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Prospectus for a Professional Summer Course on Intelligence and Security

Seminar #1 July 25-29, 2011

OR

Seminar #2 August 8-12, 2011

Offered by the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs,

University of Ottawa

The course will offer students in a small seminar setting an opportunity to engage in an intensive week of critical discussion and thinking on key aspects of the modern practice of intelligence and security. It will explore both a Canadian and international perspective and will draw out an appreciation of both the practitioner and academic/public policy perspectives on contemporary intelligence issues.

Course Objectives: The course draws of the expertise of both an experienced intelligence practitioner and a leading academic authority. It will expose students to some of the best literature on intelligence issues, while exploring the practice of intelligence through lectures, seminar discussions and case studies. The course will seek to deepen participants’ understanding of the nature of intelligence, its challenges, and its uses.

Course Instructors: Wesley Wark and Greg Fyffe

Wesley Wark is a professor at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies, where he has taught since 1988, and is a visiting research professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He is Past-President of the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (1998-2000 and 2004-2006).

His most recent book is Secret Intelligence: A Reader (London: Routledge, 2009). He is currently preparing for publication a history of Canada’s intelligence community in its formative years from the end of World War two to the Cold War and a study of contemporary Canadian national security policy and counter-terrorism. He has published extensively in the field of intelligence and security studies over the past 27 years.

Professor Wark is a frequent media commentator on national security and intelligence issues. He writes regularly for The Globe and Mail and the Ottawa Citizen He served for two terms on the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on National Security (2005-2009) and also served on the Canada Border Services Agency Advisory Committee (2006 to 2010).

Greg Fyffe is an Adjunct Research Professor at the University of Ottawa Centre for Public Management and Policy. From 2000 to 2008 he was the Executive Director of the International Assessment Staff, which prepared intelligence assessments in the Privy Council Office. He served as Vice President of the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (2008 to 2010), and is a consultant on intelligence and security issues. He is also a Senior Fellow, Advanced Leadership Program, at the CanadaSchool of the Public Service.

Target Audience: The course is intended for:

  • officials currently serving in some capacity in the intelligence and security community who wish to deepen their understanding of the history of intelligence and current issues and challenges;
  • current employees of the government of Canada who have just accepted or just started a job in government in the intelligence and security community and need a rapid introduction;
  • government employees who intend to seek a job in the intelligence and security community and want a fuller understanding of intelligence and security issues;
  • government employees who work regularly with people in the intelligence and security community, or who regularly use material from the community, and want a fuller understanding of the origin and nature of intelligence material.

Other prospective students who do not meet these criteria will be considered for admission on a case by case basis.

Sample Topics to be covered:

  • A Brief History of Intelligence
  • Intelligence in Decision-making
  • The organization of intelligence communities
  • The major intelligence powers
  • Intelligence Collection: methodologies, strengths and weaknesses
  • Intelligence Assessment
  • Intelligence and Policy-making
  • Security Intelligence Issues; Cyber security policy
  • Counter-Intelligence
  • Modern Intelligence Challenges: Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Weak States.
  • Intelligence Oversight
  • Intelligence in the News: Controversial Issues in Intelligence and Security

Admission:

Candidates will be admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis. The seminar will consist of a minimum of 8 students and a maximum of 16 students. Prospective candidates for the course are asked to send a brief statement of interest and a short bio detailing their career and educational background. This material should be sent electronically to both course instructors at the following addresses:

We will entertain expressions of interest beginning April 15, 2011. The last date for enrolment will be Friday, July 15.

We expect the course will fill up rapidly.

Course Fee: $2,000.00 Canadian + GST

Timing and Duration: This intensive seminar course will be given at the University of Ottawa during a one week period, organized around ten sessions of three hours each.

* Please note that we will accept admissions to the first seminar, for the week of July 25-29. Once the first seminar has reached capacity, we will open up the second seminar week, August 8-12 for admission. When applying, please indicate your first and second choice of seminar weeks.

Format: The sessions will be consist of a mix of lectures and directed discussion. The final day will feature special guests and presentations by members of the seminar. The language of instruction will be English.

Readings: There will be assigned introductory readings.

Certificate: Students who complete the course will be awarded a certificate by the University of Ottawa Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.