De Beers' IIDGR to Offer Courses in Chinese

RAPAPORT... De Beers' diamond-grading unit will launch two of itseducational courses in Chinese, aiming to tap the important and fast-growingmarket. The International Institute of Diamond Grading &Research (IIDGR) will offer its online Diamond Foundation Course - covering theentire pipeline - in Simplified Chinese from March 1. It will translate itsPolished Diamond Grading Course later this year, it said in a statementTuesday. "We've seen a lot of interest in our education servicessince they were launched last year, so translating these courses into SimplifiedChinese was a logical next step to expand our offering," said Jodine Perrin,IIDGR's director of education. "We see great potential for flexible and fullycomprehensive education courses for those already working in the diamondindustry in China, or who may wish to in the future." Both programs are designed to enable personalization andflexibility for students, minimizing impact on their daily lives. Thefoundation course is completely online, while the polished course comprises adistance-learning segment and a one-week, lab-based element. IIDGR will also start offering courses in Thai and Italianin the coming months, Perrin told Rapaport News.