IDC Gili
Instructor Development Course
Gili Trawangan – Bali – Lombok – Indonesia

I did my IDC with Matt at Trawangan Dive in November 2024 and what an amazing experience it was.

Deciding only a few days before that I wanted to complete my instructors, Matt was very welcoming of me. Providing me with all the necessary information I needed in a timely manner, explaining that it was going to be hard but worth it and that he believed I would be capable of being successful if I put in the work.

The 2 week course was full on but prepared you very well for your IE, with Matt’s teaching technique being firm but fun! Providing constant support throughout the whole process. Not only did I learn so much but I made friends for life.

Thanks so much Matt! You are an amazing course director and thank you TDC for letting me become apart of the family 😊

10/10 experience, would highly recommend!!

I took the IDC with Matt in July 2024, and I have to say, it was one of the most intense, high-pressure courses I’ve ever done. Matt ran it with precision, relentlessness, and complete commitment to turning us into real dive professionals. He is also one of the most compassionate and dedicated teachers out there. He genuinely wanted the best for us. He gave detailed, honest feedback that helped us grow, and never let us settle for “just okay.”

At the time, it felt like blood, sweat, and tears (okay, maybe blood is an exaggeration). But by the end, I was sharper, more confident, and genuinely ready to teach. Every skill and standard was drilled into us until it became automatic. I taught my first course eight months later and still remembered everything clearly. That’s a testament to the training.

It wasn’t easy, but it was absolutely worth it. If you want a course that challenges you, pushes you, and truly prepares you for life as a dive instructor, this is the one.

Taking the IDC with Matt at Trawangan Dive Center was one of the most intense, challenging, and ultimately rewarding experiences of my professional journey so far. It was far more than a course — it was a transformative process filled with highs and lows, moments of doubt and breakthrough, pressure and growth. Every bit of energy invested was returned tenfold in experience, knowledge, and confidence.

As part of the IDC & MSDT Preparation program, this training laid a solid and lasting foundation not only for passing the Instructor Examination, but for becoming a confident, capable, and well-rounded dive professional.

Matt, the Course Director, is an outstanding leader and mentor. He is a person of remarkable integrity and strength of character — fair, honest, and uncompromising when it comes to standards. He doesn’t believe in shortcuts, and that’s exactly what sets him apart. His approach is clear, structured, and deeply intentional. He puts great emphasis on building not just instructors who can pass an exam, but professionals who are truly ready for the responsibilities and realities of the dive industry.

Matt’s style is demanding — but always with the goal of bringing out your full potential. You are pushed, challenged, and held accountable — but at every step, you feel his absolute commitment to your success. He sees more in his candidates than they often see in themselves, and he helps bring that potential to the Surface.

This IDC wasn’t about ticking boxes. It was about growth — technical, professional, and personal. It fostered a strong sense of purpose, resilience, and team spirit that I’ll carry with me far beyond the course.

I’m deeply grateful to Matt for his guidance, his high standards, and the way he empowered us to rise to them. If you’re serious about becoming a dive instructor — and you want to do it the right way — then doing your IDC and MSDT Preparation with Matt is, without question, one of the best decisions you can make.

And in the end, it’s all about The Value. 😉

IDC & MSDT Preparation – Trawangandive, Indonesia – April 2024

Matt provides a fun and structured course that will prepare you for the IE. He is diligent and has an overwhelming amount of knowledge. He will keep you on the ball but is also a lot of fun to be around. He genuinely cares about his students and wants the best for them. He runs a very tough course and you should prepare as much as you can beforehand to make your time easier. He will absolutely make sure you are prepared for the IE and there is a reason he has a 100% pass rate. I highly recommend Matt!

