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03 15 2024

NCI Academy delivers programme to elevate UN peacekeeping training capabilities

From 4 to 15 March, the United Nations C4ISR* Academy for Peace Operations (UNCAP) in Entebbe, Uganda, hosted a critical training programme to effectively train UN personnel.

Led by a team of nine NATO Communications and Information Academy (NCI Academy) staff members, the training programme brought together over 30 UN information and communication technology (ICT) personnel for a "train the trainers" series to bolster the UNCAP's instructor workforce. The sessions aimed to equip UNCAP with a highly skilled 'master' training team capable of delivering cutting-edge training in C4ISR and cyber technologies to the UN military, police and civilians.

This two-week initiative fell under the scope of NATO's broader Defence and Related Security Capacity Building (DCB) project aimed at enhancing UN peacekeeping training to improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations. As an accredited NATO Education and Training Facility (NETF) that teaches courses on a variety of topics including C4ISR and cyberspace, the NCI Academy was chosen by NATO HQ to lead the DCB project. This training delivery marks a significant milestone for the DCB project which kicked off in 2022.

During the two-week initiative, NCI Academy staff members delivered a complete and collaborative training programme designed to provide the training team with a comprehensive set of skills. The lessons covered four courses spanning topics such as Communications and Information Systems (CIS) Planning, Cyber Security Fundamentals, C4ISR Technology Orientation and Spectrum Management.

"These two very intense yet highly productive weeks have allowed the NCI Academy and UNCAP teams to share knowledge and exchange best practices in the realm of CIS technical instruction. The experience has been enlightening and beneficial toward expanding partnerships in education and training to support UN peacekeeping operations," said Ana Miguel, Systems Approach to Training and Quality Assurance Specialist at the NCI Academy.

In the first week of training, the NCI Academy provided mentoring, consultancy, and guidance to UNCAP instructors on integrating a tailored CIS Technical Instructor course into their training programme. In the second week of training, UNCAP instructors were able to create, develop and deliver their own pilot training session using the information learned from the courses. With support from Academy staff, the trainers took the lead in delivering a CIS Technical Instructor course for the first time to a selected UN training audience. This dry run allowed them to check the content, presentations, lesson duration, and effectiveness of their training activities.

"The strides made in developing tailored training courses for UNCAP, following thorough training needs analyses, signify significant progress." said Florence Keter, Program Manager at UNCAP. "We're witnessing tangible advancements in our commitment to enhancing peacekeeping technology training. NATO's unwavering support continues to drive UNCAP's journey towards digital transformation in peacekeeping endeavours."

*C4ISR stands for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance.