CapitalEthiopia, March 21, 2011
The award ceremony of the PhD scholarship for Ethiopian students to Germany was held at the Goethe institute on Thursday March 17, 2011.
Dr. Dorothea Rueland, Secretary General of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), awarded 10 scholarships for PhD studies in Germany to Ethiopian students for three years and additional scholarships for studies in Ethiopia with an overall value of 790,000 euro.
The Secretary General visited Addis Ababa to emphasize the strong Ethio-German academic relations and to highlight the importance of academic excellence and international cooperation as major goals in the ongoing academic reform process in Ethiopia.
One of the beneficiaries of the scholarship award said, “I am really happy to get the scholarship, anything is possible with God”. She has finished her post graduate degree in reproductive health and will continue her PhD at Leipzig University in Germany in reproductive health. The program takes from two and half to three years.
Selashi is another beneficiary of the scholarship award. He has finished his post graduate at Black Lion in parasitological medicine. Currently, he is a 2nd year PhD student at Addis Ababa University studying tropical infection diseases.
He said, the scholarship award is a sandwich program for him and he is really happy. He will be going to Cueingen City to join the University of Cueingen in Germany this coming June.
The German academic exchange service DAAD is one of the most important German institutions for the exchange and cooperation between German and international academic students and universities in Germany. Ethiopia has one of the longest relationships with the DAAD and Germany than any African country.
The number of Ethiopian students and scholars trained in the German DAAD supported more than 2500 people since the 1950s. This includes scholars educated in former East Germany. Birhanu Gizaw (PhD) president of the (AEEG) association of Ethiopian education in Germany, stressed that the students are expected to come back with their qualifications and serve their country in their profession.
“The scientific and cultural relations between Ethiopia and Germany are strong, deep, and old” said, H.E Lies lore Cyrus the German Ambassador.
The engagement of DAAD in Ethiopia has gradually evolved since the 1950s. The first Ethiopian was sponsored in 1957, and since then, the number of Ethiopians who studied in Germany with a DAAD scholarship has gone up to over 2500 individuals.
However, the actual number of alumni is far higher since the Ethiopians who studied in the former GDR are also part of the DAAD Alumni family. In 2009 alone, more than 400 Ethiopians were supported by DAAD through various academic exchange schemes, with a total budget of approximately five million Euros. This funding is comprised of scholarships for PhD and Master programs in Germany and in African countries. Furthermore, scholarships were available for studies at two Ethiopian Universities, as well as support for bilateral higher education cooperation. Special training offers for higher education administration leaders were also made available.
H.E Lies lore Cyrus German Ambassador said, “From my perspective, the multi faceted and multi-disciplinary exchange between various academic institution and individual scholars through the DAAD are core components of the overall cultural and scientific relationship between the two countries also enshrined in the cultural agreement between Ethiopia and Germany from 1989.”
With the context of the current university reforms taking place in Ethiopia the German academic exchange service (DAAD) in cooperation with its Ethiopian partners will continue to play a major role in promoting scientific excellence international co-operation and the creation of an academic net-work across national boundaries added, H.E Lies lore Cyrus German Ambassador.
The names of the famous German scholars researching Ethiopian history- like Hiob Ludolf and Enno Littmann and their contemporary colleagues, professor Uhilg in Hamburg and professor Voigt in Berlin.
The high number of professors and scientific staff in the Ethiopian university having studied or worked in Germany and the high number of academic relationships and exchange programs through which German professors and scholars are coming to Ethiopia are witness for the importance both countries attribute to this relationship.
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