INTERNATIONAL PEACE SUPPORT TRAINING CENTRE
Brig Joyce C Sitienei MBS, 'ndc' (K)
Director, International Peace Support Training Centre
Brig Joyce Sitienei was appointed Director of the International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) on 23 July 2021. She is an education officer in the Kenya Defence Forces. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Kenyatta University, master’s degree in International Studies from the University of Nairobi and a Post graduate Diploma in Peace and Conflict Studies from the Africa Nazarene University.
Brig Joyce Sitienei has held several appointments since joining military service, key being Unit Education Officer in the Women Service Corps and the 15 Kenya Rifles, Instructor and Head of Distance Learning at the Defense Forces School of Higher Education; SO2 Lessons Learnt, Head of Curriculum design, Head of Applied Research and Col Plans and Programmes at the IPSTC.
She has extensive experience in training in instructional methodology and adult education techniques. She also has wide knowledge and practice in curriculum design.
In 2001 she worked in Rwanda as part of the Kenya Military Assistance Training Team (KMATT) and in 2002-2003 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a Military Observer. During this time, she developed great interest in gender issues and went on to participate in gender training all over Africa on behalf of the IPSTC and the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre - Canada.
She has actively participated in the Ministry of Defence/KDF and the IPSTC gender mainstreaming processes and has practical experience in undertaking gender needs assessment and gender policy formulation. She continues to facilitate training workshops and courses imparting practical gender mainstreaming skills and knowledge in support of the Institutionalization of gender at IPSTC and the Kenya Defence Forces.
Her decorations include Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS), United Nations and other Constitutional medals earned in service of the country.
Brigadier Sitienei is blessed with one child.
International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) was established in January 2001 as part of the Kenyan Defence Staff College. It initially focused at training of Kenyan forces for UN peace keeping missions and later African Union Peace Support Operations. PSTC became a separate Kenyan MOSD establishment in July 2006 and in 2008, initial efforts towards “internationalization” were made. In 2009, PSTC Karen merged with International Mine Action Training Centre (IMATC) to form one centre, International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC). The former PSTC was renamed to Peace and Conflict Studies School (PCSS) and IMATC renamed to Humanitarian Peace Support School (HPSS). In 2011, IPSTC achieved autonomy through formal partnership arrangements with USA, UK, Canada, Japan, Kenya, Germany and UNDP.
Under the umbrella of NDU-K, the Centre’s Postgraduate School aspires to achieve excellence in education and research in peace, security, disaster management, crisis response, gender inclusivity, conflict stabilisation, and development of society. The institution will admit learners from the security sector and civilians into its programmes to enable multi-agency and multidimensional approach to management of modern-day complex emergencies, crises and security challenges.
Notably, countries in different regions of the world are experiencing crises and emergencies that threaten internal security, which sometimes spills over to pose regional security threats. Thus, crisis response and disaster management are key components of national security. For instance, crises and disasters requiring coordinated interagency expert intervention are common in Kenya and the Horn of Africa.
Under NDU-K, the Centre will initially offer a Master’s Degree in Crisis Response and Disaster Management with additional programmes earmarked for roll-out in the near future. This programme is tailored to produce innovative practitioners with capacity to provide leadership in complex emergency situations. Additionally, it will provide a basis for specialised higher training to enable conceptualisation and mitigation of current and emerging challenges in crisis response and disaster management. The programme will address the existing knowledge gap by incorporating practical aspects through simulation and field training.