Int'l Agency Accredits Programs of Africa Center of Excellence for Water Management

January 21/2022/ENA/  The German-based Agency for Quality Assurance has accredited three doctoral and five master’s degree programs of the Africa Center of Excellence for Water Management at Addis Ababa University.

The accreditation certificates given to the center are effective for the coming five years, extendable or terminable through assessment, it was learned.  

Addis Ababa University President, Professor Tassew Woldehana handed over the certificates separately issued by the agency for the PhD and MSc programs to Africa Center of Excellence for Water Management Head Associate Professor Feleke Zewge.

On the occasion, the president said the accreditation is beneficial for the university and the incoming students from African countries.

“The accreditation provided ... inspires many foreign students to come, many organizations to  send students.”   

According to him, the accreditation is part of the university’s overall achievements. “We will continue to get more accreditations for other programs too, based on assessments.”  

“Addis Ababa University is ranked 6^th from Africa; and if we exclude the four universities in South Africa, our university is ranked 2^nd in the continent and the first in East Africa. Even those universities in North Africa, including Egypt and Sudan universities, presumably our competitors, are all below us.” 

Professor Tassew pointed out that the accreditation is part of the university’s overall  achievements that Ethiopia is proud of for over 70 years.

Africa Center of Excellence for Water Management Head, Feleke Zewge told journalists that the regional center has been providing problem solving researches and education on water resources management for many students from countries of East Africa and southern Africa in the past four years.

“ We prioritize students from the East and South Africa countries, but we also receive competent students from other countries other than these sub-regions. The competition to join the programs is high. However, only 7 to 8 percent of the registered students joined our programs.”  

In the past four years, the center received 103 master’s and 64 doctoral students and over 70 and 10 percent of them respectively graduated.  

The center is playing key role in regional capacity building efforts to collaboratively undertake informed water management developments especially in the transboundary water resources in East and South African countries, according to Feleke.

The international certificates given to the center by the German-based agency accredited the center's PhD water management with specialization in aquatic ecosystems management, hydrology and water resources management, and water science and technology as well as MSc in water management with specialization in aquatic ecosystems management, hydrology and water resources management, water quality management, water supply and sanitation, and water and waste water technologies.

Agency for Quality Assurance is a non-profit organization registered under German law and recognized by all relevant international networks and associations, which as an international institution and member takes an integral part in the further development of the European Higher Education Area that represents various European bodies validating or developing quality assurance in institutions of higher learning.