(IDC & MSDT Preparation – Trawangandive, Indonesia – October 2023)

Matt is very patient, kind and strict where needed. He will explain the same thing over and over again, to make sure you understand everything. Even though we sometimes pushed his limits and tested his patients a little bit, he would stay calm – or just yells at us in the form of an Italian handgesture, which we could all laugh about.
Matt makes sure you’re the best instructor you can be before flying the nest. He provides a mock IE, which takes the nerves away for the real one. His standards are way higher than the IE which is great. If you can pass the IDC then you can definitely pass the IE.

Thanks Matt! It’s all SORTED

Staff instructor course (IDC Staff Instructor – Trawangandive, Indonesia – October 2023)

I initially did my IDC with Matt in Komodo 4 years ago . It was a great challenge and we worked hard and all did great. Now, we moved heavens and earth’s to be reconnected by chance and travelled to Gili t last minute to do my staff instructor course with him.
Really enjoyed the experience, was fun to see how he had initially scored presentations and guided students learning in the IDC. I felt confident after that I could be quite useful in another IDC as staff. THANKS AGAIN MATT. Recommend to anyone interested in becoming a staff instructor. Additional chance to get some good hands on experience as staff instructor candidates are given the opportunity to run the MOCK IE independently.

IDC October 2023 (IDC and Nitrox Instructor Course – Trawangandive, Indonesia – October 2023)

People with brain, talent and passion are diamonds and Matt is one of them. He will put all his effort and experience for you not only to pass IE, but to become one of the best in the profession. His IDC program is perfectly structured and thought through, everything is put on the plate for you just to consume in the right time, so just follow the schedule and for a start READ welcome letter and all what is inside. It contains a lot of examples, tips, summaries etc. which will all be very helpful on the way, so do not waste someone’s effort to make your life easier.
The IDC was a lot of work and a lot of fun, with some healthy dose of stress (oh, Italian temper and Swiss precision is a mix!) but IE after all this drill was unbelievably easy. Mock IE is really great to understand where you stand, calm down and concentrate.

And last but not the least – if you want, you will find not only a course director, you will find a friend.

(IDC and Nitrox Instructor Course – Trawangandive, Indonesia – October 2023)

Matt was the best fit for me and I’m sure he will be the best fit for you, he is very kind, understanding and strict, he had an incredible way of figuring out what each student needed in order to understand a subject, getting everyone to understand and meet the requiere criteria.

His classes where serious but never boring, he has everything well organized and structure, you can tell he puts a lot of effort and love into his classes, we had a lot of fun doing the IDC with him.
The mock IE was a great way of practicing and getting you more relaxed before the real thing.

Muchas gracias!

Great experience with Matt at Trawangan Dive (IDC & Nitrox Specialty Course – Trawangandive, Indonesia – August 2023)

Trawangan Dive is a well organized Diving Center with amazing pools and classroom.

Matt is a very kind person, sometimes a little bit strict in the classroom as a good teacher should be. At the end of his course the IE was easier than expected, we were very well prepared!

Highly suggested!

An experience I will never forget (IDC & Nitrox Specialty Course – Trawangandive, Indonesia – August 2023)

All I can say is everything Matt had done during the IDC was for our benefit. He was strict, but for a good reason — he saw the potential and had high standards for each one of us from the moment we met. He was very understanding and patient (even when there were times we pushed him to his limit). There were several moments during the course when I wanted to give up because of my inner demons, but Matt kindly provided his reassurance and made sure that I pushed through. Looking back, I’ve learnt a lot from Matt, not just as a new instructor, but also as an individual. Thank you.

A challenging but rewarding experience (IDC & MSDT Preparation – Trawangandive, Indonesia – August 2023)

Matt is a great course director, I found the IDC a challenge at times but when it came to the IE it was apparent that Matt had prepared us well which took some of the stress of the IE away. Although challenging at times everything Matt said and done had an obvious purpose into sculpting us into good well rounded instructors, Matt’s experience is amazing and it really shows in his teaching and passion for diving.
Matt communicated everything very well right from first contact a number of months before starting the IDC and made the whole experience as stress free as possible, can’t recommend Matt highly enough.