June marked a third mission to Kenya for Durham College (DC) as part of the Kenyan Education for Employment Program (KEFEP), a three-and-half-year project facilitated by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) and funded by Global Affairs Canada that started in spring 2017.

During this mission, a team of nine DC students and employees attended the KEFEP partner forum hosted by CICan in Nairobi, Kenya. The forum brought together Kenyan and Canadian institutional partners, as well as organizations and institutions from Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe; and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) stakeholders.

Following the forum, Joanne Spicer, a professor in the Victimology graduate certificate program, led gender-mainstreaming workshops at partner institutions in Sigalalaga, Eldoret and Kitale, while Kerry Johnston, faculty from Humber College, supported the development of occupational standards at Sigalagala National Polytechnic (SNP).

Danielle Harder, professor, Journalism – Mass Media and Jennifer Bedford, professor, Video Production, as well as four students from the School of Media, Art and Design also joined the team to interview partners and stakeholders of the CICan-KEFEP projects as part of a two-phase documentary that will showcase the progress of the project from its early stages to completion. Mark Herringer, dean, International Education and Ana Belen Jimenez, international projects co-ordinator, provided support throughout the trip. 

In February, Michelle Hutt, associate dean, School of Business, IT & Management, and Katie Boone, manager, International Projects and Partnerships, visited Kenya for the college’s second mission to take part in a two-week workshop series that supported SNP’s efforts to develop competency-based programs in the fields of renewable energies and advanced solar power systems.