During mid-January, GIS training was delivered at Mekelle University to lecturers of postgraduate students. In total there were 12 participants. The training delivery was shared between Hailu Shiferaw and Helina Tilahun, who work for ESSP, a collaborative program between IFPRI and EDRI (Ethiopian Development Research Institute).
Following the 4-day training course, the Vice President for Research and Community Services at Mekelle University, Dr. Tsehaye Asmelash, showed his enthusiasm for future collaboration and highlighted the need for further capacity building in this particular area of developing GIS software skills.
At the end of the training, a short meeting was held with the Vice President and one of the GIS lecturer, Hailemariam Gebrewahed, to explain ESSP’s key activities and its collaborative program with IFPRI and EDRI. One of these key activities is capacity strengthening, and this training formed part of ESSP’s outreach program in order to develop skills and expertise across Ethiopia.
After the Vice President discovered that the GIS training used local data, and that the training materials were provided for lecturers to use in future teaching sessions, he expressed gratitude for a resource that he believes will facilitate learning about GIS concepts more effectively. ESSP aims to continue its engagement in collaborative activities with Mekelle University and others throughout Ethiopia, providing support and expertise to advance technical skills, such as GIS.
