The fourth one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Border Security and Management for Senior Leadership Course: Completion of Module three in Greece
The OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) jointly with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) concluded the third module of the fourth one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Border Security and Management for Senior Leadership Course on 6 August 2021. The sessions were held in a blended format at the Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Centre (MPSOTC) in Kilkis, Greece.
Participants comprised twenty-seven officers and managers of border security and law enforcement agencies from fifteen OSCE’s participating States and Partners for Co-operation: Afghanistan Armenia, Egypt, France, Greece, Jordan, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Tajikistan, and Ukraine.
“The e-learning phase of the module was completed by the face-to-face sessions, allowing the participants to meet each other for networking and co-operation,” said Savvas Chrysoulidis, training Manager at MPSOTC, and the leading expert of module three underscoring the balance achieved between in-class lectures and practice in the field.
The third module of the course, which concentrated on addressing the current and future trends in border security and management, offered a holistic teaching curriculum including lectures, group exercises, presentations, discussions along with cultural and study trips to Evzoni border crossing points and the central port of Thessaloniki.
Key topics covered included contemporary challenges for customs administrations, qualitative risk analysis for border management, cross-border management, and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, European Integrated Border Management strategies, and Schengen evaluation principles. The participant also received insight on the implementation of innovative mechanisms for countering cross-border crime.
Anastasiia Marchuk, Colonel and Deputy Chief of the Unit at the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, and a graduate of the course, said: “During these two-week training, we gained more than we expected, not only through the interactive classroom session but also through the study trips."
Following the conclusion of the third and final module of the course, participants will write a Course Work and will defend their research findings to a panel of experts in October 2021.
The course is accredited by the Estonian Quality Assessment Council for Higher Education (EKKA) and equals an internationally recognized one-year postgraduate diploma course.