Higher Institute of International Relations (ISRI)
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THIS HIGHER education institution was established in Maputo in1986, at the height of the Mozambican civil war. Its mission was generally to raise the level of international affairs expertise in Mozambique, and more specifically to train diplomats for service abroad. In its two decades of operation, the Institute of International Relations has graduated hundreds of students, while continuing demand from both the public and private sectors in the country is, according to the institute’s website, ‘illustrative of the quality of courses offered … and also its continuing adaptation to the demands of today’s world’.The institute’s 84 academic and research staff work in six departments – Economics; International Relations; Languages; Law; Pedagogy; and Social Sciences – as well as a Centre for Strategic Studies. Only 13 percent of the academic and research staff are female, while only 35 of them (42 percent) have postgraduate degrees, eight of which are doctoral degrees.
On the financial side, only one percent of the institute’s funding is derived from fees, while nothing at all comes from the private sector or from international donors. The institute itself says that the main challenge to financial sustainability is a shortage of funds; the institute has accordingly developed a strategic plan that explores additional income sources.
Late in 2007, the institute was visited by a delegation from the Department of Political Sciences at UNISA (the University of South Africa). The purpose of the visit was to explore areas of possible co-operation between the two institutions. The UNISA delegation noted that there was ‘a strong commitment on the part of institute staff members to produce quality teaching and research’. On the other hand, the Rector of Mozambique’s Institute of International Relations said that the availability of resources was of lesser importance than appropriate systems in ensuring the success of co-operative agreements between higher education institutions.
Facts and Figures at a Glance1
All of the students who attend the ISRI are contact students, in other words they complete the majority of their studies while physically based at the Institution, in the same location as the teaching staff. The University noted that, of the 717 students who attend the Institution, six are from international countries based outside the SADC Region.
Table 1: Higher Institute of International Relations - Summary of Enrolment Numbers (Actual data, 2008)
Number of students enrolled per level of study |
||||||
Major Field of Study |
Total Number of Students (Headcount) |
Under- graduate degree/ diploma | Post-graduate degree/ diploma | Masters Degree | Doctoral Degree | Other qualifications (short courses, certificates etc.) |
| Humanities and Social Sciences | 717 | 717 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 717 | 717 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Higher Institute of International Relations questionnaire response
Table 2: Higher Institute of International Relations - Academic and Research staff (Actual data, 2008)
Major Field Of Study |
Total Number (headcount) |
| Humanities and Social Sciences | 84 |
| TOTALS | 84 |
Source: University of Swaziland questionnaire response
[1] All data presented in this section is headcount data.
