Institutional Cooperation Programme between Hawassa University, Mekelle University and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences

The Project 
The development objective of the second phase of the institutional collaboration between Hawassa University (HU), Mekelle University (MU) and Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), which is an academic partnership for improving the livelihood of rural Ethiopians, is to:
"Enhance the contribution of higher education institutions towards the national policy of poverty reduction and increased agricultural productivity by improving the quality of education and research". This is set within the context of contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, especially helping Ethiopia achieve food security, and improve rural livelihoods. The goal is expected to be achieved through "supporting graduate and undergraduate studies, practical training, and development-oriented research through institutional cooperation". The overall intended beneficiaries of the programme are the farmers and other poorest sectors of the community whose lives need to be improved through the research and training.
The project received NOK 30 mill in the period 2003-2008

Interesting Findings

• Collaboration between the three universities: It has been much stronger in the second phase than it had been in the first phase. Good work has been done in staff development, curriculum development, graduate teaching and joint research. A number of joint publications have been produced by the parties. The graduate programmes have been expanded.
• Dissemination of research findings: Through the second phase of the project both universities have generated and are also generating numerous research results that could be of great benefit to end users if they are properly publicized. Although a laudable effort is underway in both universities in this regard, for better impact more effort needs to be exerted to ascertain that the public is aware of their findings.
• Support to female students and gender sensitivity: The support to female students has a good effect and contributes to empower those who benefit directly. The activities are, however, not sufficient to substantially change the gender inequalities and male dominance prevailing in the university culture. In order to achieve real gender equality, gender must be institutionalized and integrated in a systematic way into all areas of the university structures.
• Gender balance and gender sensitivity: Both MU and HU implement government policy measures prioritizing female students during enrolment, and the gender gap among students is slowly narrowing. Gender balance among staff is low, but increasing because female staff are prioritized during recruitment. Both female and male academic and administrative staff lack sufficient knowledge about gender issues, and the staff have generally not undergone any form of gender training. There is some awareness of and attention to gender issues in research as well as in dissemination of the research, but the overall curriculum and teaching methods are found not to be gender sensitive, and there are no systems in place ensuring that gender is addressed. 
• Programme transparency: The programme has been transparent in general. Financial and procurement management have been according to accepted practices and as per the agreement. Selection of candidates for postgraduate studies as well as short term skill development training has been done in a visible manner.