National Defence University-Kenya (NDU-K) recently hosted Commission for University Education (CUE) officials in two of its Colleges for verification and accreditation of four new degree programmes.

The CUE teams visited International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) in Karen, Nairobi and Defence Forces Technical College (DEFTEC) in Embakasi, Nairobi.

IPSTC is preparing to roll out a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Gender and Peace Support Studies and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Crisis and Disaster Management. The Centre is already running an NDU-K MA in Crisis Response and Disaster Management accredited by CUE in 2021 and for which it is about to commence admitting a 3rd Cohort of students.

DEFTEC is preparing to commence a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Information Technology for Defence Systems and a Master of Technology (MTech) in Weapons Engineering. The College runs various specialised NDU-K undergraduate and Diploma programmes in Engineering, Information Technology and Research.

The accreditation process entailed the Commission undertaking a rigorous assessment of NDU-K’s commitment to academic excellence, professional development and ethical standards. It was also an opportunity for NDU-K to showcase the strength of its curriculum, caliber of its faculty and resources at its disposal, as well as outcomes achieved by its graduates. The exercise involved verifying availability, adequacy, appropriateness, and accessibility of academic resources, in place to support the programmes in the two institutions.

The CUE team at IPSTC was led by Senior Assistant Commission Secretary Accreditation Division, Professor Marcella Mwaka while the team at DEFTEC was led by Deputy Commission Secretary, Accreditation Division, Prof. Urbanus Mutwiwa. To guide them through the verification process was NDU-K Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and Student Affairs, Professor Anne Muigai, Director IPSTC, Brig Joyce Sitienei, Principal DEFTEC Brig Ali Dahir and other senior NDU-K Officers.