AASTU has allocated about 42 million birr for research and technology transfer and about 2.6 million birr for university-industry linkage activities
ADDIS ABABA (The Ethiopian Herald) — Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU) confirmed efforts to strengthen technology transfer that could improve the quality of life for local communities.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Girma Gonfa, PhD, Research Directorate Director of the University, said that the AASTU is constructing research and innovation park for the University’s centers of excellence and aggressively working to equip the centers with state-of-the-art research facilities. AASTU has a total of five colleges: Architecture & Civil Engineering, Biological & Chemical Engineering, Electrical & Mechanical Engineering, Social & Natural Sciences, and Applied Sciences Colleges.
According to Dr. Girma, AASTU has allocated about 42 million birr for research and technology transfer and about 2.6 million birr for university-industry linkage activities. It has also allotted 1.7 million birr for community service works.
Dr. Girma further noted that, the University has enrolled over 8,000 undergraduate and close to 700 postgraduate students (both doctoral and masters programs) under those colleges. AASTU has also established eight research and innovation centers which are comprised in three centers of excellence where research and innovation are primarily carried out.
As to Dr. Girma, these centers of excellence are: (1) Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Center of Excellence, (2) Mineral Exploration, Extraction and Processing Center of Excellence, and (3) High-Performance Computing and Big Data Analytics Center of Excellence.
Currently, both academic staffs and students are working on various innovation and technology transfer works; and the University hopes that the projects will make notable contributions in solving industrial and societal problems, the Director added.
Source: Ethiopian Press Agency