ADDIS ABABA, July 9, 2013 -- The academic community has made enormous contributions to international development and poverty reduction. In Ethiopia, Addis Ababa University (AAU), the country’s first institution of higher learning, has been committed to excellence and has contributed significantly to the overall development effort of the country. Against this background, the World Bank Ethiopia Country Office has recently established a formal partnership with the University as part of its knowledge management initiative.
The partnership framework, signed by Mr. Guang Z. Chen, World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia and Dr. Admasu Tegaye, President of AAU, focuses on strategic topics and activities of mutual interest, and creates a platform for knowledge sharing and new thinking on development topics.
The key elements of the partnership include lectures given to University students by World Bank experts in subject areas of mutual interest, as well as increased involvement of AAU academic staff and alumni in Bank analytical work through peer review of Bank reports, collaboration with AAU in its efforts to disseminate knowledge and research products, and partnering to organize and participate in various outreach events related to development issues in Ethiopia.
In order to provide easy access to the wealth of development knowledge and information it produces, the Bank will establish a “Development Knowledge and Information Corner” (DKC) on the premises of AAU Library enabling more than 51,000 university students, faculty and the public to benefit from the products. The Bank will train AAU library staff on general knowledge, accessibility and management of the World Bank’s virtual and physical information resources, including the Bank’s websites and other development information systems as well as the Bank's policy on Access to Information. It will also provide institutional and technical assistance for conducting joint and thematic development dialogue forums/series in Ethiopia.
This partnership based on knowledge sharing will enable the two institutions to put their resources together to fight poverty more effectively.