RVI Courses

Watch the trailer above to learn more about RVI's field courses.

RVI’s field-based education and training courses aim to inform key constituencies working in eastern and central Africa about the people and communities in the countries where they work. The education programme includes the Annual Field Courses on Sudan and South Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes, and bespoke courses tailored for a variety of international organizations.

More information on the 2022 Horn of Africa Course is available here and the 2022 Sudan and South Sudan Course here.

Panelists on RVI's Horn of Africa Course

RVI’s first field course took place in 2004 in Kenya. Since then, the three annual courses have taken place in Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, southern Sudan and Uganda, while bespoke courses have taken place in more than 15 countries in Africa and in the UK. ‘I dare say I have done nothing comparable in so comprehensive a package.’

Bob Snyder, Canadian International Development Agency, Horn of Africa Course.

RVI courses are tailored to the needs of the organizations who participate and are taught be leading experts and practitioners in the fields of political science, economics, anthropology, history, security, development, humanitarianism, policymaking, media and activism. RVIcourses utilize multiple teaching formats including lectures, panel discussion, working groups, interviews and video presentations.

ANNUAL COURSES BESPOKE COURSES

Yolande Bouka and Assumpta Migiraneza discuss reconciliation in Rwanda on the Great Lakes Course

Courses

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The field course season in Eastern and Central Africa

2014

More than forty specialists on Eastern and Central African history, politics, economics and culture taught on the RVI’s annual field courses this year. Journalists and activists joined academics, humanitarians, and policy-makers for three intensive one-week events covering the Horn of Africa, the Sudans, and the Great Lakes. The courses took place in Kenya and Burundi between May and July. The…

Courses

Great Lakes

Great Lakes Course 2014

2014

The Great Lakes Course Course, held in Burundi from 28 June to 4 July, covered Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Director of Studies was Jason Stearns. The 2014 course examined the ongoing violence in the Kivus in the wake of the defeat of the M23 rebel group, and the prospects of institutional reform in the DRC as the country prepares for local elections. In…

Courses

Sudan and South Sudan

Sudan and South Sudan Course 2014

2014

The Sudan and South Sudan Course, under the direction of Sharath Srinivasan, was held in Kenya, from 14 to 20 June. New rebellions and ongoing civil war in both the Sudans have put social and economic development in jeopardy. Understanding the history of state formation and conflict in the two countries is more important than ever. The course addressed the challenge of working in this complex…

Courses

Horn of Africa

Horn of Africa Course 2014

2014

The 2014 Horn of Africa Course, held in Kenya from 31 May to 6 June, covered Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland, Puntland, and northern Kenya. The course offered a multi-disciplinary examination of the crises afflicting the Horn and explores continuity and change under new political leadership at the national and sub-national level across the region. The Director of Studies was…

Courses

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Field Courses 2014

2013

The RVI's 2014 annual field courses, now in their eleventh year, were held from May to July in Eastern and Central Africa. The Horn of Africa Course held in Kenya, from 31 May to 7 June 2014, and covered Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, (including Somaliland and Puntland), and Northern Kenya. The RVI Sudan and South Sudan Course covered all areas of Sudan and South Sudan, and the…

Courses

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RVI course season winds up in Jinja, Uganda

2013

June and July were months of intensive study for students on the Institute's annual field courses. The courses involved over 140 participants, thirty teachers, and an administrative staff of eight. The 2013 season ended mid-July with the last of the three courses, the Sudan and South Sudan Course. This year’s courses also included the Horn of Africa, held from 8 to 14 June, and the Great Lakes…

Courses

Great Lakes

Great Lakes Course 2013

2013

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…

Reflections on a life of research in the Horn of Africa

Courses

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Reflections on a life of research in the Horn of Africa

2013

Berouk Mesfin, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), interviews Christopher Clapham, Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge, and Lee Cassanelli, Associate Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, on the topic of a life of research in the Horn of Africa, on the 2013 Rift Valley Institute Horn of Africa Field Course in Jinja, Uganda.

Courses

Horn of Africa

Horn of Africa Course 2013

2013

The sixth Horn of Africa course took place in Jinja, Uganda, from 8 to 14 June 2013. The course covered Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland, Puntland and Northern Kenya. It offered a multi-disciplinary examination of the crises afflicting the Horn and explored the impact of changes in political leaders at the national and sub-national level across the region. The Director of…

Courses

Sudan and South Sudan

Sudan and South Sudan Course 2013

2013

The course was held under the direction of Justin Willis of Durham University. Dan Large of the Central European University was the Deputy Director of Studies. The teaching staff included Magdi el-Gizouli of Freiburg University, Joanna Oyediran, Sudan Program Officer of the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa, and Douglas Johnson, author of The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars. Also…

Where RVI Works

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RVI Courses

RVI Courses

Where RVI Works

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WHERE THE INSTITUTE WORKS