Debre Markos University Launches Grant Projects in Collaboration with Partner Universities

Vienna, May 30, 2023 – Debre Markos University, in partnership with other esteemed universities, celebrates the acquisition of two grant projects, namely the ‘Implementation of Academic Geomatics Education in Ethiopia for Supporting Sustainable Development, Edu4Geo’ and ‘Land Information for Land Management, Li4LaM.’ The strategic planning and implementation activities, including the kickoff meeting, grant agreement signing, workshop, and excursion, took place in Vienna, Austria, from May 8 to 13, 2023.

The kickoff meeting commenced with opening speeches and remarks from prominent figures, including Prof. Doris DAMYANOVIC (Vice Rector for Teaching, Continuing Education and Students at BOKU), Prof. Wolfgang WAGNER (Dean for the Faculty of Mathematics and Geo-information of TUW), and Norbert PFEIFER (Head of TUW Senate). A total of 25 professionals, comprising 23 project team members and 2 advisory team members from Ethiopian partner institutions, actively participated in the event.

Edu4Geo, an advanced academic partnership program stemming from the previous project ‘Implementation of Academic Land Administration Education in Ethiopia for Supporting Sustainable Development, EduLAND,’ involves collaboration between four universities: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, BOKU; Debre Markos University, DMU; Technical University of Vienna (TUW); and Bahir Dar University, BDU. The primary objective of Edu4Geo is to enhance the competencies of undergraduate students by implementing a master curriculum on Geomatics. This three-year project, which commenced on March 1, 2023, had its kickoff meeting and grant agreement signing in Vienna, Austria, on May 9, 2023. The grant agreement was signed by the project coordinators representing the partner universities: Dr. Thomas from BOKU, Dr. Sayeh from DMU, Dr. Gerhard from TUW, and Dr. Belachew from BDU. The kickoff meeting covered presentations and discussions on the project’s aims, work strategy, work packages, working plan, responsibilities, deliveries, as well as administrative and financial matters. Additionally, comprehensive discussions were held on the development and implementation of the master curriculum, provision of teaching and learning materials, capacity building, and other work packages and activities.

The Li4LaM project, funded by the ERASMUS+ program of the European Union, serves as a capacity-building endeavor executed through a consortium comprising eight universities: four from Europe (BOKU, TUW, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; University of Agriculture, Krakow) and four from Ethiopia (DMU, BDU, WU, and AAU). This project aims to modernize curricula and enhance the academic staff’s capacity by focusing on state-of-the-art technologies. Similar to Edu4Geo, Li4LaM is a three-year grant project that commenced on January 1, 2023. The project description and kickoff meeting for Li4LaM were conducted on May 10, 2023, during which the work packages and planned activities were presented and thoroughly discussed.

Debre Markos University and its partner universities are enthusiastic about the opportunities presented by these grant projects. The initiatives aim to revolutionize academic geomatics education and land management.