The Great Lakes Course covered Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The 2013 course examined the current crisis in the Kivus, the prospects of institutional reform in the DRC, and political developments in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. The course was in English and French with simultaneous translation. It was held in Jinja, Uganda, from 22 to 28 June 2013. 

The Director of Studies was Jason Stearns, also the Director of the RVI Usalama Project; Emily Paddon, Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Oxford, was Deputy Director of Studies. Other teaching staff included: Koen Vlassenroot of the University of Ghent; Jean Omasombo of the Royal Museum for Central Africa at Tervuren; Emmanuel de Mérode, Director of the Virunga National Park in DRC, who discussed conservation in conflict; Michael Kavanagh, who discussed secret mining deals and the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on the trade in conflict minerals; Jean-Paul Kimonyo, senior political advisor to the Rwandan President; Ledio Cakaj, who discussed the threat posed by the Lord’s Resistance Army; and Willy Nindorera, specialist on Burundi’s political landscape and former analyst with the International Crisis Group.