Kismayo University

Kismayo University is a private university located in Kismayo, Somalia's third largest city.

Background

The Kismayo University was founded to enhance the skills and the knowledge of the region's population. The economy is agriculture-based and the secondary backbone of the Kismayo economy depends on its fisheries. Skilled people fled the region as there has been civil war since 1991.

Founders of the university, administrators and policymakers want to hold on to young people leaving the city to find higher education elsewhere. The founding of Kismayo University in September 2005, created 200 postsecondary spaces. The obvious result will be opportunity for university education for local high school graduates and adults who would like to continue their education in the region instead of going to Mogadishu, Hargeisa, or neighboring Kenya.

Jubba region's first university

Educators and parents in the city of Kismayo sought a way to prevent young people from joining clan militias and other warring factions in Somalia. The solution was to build a university for young people graduating from high schools in the region. Kismayo University's long vision is twofold: to keep young people safe and educated and to create knowledgeable work force for the current industries such as telecommunications, Kismayo Port Authority and money transfer centers.

Kismayo

Kismayo (Somali: Kismaayo; Arabic: كيسمايو‎, Kīsmāyū) is a port city in the southern Lower Juba (Jubbada Hoose) province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region.

The town is situated 528 kilometres (328 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, near the mouth of the Jubba River, where the waters empty into the Indian Ocean. As of 2011, the local population is estimated at 183,300 inhabitants.

During the Middle Ages, the influential Somali Ajuran Sultanate held sway over the territory, followed in turn by the Sultanate of the Geledi. From 1836 until 1861, Kismayo and other parts of Jubaland were claimed by the Sultanate of Muscat (now in Oman), and were later incorporated into British East Africa. In 1925, Jubaland was ceded to Italy, forming a part of Italian Somaliland. On 1 July 1960, the region, along with the rest of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland, became part of the independent republic of Somalia.

Kismayo was later the site of numerous battles during the civil war. In late 2006, Islamist militants gained control of most of the city. To reclaim possession of the territory, a new autonomous regional administration dubbed Azania was announced in 2010 and formalized in 2011. In September 2012, the Somali National Army and AMISOM troops re-captured the city from the Al-Shabaab insurgents. The Juba Interim Administration was subsequently officially established and recognized in 2013.