JIMMA – Jimma University has envisioned joining the ranks of leading African universities and becoming an internationally acclaimed higher learning institution.
True to its plan it is making strides, disclosed the university.
Associate Professor Ashenafi Belay, Senior Director of External Relation and Communication of the university noted that the university is striving to be among the top African universities and to win global recognition by 2025.
Internationality is one of the university’s boxes and now the university’s clicking with African, American and European countries is mounting.
Now the university expanding its wings to Hargeisa and it has a campus in the Republic of Somali Land. The number of its international students who are learning here in Ethiopia is snowballing, he stated.
As to him, to win international acceptance, the learning and teaching process should fulfill international standards, the research which the university conducts and the service which renders should display a hallmark of competence. Thus, they are working to satisfy the content and the university has been working to get a foothold in Africa and beyond.
It is also working with more than 200 international universities involved in different projects. Food security, environment and coffee are in the long catalogue of international projects they are working on together, as to him.
Students come here from Europe and other countries and also some students of Jimma University of them go to abroad for international education. “We have just signed agreement for sandwich programs with three universities of France recently to give PhD in economics.
The students will be learning here and abroad. There are also joint programs when the countries design curriculum together and give education together,” he said.
He added, researches are being conducted and community services are being delivered by the university’s initiative and the fund from different partners.
As to Ashenafi, there are international organizations that assess the entire tasks of universities and they give testimony for which the universities could be marked qualified. So, the university is flexing muscles to stand tall in the eyes of these organizations.
The Ethiopian Herald March 1/2020
BY GENET FEKADE
