The Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) has organized a matriculation ceremony for the eighth batch of its Master of Arts in Gender, Peace and Security Programme. The ceremony attended by staff and faculty of Academic Affairs and Research was held on Friday to give the new students a tour of the institution. It was also an opportunity for the 51 students to meet members of the faculty before the commencement of academic work. Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Kwaku Osei-Hwedie, Dean, Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research (FAAR), welcomed the new students and highlighted the key objectives of the course. “The programme seeks, among other key objectives, to equip students with the skills and competencies needed to achieve the highest professional standards and expertise in issues around Gender, Peace and Security; Conflict Prevention, Resolution and Management; Peace Brokering and Security Management,” he explained. KAIPTC was the first institution Peacekeeping Training Centre in Africa to deliver post-graduate programmes. The admission to the MA programme brings the current population of post-graduate students to almost 250. Prof. Kwaku Osei-Hwedie, Dean, Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research The Centre is driven by the vision to be the preferred international Centre for education and cutting edge research in gender, conflict, peace and security on the African continent and beyond. Citing some of the achievements of the institution, Prof. Osei-Hwedie highlighted the Centre’s academic journal and its significant rankings on the Global Go-To Think Thank Ranking. “KAIPTC became the first ECOWAS Training Centre of Excellence (TCE) to publish an academic Journal, which goes by the name, the Journal of African Peace and Security (JAPS). “This scholarly journal is dedicated to deepening knowledge and understanding of issues around African peace and security, while strengthening the policy relevance of research on the continent”, he stated. He also added, “KAIPTC also continues to feature significantly on the Global Go-To Think Tank Ranking, which is produced annually by the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, which ranks the world’s leading think tanks in a variety of categories.” The Master of Arts in Gender, Peace and Security programme which has been running since 2012, has graduated over 200 students. The students’ includes nationals from Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Burundi, Ethiopia, Gambia, Benin, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Rwanda, Mali, Kenya, and DR Congo. The post-graduate programmes have an alumnus of over 500 students.