Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations

HIPSIR

Type	Institute within college
Established	2004; 13 years ago (2004)
Religious affiliation	Jesuit, Catholic
Academic affiliation	Hekima University College The Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Chancellor	Most Rev. Tarcisio G. Ziyaye
Principal	Dr. Agbonkhiameghe Orobator, SJ
Director	Dr. Elias Omondi Opongo, SJ
Location	Kangethe and Ngong Roads Nairobi City, Kenya
Campus	Hekima University College
Nickname	HIPSIR
Website	HIPSIR

Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations (HIPSIR) is an institute within Hekima University College run by the Jesuits in Nairobi, Kenya. Founded in 2004, HIPSIR offers both certificate courses and a master's degree (MA), while sponsoring conferences that bring together experts from across the continent and from abroad.

The Institute educates men and women in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. It aims "to build a society where human dignity is respected, human rights promoted, faith and justice upheld, economic and natural resources shared equitably, international relations founded on principles that promote and respect human life, individuals and institution in power are held accountable, and academic excellence is pursued with the aim of achieving full human potential for good."

The Master of Arts Degree in Peace Studies and International Relations is a two-year programme on conflict resolution and transitional justice in post-colonial Africa. The fourth semester is spent in research leading to a thesis/report. The degree may be taken over four years, and in day or evening classes. Students come from throughout Africa and from countries as diverse as Poland, Ireland, India, Costa Rica, Korea, Indonesia, and Venezuela. Graduates have placements in academia as well as with NGOs, governments, and UN institutions. In its first 10 years, 104 students graduated from the masters program.
Courses taught at HIPSIR (incomplete list): African Culture & Conflict; Communication for Conflict Resolution & Culture of Dialogue; Conflict Resolution; Diplomacy; Environment & Disaster Management; Ethics of War & Peacebuilding; Identity & Conflict; International Economics; International Human Rights Law; International Peacekeeping Missions; International Relations; International Security; Refugees, International Law, & African Politics; Regional Integration, Globalization, & Peace.
HIPSIR attracts experts from Europe, the United States, and the United Nations to its conferences, like that on Transitional Justice in Post-Conflict Societies in Africa.

HIPSIR publishes HIPSIR Newsletter and The Peace Dialogue. Areas of concentration in the Institute can be gathered from the following articles and books published by its staff.

From information gathered in 2005, the Jesuit Secretariate in Rome gave this report on Jesuit social centers in the region that included a focus on education. Foundational years are given in parenthesis.