overview

Addis Ababa University is working hard to expand its PhD programs and research activities to support the country’s fast growing economy in availing qualified manpower and research outputs. The demand for PhD graduates in engineering fields, especially in Electrical Power and Control Engineering has become crucial recently, with the country’s present and planned activities to expand its electric energy sector and the demand for teaching staff in more than thirty public universities recently established. However, the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Addis Ababa University, which is the oldest in the country in the field, is not in a position to fill this gap alone. Shortages of experienced professors for PhD student supervision in the area and luck of appropriate laboratory facilities are identified as major limiting factors. Finding partner universities abroad to share experience, staff and research facilities at initial stages of the PhD program in Electrical Power and Control Engineering has been sought to be one of the best ways to launch and sustain a quality PhD program.

The Addis Ababa University School of Electrical and Computer Engineering has been working on the draft PhD curriculum in Electrical Power and Control Engineering for the last one-year involving professors from different universities in the area. Professor Sul, from Seoul National University (South Korea) and Professor Hoffman Heath, from University of Michigan (USA) have reviewed and commented on the draft curriculum. Swedish partner university professors; Professor Stanislaw Gubanski and Professor Erik Ahlgren (both from Chalmers) have also reviewed and given their comments. The curriculum is now approved by the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Council and by Addis Ababa Institute of Technology and is ready to admit students. This proposal is prepared by Addis Ababa University, Chalmers and KTH to be submitted to SIDA for funding the cooperation sought to run the PhD program in Electrical Power and Control Engineering and to build capacity of the School of Electrical and computer engineering during 2018/19 to 2021/2022 in human resource and laboratory facility for sustainability of the program.

1. Objectives of the Project

The general objective of the project is to build capacity in PhD education and research at Addis Ababa University focusing on Electrical Power and Control engineering, a high priority area of the country.

• To launch and run sustainably a high standard quality PhD Program in Electrical Power and Control Engineering at Addis Ababa University
• To build laboratory and supervisor capacity at Electrical and Computer Engineering of Addis Ababa University to sustain the program
• To create and enhance staff and student exchange between Addis Ababa University on one side and Swedish Universities, ABB and local relevant industries on the other side for experience exchange and cooperation on scholarly activities in solving local and global challenges in the area.

    Benefits/Beneficiaries

All partners of the proposed cooperation and the scientific community in general are beneficiaries. The cooperation between Addis Ababa University and Swedish Universities enhance scholarly activities of the universities; research, teaching and learning with improved quality and quantity of outputs. It can also extend to enhancing technological and economical cooperation of the two countries. It triggers more people to people relation between Sweden and Ethiopia. The graduates of the program, during the project period, will gain knowledge about Sweden and its people building attachments for future cooperation. This can benefit both Ethiopia and Sweden.

1. PhD Candidates

About twenty PhD candidates are to be enrolled in the PhD program and are the primary direct beneficiaries of the program. They will get quality education and upgrade their education in their home country improving their social status and income.

2. School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Addis Ababa University

The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering will build its capacity to run quality PhD program in Electrical Power and control engineering program and strengthen its industry cooperation. It will build both human and laboratory capacity to sustainably run the program. Its academic staffs can also be PhD candidates resulting higher staffs profile.

3. Industry in the Electrical Energy Sector

The electrical energy sector in Ethiopia is beneficiary of the project; because, it can obtain qualified pool of electrical power engineers for employment, research outputs to improve their services and production, etc. They do also get place of interaction with academia for research and development on their products and services.

4. Ethiopia as a Country

Ethiopia as a country benefits as the human capacity building is key component of development plan it has in electrical energy sector. It will be part of its drive to have a carbon free economy in 2025 being a middle-income country. The Electrical Power and Control Engineering PhD program supported by necessary laboratories is critical for the success and sustainability of the transformational growth plan of Electric power generation, transmission, distribution in Ethiopia including the export to neighboring countries.

The launching of the PhD and research facility also builds Ethiopia’s capacity to design, construct, operate, maintain, supply materials and parts of electrical power system benefiting millions of Ethiopians in general, and create education/research/technical service opportunity for hundreds of students, professionals in particular.

5. The world

The project capacities Ethiopia to utilize its renewable energy resources instead of fossil fuel as its economy expands. This will be a significant contribution to the green gas effect of the world.

The research output from the PhD programs can also contribute to the knowledge base of the world in the field of electrical power engineering through the research activities.

6. Partner Universities in Sweden

Partner universities benefit from the cooperation in scholarly activates with their counterparts in Addis Ababa University in co-publication, students and staff exchange, and in the establishment of in-depth long-lasting research and education collaboration with one of the major African universities.