International accreditation is essential for Ethiopian public universities as they transition to autonomous governance.  Not only does accreditation assure students that their academic programs meet rigorous international standards, but it also opens new educational and economic opportunities for students because their educational backgrounds are recognized by international institutions and employers.  For this reason, the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia, in collaboration with Ministry of Education and Institute of International Education (IIE.org), held a workshop on April 4 and 5 in Addis Ababa to help public universities understand the process of accrediting their engineering programs.  

As part the U.S. Embassy’s continued support for Ethiopian universities as they transition to autonomy, the Embassy’s Counselor for Public Diplomacy Naomi Fellows opened the workshop alongside Dr. Ebba Mijena, Director General for Academic Affairs.  The workshop was led by Dr. Firew Tegegne, former president of Bahir Dar University, and two former Fulbright and Ambassador’s Distinguished Scholars Program fellows, Dr. Samuel Lakew and Dr. Merone Lekhal.  The workshop highlighted Bahir Dar University’s success in accrediting four of its engineering programs – the first Ethiopian engineering programs to be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).