Addis Ababa — International accreditation is essential for Ethiopian public universities as they transition to autonomous governance. Not only does accreditation assure students that their academic programs meet rigorous international standards, but it also opens new educational and economic opportunities for students because their educational backgrounds are recognized by international institutions and employers. For this reason, the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia, in collaboration with Ministry of Education and Institute of International Education (IIE.org), held a workshop on April 4 and 5 in Addis Ababa to help public universities understand the process of accrediting their engineering programs.
As part the U.S. Embassy's continued support for Ethiopian universities as they transition to autonomy, the Embassy's Counselor for Public Diplomacy Naomi Fellows opened the workshop alongside Dr. Ebba Mijena, Director General for Academic Affairs. The workshop was led by Dr. Firew Tegegne, former president of Bahir Dar University, and two former Fulbright and Ambassador's Distinguished Scholars Program fellows, Dr. Samuel Lakew and Dr. Merone Lekhal. The workshop highlighted Bahir Dar University's success in accrediting four of its engineering programs - the first Ethiopian engineering programs to be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
Two U.S.-based international accreditation institutions, ABET and Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, provided insight virtually on their accreditation processes for engineering and business programs respectively.
Presidents, academic vice presidents, and deans from ten research universities joined the workshop with leaders from the Ministry of Education.
For 120 years, the United States and Ethiopia have partnered in health, agriculture and food security, science and the environment, and many other areas to improve the lives of all Ethiopians. This partnership is especially deep in the education sector where the U.S. government and U.S. universities have worked closely with Ethiopian universities since the 1950s. This includes the founding of Haramaya and Jimma agricultural colleges and the Gondar Public Health Institute under the U.S. government's Point Four program, all of which have evolved into leading research universities with ongoing partnerships with U.S. universities.
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To learn more about the #Ethiopia_US120Years of Partnership visit: U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia and follow U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa | Facebook, X and Instagram.
