Arba Minch University is a research university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 located in Arba Minch

Arba Minch

Arba Minch is a city in southern Ethiopia; less common names for this city include Ganta Garo and Minghi. Located in the Gamo Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region about 500 kilometers south of Addis Ababa, at an elevation of 1285 meters above sea level...

, Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, about 500 km south of Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

. Officially inaugurated in 2004, it is one of the top widely recognized universities in Ethiopia. The university's 2004/05 academic year enrollment is over 6,600, placing it among the top largest universities in the country. It is founded on 2 square kilometres of land, at the eastern foot of the Gamo mountains and adjacent to the vast low lying land stretching towards Lake Abaya

Lake Abaya

Lake Abaya is a lake in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. It was named Lake Margherita by the Italian explorer Vittorio Bottego, the first European commonly thought to visit the lake, to honor the wife of king Umberto I of Italy, Queen Margherita...

 which is part of the East African Rift

East African Rift

The East African Rift is an active continental rift zone in eastern Africa that appears to be a developing divergent tectonic plate boundary. It is part of the larger Great Rift Valley. The rift is a narrow zone in which the African Plate is in the process of splitting into two new tectonic plates...

 valley.

History and Overview

Arba Minch University is a non-denominational university which offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Before its inauguration as a University, it was known as Arba Minch Water Technology Institute (AWTI) offering a qualified course in water resources planning, design and development. AWTI was established in 1986 with the objective of creating a skilled and qualified manpower vital for the effective utilization and exploitation of water resources for various aspects of national development. The Alumni has found wide acceptance within the country and abroad. Due to the recurrent problems of food insecurity and increase in magnitude and complexity of the poverty situation, there has been a long felt need of creating qualified manpower in the area of irrigation and hydraulics/hydropower, watershed management and hydrology so that the available water resources can be developed, managed and utilized without undue dependence on foreign assistance

Foreign aid to Ethiopia

After World War II, Ethiopia began to receive economic development aid from the more affluent Western countries. Originally the United Kingdom was the primary source of this aid, but they withdrew in 1952, to be replaced by the United States...

.

Arba Minch University was officially inaugurated in June 2004. During this time, it comprised four faculties, one institute and one school. It is expected that with the ongoing expansion a number of faculties and programs will be opened and the enrollment capacity will increase to over 10,000 by 2010.

Faculties

The University consists of the following academic units :

• Water technology institute
  • Hydraulics Engineering
  • Irrigation Engineering
  • Water and Environmental Engineering
• Faculty of Engineering
  • Architecture and Urban Planning
  • Civil Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Computer and IT
• Faculty of Natural Sciences
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Geology
  • Mathematics
  • Meteorology and Hydrology
  • Physics
• Faculty of Business and Economics
  • Accounting
  • Economics
  • English
  • Management
• College of Medicine and Health Sciences
  • Medicine
  • Public Health
  • Nursing
  • Midwifery
• College of Social Science and Humanities
• School of Post Graduate Studies

Mission

Arba Minch University has a mission of promoting democratic thinking, offering high quality education and training, conducting demand driven and problem solving research and consultancy, and rendering community service in order to contribute to the development endeavors of the country.

Construction

As part of Arba Minch University's expansion, several construction projects have recently been completed on campus, and many more are in the process of being completed. The construction is designed by world top engineers who they took second degree from Arba Minch university.

Student life and Residences

At Arba Minch University there are a number of services providing for the needs of students. Currently all students in the regular program are accommodated on campus. Expansion of dormitories has been carried out recently. Students actively participate in departmental and intercollegial sports tournaments. The university provides various indoor and outdoor sports facilities.