CGTC is among NDU-K’s First U.S. Higher Education Partners
Warner Robins, Ga. – As the fall semester began in August, Central Georgia Technical College (CGTC) hosted leaders from the National Defense University-Kenya (NDU-K) to celebrate the signing of a bilateral and collaborative agreement for international education and training, roughly two years in the making.
CGTC President, Dr. Ivan H. Allen, and Executive Vice President, Jeff Scruggs, signed the agreement alongside NDU-K Vice Chancellor, David K.Tarus, Brigadier General Guhad Noor, Commandant, who were joined in attendance by Defence Forces Technical College (DEFTEC), Captain Collins Kibet, Aid de Camp (ADC) to the Vice Chancellor, and Colonel Christopher Mbutu, Defense Advisor, Kenyan Embassy, Washington, DC.
“Meaningful collaboration drives the mission of both our institutions,” said Dr. Allen, “We look forward to the ways our commitment to each other develops into solutions that make our communities safer and prioritize the skills for a global workforce.”
In addition to the signing and celebration, the NDU-K delegation toured the College’s main campuses and the Georgia Veterans Education Career Transition Resource (VECTR) Center and took in the best of culture in the Central Georgia area.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishes broad development, cooperation, and collaboration between both institutions for the promotion of international education, global student and faculty exchange, cross-cultural learning, and internationalization.
CGTC’s relationship with NDU-K formed out of work from the Institute of Security Governance (ISG) in 2024, connecting the two institutions in areas congruent to their respective missions, with an emphasis on bridging NDU-K’s gaps in technical education instruction with the proven success of the College in program development, capacity building, and implementation.
NDU-K celebrated its fifth year of operation in May 2026. Support for technical programs is identified as one of their greatest needs. CGTC has a proven track record of global initiative projects that have served the capacity-building efforts of developing institutions worldwide.
Previous multimillion-dollar contracts in international education and training, plus rapport as a leader among community colleges in international education, made the College stand out as a partner.
The collaboration between CGTC and NDU-K took shape in October 2024, when representatives from NDU-K’s DEFTEC visited CGTC with support from the ISG. During the visit, Col. (Dr.) John Kisilu, deputy principal of DEFTEC, and Lt. Col. Jane Kigen, senior instructor in the School of Mechanical Engineering, met with CGTC leaders and toured the College’s Macon and Warner Robins campuses.
Their visit included an exploration of CGTC’s aviation maintenance, aircraft structural technology, cybersecurity, industrial systems, and workforce-development capabilities. These initial discussions focused on CGTC’s potential to support the Kenya Defense Forces’ logistics modernization efforts through enhanced technical education, training and opportunities for faculty, staff and student exchange.
The relationship advanced in July 2025 through a reciprocal visit to Kenya by a CGTC delegation led by Scruggs. Hosted at NDU-K’s main campus in Nakuru, the delegation met with university leadership to share information about each institution’s capabilities, operations and strategic priorities. The discussions expanded the partnership beyond its initial technical-training focus to include capacity building, research and educational approaches that address contemporary security and workforce challenges.
Together, the visits established a foundation of mutual understanding and positioned CGTC and NDU-K to pursue a sustained institutional partnership centered on technical expertise, professional development, academic exchange, and collaborative innovation;
“All of our international education and training opportunities with the greatest potential impact on students and faculty begin with strong relationships,” said JoBen Rivera-Thompson, CGTC’s Director of Marketing, PR and International Outreach. “We are certain the cultivation of our relationships with NDU-K over two years and the ones ahead will strengthen initiatives and benefit each of our communities.”
With the partnership now in effect, the College looks forward to fruitful global collaboration.
About Central Georgia Technical College
As one of the largest two-year colleges in the state, CGTC operates three campuses and five centers throughout central Georgia, serving more than 30,000 individuals annually. CGTC is focused on connecting graduates to careers by offering quality education services, assuring a well -qualified workforce to support a healthy local economy. CGTC is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. For more information about CGTC, visit www.centralgatech.edu. Like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/centralgatech), X (@CGTC), and Instagram (@centralgatech).