COMESA launches a Virtual Masters degree to speed up regional integration

Kenyatta University in Kenya will host the virtual programme

In a bid to hasten the slow pace of regional integration in Eastern and Southern Africa, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has launched a virtual Master of Regional Integration programme at Kenyatta University in Kenya, reports Kenya news.

Accordingly, the virtual university is envisaged to be a specialist graduate institution for interdisciplinary research and training in regional integration conducted on a digital platform. The programme is designed for government officials working in divisions dealing with trade, integration and cooperation issues. Students also intending to work as trade officers, trade policy analysts, advisers, researchers, and private sector trade practitioners will also be incorporated.

The Virtual University will be hosted by Kenyatta University in Kenya in collaboration with 22 other universities in the region. As a start, it will offer a collaborative Masters degree programme , with the aim of establishing a fully-fledged university in the longer term. Kenyatta University was selected to host the programme because of its advanced e-learning facilities.

“The programme will extend access to research opportunities and training in regional integration within the COMESA region and in the continent by promoting and enhancing the generation of research relating to regional integration,” added the statement.

Kenyatta University has advertised for students’ admission to the programme in September 2019. The Open University of Mauritius and the University of Mauritius are advertising for a January intake, while the University of Zambia is at an advanced stage of signing the memorandum of understanding.

COMESA has also secured Ksh 6.78 Million (EUR 60,000) for annual scholarships for the programme from the European Union through Africa Carribean and Pacific Group under the TradeCom2 Capacity Building Programme.

The launch of COMESA Virtual University was approved in October 2016 during the 19th heads of state summit held in Madagascar, following the decision in 2010 by the COMESA Council of Ministers to establish the university in recognition of the importance of capacity building for regional integration in government, the private sector and academia.

Participating universities include the University of Nairobi, Maasai Mara University and Catholic University from Kenya; Cairo University in Egypt; University of Seychelles; the Center for Studies and Scientific Research of Djibouti; University of Burundi and Institut Supérieur de Gestion des Entreprises in Burundi; the College of Business and Economics in Eritrea; Kyambogo University, Uganda Martyrs University and Makerere University in Uganda; the University of Mauritius, the Open University of Mauritius and the University of Technology, Mauritius; the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar; the University of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the University of Malawi; the University of Swaziland; the University of Zambia; and the University of Zimbabwe.

Photo courtesy of Google

Article by Jedidah Mwangi

http://www.kenyanews.go.ke/comesa-virtual-university-programme-kicks-off/

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