University Of Nairobi Institute Of Development Studies
University Of Nairobi Institute Of Development Studies,
Established in 1965, the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), University of Nairobi, is the oldest out of 20 such institutes in the world. It is the premier multi-disciplinary and a multi-purpose development research institute in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. The IDS carries out full time research on high priority areas of social-economic development in Kenya, Africa and the world in general.
The Institute has been home to several Nobel Laureates and world-renowned scholars. These include James Tobin, winner of Nobel Prize in Economics (1981); Joseph Stiglitz, Winner of Nobel Prize in Economics (2000); Michael Todaro, the development economist who authored the Todaro Migration Model; James Coleman, a world-renowned socialist. Prof. Charles Okidi, founder and Pioneer Director, Centre for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP, University of Nairobi) – is the first African recipient of the Elizabeth Haub Prize in Environmental law (1984), the highest Global award in environmental law was listed in the 1997 Who is Who and Does What in Environment and Conservation (Polunin and Lynn M. Cunne); and in 2007, was the first African scholar to be honoured by the Centre for Legal Studies, Office of the Attorney General, Government of Brazil. Many other international scholars started and built their academic careers at the IDS.
The IDS research, teaching and training priorities are framed into four broad themes:
- Globalisation, localization and development;
- Population, environment and sustainable livelihoods;
- Institutions, governance and development; and
- Social inclusion and identity.
In 2000, the IDS launched its graduate MA programme and in 2002 inaugurated a PhD programme in Development Studies. This was in response to demand for highly-skilled and specialized expertise in development issues.
The IDS MA in Development Studies covers broad issues of development theory, research and practice. This is the core of the programme around which other courses revolve. Students choose courses from among the following modules:
- Environment and natural resource management
- Development and change
- Human development
- International development
- Planning for development
IDS alumni are attractive products in the labour markets and are on high demand in government ministries, civil society and international organizations.
IDS research findings are popular policy and action-oriented outputs that are disseminated widely through local, regional and international workshops, seminars and conferences organized by IDS or to which IDS researchers are invited to. The Institute also publishes the following titles:
- IDS Papers (Working, Discussion and Occasional);
- Newsletter;
- Policy Briefs;
- The East African Journal of Development; and
- Jointly-published book titles.
Institute for Development Studies (IDS) Past Directors
- Prof. James Smooth Coleman (1968 to 1970)
- Prof. William Manundu Senga (1978 to 1982)
- Prof. Dharam P. Ghai (1971 to 1974)
- Prof. Kabiru Kinyanjui (1983 to 1985)
- Prof. Ngethe Njuguna (1986 to 1989)
- Prof. Patrick Odera Alila (1990 to 2001)
- Prof. McCormick Dorothy (2001 to 2007)
- Prof. Jama Mohamud Abdi (2007 to 2012)
- Prof. Mitullah Winnie, V (2013 – To Date)