To begin with, Dr. Engineer Tilahun Erduno is a Cartographic Engineer by profession. He is a lecturer at Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU). He was born in ‘Endegegne’ found in Gurage Zone. He had passed through rocky roads to reach where he is in the present day. Sadly, his dad kicked the bucket when he was a second year college Student.
Education wise, he had pursued elementary and junior secondary school educations at Maramecho and Mori respectively. Furthermore, he attended high school at Wachamo Comprehensive Secondary School. In due course, he joined Kotebe Teacher College and studied Geography. As he grew up simply appreciating teachers, he had no passion to opt for other professional areas except getting himself involved in the teaching profession.
Aside from serving as a Director of ASTU Office for the Knowledge and Technology Interchange, Dr. Engineer Tilahun is the founding president of the Ethiopian Surveying Professional Association. More to the point, he is the founder department head of the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture of ASTU encompassing Building, Surveying, Water Resource, Transportation and Geo-technical engineering fields.
By the same token, he has served as active member of the board of the School of Engineering and Information Technology. He coordinated the staff while designing the new curriculum based on the new framework designed by known German Professor Herbert Eichelle.
Dr. Engineer Tilahun was responsible for surveying tasks, design and coordination of works comprising infrastructural expansion and monitoring inspection and evaluation of the finishing of Ethio-German Housing Project for Lecturers located in Adama University compound, Ethio- German Low Cost Housing Project (115 housing units) for ex-soldiers in Adama, Ethio-German Low Cost Housing Project (85 housing units) for ex-soldiers in Debrezeit, among others.
Above and beyond, Dr. Engineer Tilahun designed, drafted and presented the first degree curriculum in the history of the country for surveying technology program in addition to organizing a new workshop for the department. As a matter of fact, the whole lot was not a bed of roses.
As there was only a diploma program in surveying, he kept on attaching significance to the diploma program with the help of his colleagues. To be frank, he spared no effort to raise the diploma program to the degree level. Despondently, the turnover of instructors in the college was very high as there was a great demand for surveying all over the country. The pull factor was irresistible as the salary offered elsewhere was very attractive. But as Dr. Engineer Tilahun did not attach priority to salary, he made a decision to stay in the college no matter what the cost may be to keep himself busy developing the curriculum.
Little by little, he met the required backpacks by designing the whole specification and ended up becoming founder department head of Surveying Technology. Building the existing human resource capacity as well as increasing the number of skilled teachers for the department was pressing.
Pertaining to the newly designed curriculum, once a wide spectrum of officials had been gathered for comment. After he had presented his design in all terms and entertained comments in some areas, he grew to be successful in designing the first degree curriculum in the history of the country. Much to someone’s surprise, he was the only instructor left in the department in the rainy season of the college. As most instructors had left the college he was wrestling day in and day out towards the birth of the department.
Sadly, Dr. Engineer Tilahun had undergone medical operation on his back on accounts of disc collapse that resulted from working for long hours with determination. At that juncture, there were three programs: regular, extension and summer. After three years, he hired some instructors from India and German. As time went on, the department embarked on playing a great role in the country’s development program by producing quite a lot of graduates. Hence, they are playing a great role in the country’s development over and over again.
The undergraduate program has been already opened in a wide array of higher learning institutions. At this point in time, it is rippling across the country from time to time. Dr. Engineer Tilahun had been enjoying the fruit of success from time to time. He has made the bread of many graduates to be buttered well apart from throwing in his share in the development activities of the country.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday May 19, 2019
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
