BY YOHANES JEMANEH
Eight years back today, Muhammad Usman (PhD) was an International Law student at Andhra University, India. He has traveled to India to attend his post-doctoral degree program.
Muhammad who hailed from the Afar pastoral community was ambitious to pursue higher education to ensure the bright future of his community and beyond. His quest was to explore the best of all India has to offer, he expressed while attending the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day that was celebrated on September 16 at the premises of the Indian Embassy in Addis Ababa.
“I pursued my education enjoying the scientific landscape. Being so close to nature helped me to direct my energy and my focus toward my studies. I prefer a quiet area and immerse myself in critical thinking and self-reflection. Whenever I feel stressed out due to study, I have enjoyed the greenery,” Muhammad recalled.
He said that, international students coming to India receive a quality higher education that stood the best of the time. For him, India is home to science, innovation, the state of art technologies. It is also the home of vibrant democracy and economy.
As a melting pot of various cultures, studying in India is astonishing. It is an affordable study destination with many wonders. “I am really proud of being alumni of Andhra University as it is ranked among the top universities in India. Everything from infrastructure to facilities offered in the university was world class and I have greatly benefited from its multidisciplinary approach, a diverse range of expertise, and active, well-integrated research community over there,” Muhammad said.
During his stay in India, Muhammad secured the opportunity to learn about India’s rich history and its multilingual and spiritual nature. Experiencing everyday life, the Indian society’s values of hospitality, respect, social interdependence, the pursuit of knowledge, and many more remain deep in his heart for life.
Beyond the walls of the classrooms, there is much to see and observe. He has visited Hindu temples, and various museums, and enjoyed going to beaches. He remembered that he went to the stadium to watch Indian cultural sports that have common aspects to his hometown’s traditional sporting activities.
On several occasions, Muhammad attended concerts featuring Indian musical instruments. One thing which comes to his mind whenever he thinks about India is the food. Indian cuisine like its culture is a blend of various herbs and spices which make every food quite unique and special. Indian cuisine has a variety of delicious and exciting meals. And this was the causes that inspire Muhammad to often visit Indian restaurants even after he arrive homeland.
He said, “India changed me a lot. It gave me hope, inspiration, and a new start in my life. It gave me standardized education; I have acquired new skills to face a new world. Every little move in India was a life lesson for me.”
Exploring the knowledge and distinct wisdom that he got from his teachers and the Indian society during his stay, Muhammad is currently leading one of the public universities in Ethiopia, Semera University. Located in Afar, the cradle of hum beings, the university is on the rise benefiting the local community.
According to Muhammad, as a land of diversity, Ethiopia can adopt practices from India to manage its multitude of diversities. Those who learn in India may help in this regard. Now, as the president of Semera University, he is applying the lessons that he has gained from India to manage the diversity of students incorporated from the four corners of the country.
In this regard, organizing such ITEC Day is important to share such experiences. For Muhammad, celebrating ITEC Day is a commendable tradition that contributes to further strengthening the already existing friendly relations between the two countries and the people.
It is known that the ITEC training program provides a lot of training globally through face-to-face and virtual systems. In this regard, Ethiopian professionals are getting various types of training for years.
Many experts in different sectors are benefited from the training program. Another ITEC Alumni Mulatu Kassie (PhD), Researcher at Leather Product Development Institute shared his memories and experiences of his training during his stay in India. He appreciated the Indian government for the training program. “I am one of the trainees who get the opportunity and gained a great benefit by taking the course entitled “Industrial Environment Management through Techno Managerial Policy Choice” which was held from July to August 2022. The training helped me so far and it will enable me more in the day-to-day research activity. It also helps me to develop my professional carrier and to achieve my institution’s goals efficiently.
From the training, he has learned new knowledge, best practices and experiences both theoretically and practically. India’s technology and innovation in the manufacturing sector a very advancing. Taking training in the sector on environmental issues is crucial for his task. Basically, the training consists of all types of waste management systems, the development of green energy sources, and mechanisms to control pollution, global warming, and erosion of the environment to achieve sustainable development.
During the one-month-long training, Mulatu has got crucial knowledge and visited industries about the solid, and liquid waste management systems, the treatment system, recycling of electronic waste, different green energy sources, solar energy, and hybrid energy sources.
It is not only Mulatu and Muhammad that took professional training in India. The country has been giving training and scholarship opportunities to several Ethiopians in connection with the technical and economic cooperation between the two nations.
The technical and economic connection between Ethiopia and India has been bolstered through time in accordance with human resource capacity-building cooperation. In this regard, Ethiopia shares the large number of trainees from Africa who pursue their training in India. Today the number of training slots offered under ITEC for Ethiopia is about 406. So far 3300 Ethiopian nationals have attended short-term training programs in India, said Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia Robert Shetkintong.
“We have given training for many Ethiopian nationals from the government, public and private sectors,” he said adding that this effort is intended to support the country’s development. For Ambassador Robert Shetkintong, the training that has been given to Ethiopians and other nationals enabled the trainees to earn the required knowledge and skill.
On the other hand, more than 1200 Indian professors are teaching in more than 40 universities in Ethiopia. For him, Ethiopia and India have had an excellent relationship in the past, and present and it will be best in the future. The most substantial part of our relationship is in the education sector. People from the older generation would recall Indian science and mathematics teachers in Ethiopian schools.
“Today we have a number of Indian faculties in Ethiopian public universities. There are also a large number of Ethiopian students pursuing education in India. Therefore education is an important aspect of the relationship between the two nations.”
India provides short-term training programs in various fields to enhance knowledge and skills of human capacity. The country has been facilitating this training for the past 50/60 years. For many years, these short-term training scholarships had been given to only the public sector.
However, in recent years, the Indian embassy has started to facilitate the scholarship program for Ethiopians from the private sector in cognizance of the fact that Ethiopia is made up of human resources incorporated both from the public and the private sectors. Therefore, we would like to announce that people from the private sector can participate in the training provided by India, the Ambassador said.
Many people who attended these training built their capacity and play the important role in strengthening the bond between the two nations. “Let’s encourage our friends to explore these [training] opportunities and enhance their capacity,” he urged.
India and Ethiopia also share a very long history of economic relationships as the two people have been undertaking trade exchanges for several years. Over the last 20 years, India’s investment in Ethiopia has increased tremendously. Today 650 Indian companies are registered by the Ethiopian Investment Commission of which 300 of them are actively working on the ground. The ambassador further stated that these companies have created about 75,000 jobs for Ethiopians.
Documentaries about ITEC cooperation and students’ educational experiences in India were part of the ITEC Day celebration that was held last Saturday. The embassy has also a plan to organize ITEC Day celebrations in some cities in Ethiopia. These events are celebrations of the strong cooperation between India and Ethiopia in capacity building so that they will help to create awareness for Ethiopians to pursue their education in India and be the link in the diplomatic cooperation between the two countries.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2022
