UC-NETWORK 2022 (Phase 2) - NETWORK University Cooperation in Ethiopia

ET2022NET039A103 01/09/2022 - 31/08/2027 The network program is a collaboration of four public universities in Ethiopia coordinated by Jimma University (JU) and five Flemish universities coordinated by Ghent University (UGent). The coordinating universities in north and south, UGent and JU respectively, work closely together with partner universities in planning and implementation of the program. The program uses the local PhD schools and collaborative research as entry points to capacity building of partner universities in the south and as routes to contribute to higher education and the health sector development in the country. The program leverages the organizational, human and infrastructural capacities that have been created by the IUC program in Jimma University and taps into institutional and professional networks that have been developed over the last 10 years. The program focuses on capacity building at two levels. On the one hand, the PhD schools of the partner universities will be strengthened by the North-South collaboration exemplified by the joint PhDs supervised by a local and a North promotor, which will eventually lead to double degree PhDs. The involved PhD schools are Tropical and Infectious Diseases (JU), Veterinary Parasitology (COVMA), Nutrition (JU), Public Health (HwU), Environmental Heath and Ecology (JU) and Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (HwU). On the other hand, PhD opportunities are equally divided over the partner according to the size of the partner university, and the PhD candidates and the local PhD supervisor will be –in as much as possible- attached to different partner universities to foster collaboration amongst the partner universities. This SSN template (S=PhD student, S=local supervisor, N=North supervisor) is the stronghold of the capacity building efforts of the network. Partner universities were selected based on the recommendation of the VLIR country strategy for Ethiopia. In the country strategy document of VLIR-UOS JU was found to be more appropriate to lead a network of institutions in the humid west and central part of Ethiopia. The only university that was left out from UCBHE was Arba Minch because it was known that Arba Minch was applying for an IUC program. The other four PUs were selected for the NETWORK because of their location and their previous involvement in VLIR-UOS projects. All of them comply with requirements indicated in the VLIR-UOS call for the NETWORK. The PUs were contacted and consulted during the proposal writing, matchmaking and program formulation. During the proposal writing, the network program was explained to the PUs and a letter of commitment was collected from their top leadership. The needs assessment and identification of the capacity gap of the candidate PUs were done by visit to each of the universities. As part of the assessment an inventory of available human resources, lab facilities, active partners, research lines, and existing graduate programs was developed. Moreover documents that explain about the PUs including institutional plan and reports were collected, and websites of the universities were visited to validate the information. After the matchmaking the NETWORK program coordinators paid a courtesy visit to the leadership of the PUs to discuss about the partnership and promote the program. The commitment of the leadership was secured and confirmed upon explaining the goals of the program and the opportunities it brings for each of the partners Each partner university participates in all projects except COVMA of Addis Ababa University which does not participate in nutrition research at least in the first few years since it does not have a human nutrition department. There are at least 10 departments from the four partner universities of the south that are actively involved in the program. Similarly, all ICT offices of PUs participate in the effort. There are no NETWORK program activities in wh