OSCE Presence trains academic staff of first-ever Master’s Programme in Criminology in Albania

The OSCE Presence in Albania, together with the Faculties of Law and of Social Sciences of the University of Tirana, organized a training course from 22 to 25 September 2020, for academic staff of the new Master’s Programme in Criminology. The Master’s programme, which will start this academic year, is the first of its kind in Albania. The OSCE Presence in Albania initiated the programme as part of a project financially supported by the United States Mission to OSCE.

Some 35 academics from both the Faculty of Law and Faculty of Social Sciences participated in the training conducted by two international experts in criminology, Professor Kimberly McCabe and Professor Keith Smith, from the University of Lynchburg, Virginia, USA. The training built upon the needs assessment analysis from a workshop held in May 2020 with the same target group.

The aim of the event was to deepen the knowledge of the academic staff of the Master’s programme, and to provide them with a more detailed overview of special courses related to criminology. The four-day training course covered topics such as improving criminal justice efforts through education in criminology; teaching adult students and practitioners; teaching research methods; utilizing student research in the field, promoting leadership and staff development; victimology, ethics and corruption; legal systems and juveniles; violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT); and organized crime and trafficking.

Throughout the entire project, the Presence aims at establishing a multi-disciplinary Master’s Programme on Criminology in Albania, offering a comprehensive, integrated curriculum, which is beneficial for various career paths in the justice system. In turn, through the Master’s programme, the Presence aims at improving the research capacities of professionals, academics and policy-makers in Albania to identify root causes of crime.

The Master’s programme will allow students to explore the inter-relationships between crime, justice and society in a comparative context, as well as promote restorative justice for victims and victim-centred responses. It will concentrate on the practice of human rights, especially in the contexts of discrimination, migration, VERLT, right to privacy, and hate crimes.

The project is implemented in close co-operation with the Faculty of Law of the University of Tirana, with the support of the Faculty of Social Sciences, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior.