are found for those most in need. We have also established global partnerships with a number of humanitarian organisations - including the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Save the Children, the Cash Learning Partnership (CaLP), War Child, Voluntary Services Overseas, Solidaridad Network, Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), Start Network, MSI Reproductive Choices, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Dutch Relief Alliance, the Asfari Foundation, First Aid Africa, Committed to Good (CTG), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), MSI Reproductive Choices, and UK-Med - who are using Kaya to create bespoke learning spaces (known as portals) in which they are able to curate, create and share learning with their own audiences. Take a look at our organisational solutions page for more information on how your organisation can partner with us.


How do I subscribe to the Kaya newsletter?

Log in to your account and click on your profile icon. Next, click ‘Preferences’ and then select ‘Edit profile’. Scroll to the bottom of your profile page, and under ‘Newsletter’, tick the ‘Subscribe to newsletter’ box and then click ‘Save profile’. To unsubscribe from the newsletter at any point, simply untick this box.


My question isn't on this list

If you have a question that is not answered here that relates to a course, please contact the course administrator using the 'Course support' block found on any course page. If your question relates to using your organisation's portal on Kaya, then get in touch directly with your organisation's L&D department and they will be able to assist you.