Haramaya University to Launch MSc in Agrometeorlogy and Natural Risk Management By Sileshi Yilma/ Public and International Relations Directorate Haramaya University’s (HU) School of Natural Resource Management and Environmental Sciences is set to launch a new regional MSc program in Agrometeorology and Natural Risk Management. According to Dr. Lisanework Nigatu, Associate Professor of Ecology and Agroforestry in the School of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences, the proposal to launch the program was designed by five member universities of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM). The universities include Haramaya University, Gezira University (Sudan), University of Zambia, University of Burundi, and Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology (Kenya). “A total of 11 students, six from Ethiopia and five from regional universities, have been recruited and given full scholarship based on their educational performance and work service,” Dr. Lisanework said. He added that the five students from abroad were selected by Africa Share Capacity project, a partnership of 12 African universities in Eastern, Central, Southern and Western Africa led by Makarere University in Uganda. The local students, on other hand, were recruited from the National Meteorology Agency, the associate partner of the program. The new MSc program in Agrometeorology and Natural Risk Management is believed to contribute in facilitating an interdisciplinary understanding of climate science, science-led agricultural development and natural resource management. It is also expected to provide first hand information weather forecasting and early warnings to effectively protect natural disasters. As to Dr. Lisanework, HU will become the first and only institution in Ethiopia to offer the program at MSc level. “Only two countries in Africa, including now Ethiopia, and a total of 29 countries in the world provide this course at postgraduate level,” he added. October 15, 2013 is the set day for registration of the program and class is expected to begin on October 20. Africa Share Capacity project, along with its associate partners (RUFORUM, Association for African Universities and Inter Universities Council for East Africa), has been financed under the Intra ACP Academic Mobility Scheme. According to its website, the project supports staff and students exchange in various disciplines of agriculture within and outside the 12 member countries of the partnership. Six students from Ethiopia are expected to benefit from this student –staff exchange program.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 13:19:30 +0000
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