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Addis Ababa University (AAU) launched a PhD program in International and Comparative Education (ICE) in the second semester of 2010/11. In June 2014 AAU established a Centre for Comparative Education and Policy Studies (CCEPS) in order to run and manage the program. This centre is organized under the auspices of the College of Education and Behavioural Studies with a clear mission to study educational systems, policies, reforms, innovations and outcomes in international and comparative perspectives.The primary focus of this proposed project is to support the ongoing PhD program in International and Comparative Education within a partnership between Addis Ababa University and University of Gothenburg (GU). The overall aim of the project is to develop the capacity of Addis Ababa University, other higher education institutions, the Ministry of Education as well as other development Ministries and sectors in Ethiopia with highly trained human power.

International and Comparative Education (ICE) is a multidisciplinary field of study which analyses educational systems, institutions, policies, innovations, reforms, practices and outcomes in international and global perspectives. ICE addresses the problems of education and development, and investigates educational change in relation to the changing society. Education in relation to ethnicity, gender, socio-economic aspects and other societal forces that influence education are examined, spanning early childhood and basic education to secondary and higher education as well as lifelong learning, and including the institutional environments. ICE also focuses on evaluations of educational quality, outcomes and student achievements in international perspectives. Since its emergence as an independent field of study, description and analysis of educational systems, structures and organizations have been prominent. The study of polices, innovations and reforms in international perspectives serves not only to put one’s own system in perspectives, but also, in a developing country like Ethiopia, ICE is needed in all its dimensions as there is lack of necessary expertise in all areas of the field of study, and that the country has embraced major educational reform programs over the last two decades. As a country in a rapid socio-economic transformation, it is also recognized that change depends on a stock of educated human power. Therefore, the proposed project, with its international and comparative perspective, will be a significant contribution to filling the gap by addressing the lack of qualified education professionals. It will provide an understanding on how social, political and economic aspects affect education systems in cross-cultural, international and global perspectives.