In Nairobi, the set-up of the post-graduate diploma on migration studies takes concrete shape. In February 2018, the first curriculum development workshop for the flagship course of the envisioned Kenya Institute of Migration Studies took place. Representatives from the Kenya School of Government, the Department of Immigration, University of Maastricht, IOM, GIZ and a number of subject-matter experts adapted the draft curriculum provided by the University of Maastricht to the Kenyan and regional context. The EU Trust Fund and Germany are supporting the establishment of the diploma course in migration studies within the Better Migration Management Programme (BMM).

Currently there is little formal training for immigration officers beyond their induction training including a practical skills-based training specific to their particular position. The officers learn mostly on the job. As a result, many staff lack the strategic understanding of the complex migration environment and the emerging challenges associated with irregular migration and transnational crime, such as Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking of Human Beings.

The post-graduate diploma course will cover an introduction to migration studies, legal issues in Migration, force migration, irregular migration, diaspora and diaspora engagement, security and border management, research methods in migration, effects of migration in the origin and the destination country, data and information management, migration policy and governance, leadership for migration practitioners as well as a research project. The course will be open to mid-level managers from the Department of Immigration as well as some other government officials from Kenya and other IGAD member states.

Once the curriculum is certified by the Kenya Council of University Education, a first group of about 20 students will start the course later in 2018.