Durham College (DC) is pleased to announce that it has been selected for a second partnership in support of the capacity-building goals of the Kenya Education for Employment Program (KEFEP).

Humber College (Humber) is the lead of the Canadian consortium which will also include DC, Vancouver Island University (VIU) and Selkirk College (Selkirk). The Canadian institutions will collaborate with three Kenyan institutions, Kisumu National Polytechnic, Kisii National Polytechnic and Sigalagala National Polytechnic. DC will be the direct institutional partner of Sigalagala National Polytechnic in supporting their goals of developing a Renewable Energies Program.

The goals of this project are in line with DC’s other KEFEP initiative – to exchange knowledge and help our Kenyan partners strengthen their technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems. DC is the lead institution on the previously successful project bid with an institutional focus on leadership and curriculum development in the sectors of agriculture and civil engineering.

Katie Boone, manager, International Projects and Partnerships, led DC’s responses to the request for proposals (RFP) in partnership with the other Canadian institutions. In both cases, the proposals were shortlisted for a virtual interview and then selected for the projects by our Kenyan partners.

“The college is proud to play a role in supporting the development of our Kenyan partners’ technical and pedagogical expertise in designing and delivering inclusive, market-driven programs,” said Boone. “We are excited to support this curriculum development in a way that is innovative, applied and inspiring.”

The KEFEP project is a five-year initiative focused on strengthening and supporting technical and vocational education and training in Kenya. It is funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada and facilitated by Colleges and Institutes Canada. These partnerships are great examples of partner-driven capacity-building projects that work towards sustainable results and professional development opportunities for all parties and are a critical component of DC’s internationalization strategy.