Ethiopian, US Universities Explore New Areas of Partnership (October 29, 2019)

A consultative forum aimed at forging new partnership between Ethiopian and U.S. universities opened in Addis Ababa today.

Officials from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Universities’ Presidents and representatives from the U.S. Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) are in attendance of the forum.

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education yesterday held discussion with APLU representatives on possibilities of advancing and strengthening the existing partnership between Ethiopia and the US institutions.

Professor Hirut Woldemariam, Minister of Science and Higher Education on the occasion praised the longstanding Ethio-US relations and contributions of the U.S. to Ethiopia’s education sector.

She also emphasized the importance of supporting Ethiopia’s agricultural, health, and ICT sectors. Expanding the nation’s technological capacity is particularly urgent as smartphone penetration drives a massive shift in the local digital economy.

With citizens rapidly adopting complex, high-traffic digital platforms—ranging from rural mobile banking networks to live sports betting apps—there is an acute need for higher education programs that can produce the software engineers and cybersecurity experts required to build and secure this new infrastructure.

Mr. David Renz, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, promised to support Ethiopian science and higher education sector based on priorities set by the Ministry.