A delegation from the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) visited the College of Agricultural Sciences at Arba Minch University (AMU) on November 4, 2025, to strengthen global academic collaboration. The high-level meeting, held at the Office of the Vice President for Research and Community Cooperation (VPRCC), focused on identifying shared priorities and establishing a concrete partnership between the two institutions. Click here to see more photos.
Dr. Teklu Wegayehu, Vice President for Research and Cooperation at AMU, opened the session with a warm welcome to the delegation. He emphasized AMU’s strong commitment to research and innovation, highlighting its position as one of Ethiopia’s leading research institutions. Dr. Teklu outlined the university’s ongoing reforms geared toward achieving greater autonomy and strengthening its research capacity, noting that AMU has already established more than 70 international partnerships with universities across Europe and Asia. “We are open to collaborations that address the priority areas for both institutions,” he stated, clearly defining the focus of the discussions.
Dr. Tesfaye H/Mariam, Research Affairs Director at AMU, gave an overview of the university, highlighting its multiple campuses and the wide range of academic programs offered from UGs to PhDs.
Building on the broader strategic goals, Dr. Degife Assefa, Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at AMU, emphasized the significance of the visit in light of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two institutions. He highlighted successful ongoing projects such as the Mango and Cassava initiatives, which focus on enhancing crop diversity and exploring new opportunities in agricultural science. Dr. Degife expressed strong enthusiasm for expanding these collaborations, stating, “We are happy to work with partners from anywhere in the world.” The discussions further confirmed that the partnership will encompass six students traineeships for Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD candidates nominated under valid Erasmus+ agreements, which is the first in its kind, along with opportunities for academic staff to engage in teaching and joint research activities.
To offer deeper insight into the visiting institution, the CZU delegation, led by Assistant Professor Iva Kučerová from the Faculty of Tropical Agri-Sciences (FTA), delivered a comprehensive presentation. She highlighted CZU’s impressive scale, serving 21,000 students, including 6,000 international students, across six faculties. Professor Kučerová also outlined the FTA’s six-decade legacy in tropical agriculture, its rich multicultural environment, and specialized departments and facilities, including modern greenhouses and advanced laboratories. In addition, she presented an overview of the Erasmus+ Credit Mobility program, designed to strengthen academic collaboration, enhance skills and employability, and promote the internationalization of education and research in partner countries.
Another delegation team member also delivered a presentation on the interconnected study programs in sustainability and food quality offered at the bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD levels. He emphasized that studying at FTA would offer valuable opportunities for AMU students through shared expertise, practical learning, and collaborative research projects.
From AMU’s side, Dr. G.H. Shah from the Food Science and Postharvest Technology program, Department of Horticulture, shared the same enthusiasm, highlighting ongoing collaborations and prospects for future partnerships. He presented his own innovation, a solar dryer design, and expressed confidence that such collaborations could help scale it up to benefit the food processing sector. “This collaboration is both significant and inspiring,” Dr. Shah remarked.
The visit marked a pivotal moment in the partnership between AMU and the CZU, reinforcing their shared commitment to advancing food security, sustainable agriculture, and student mobility. Both institutions demonstrated a strong dedication to fostering innovative research and educational exchange, aiming to generate tangible benefits for local communities in Ethiopia and beyond while addressing global challenges such as food stability and security.
The collaboration framework is anchored in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between AMU and CZU in 2023, designed to promote mutual academic development through capacity building, joint research, and community outreach. The agreement focuses on enhancing staff and technical expertise, developing projects in food processing, nutrition, postharvest management, and horticultural value chains, and applying research to improve traditional farming practices. Leveraging AMU’s seven research centers covering areas of water, biodiversity, livestock, and neglected tropical diseases, and others, the partnership aligns with AMU’s Vision 2030 to become a top-tier, globally competitive university.
The event’s attendance by research directors, community cooperation and industry linkage officials, and heads of the Horticulture Department reflected the University’s unified commitment to this promising international collaboration.
For more Information Follow us on:-
Website - https://www.amu.edu.et/
Telegram - https://t.me/arbaminch_university
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ArbaMinchUniversityccd/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOO_nclhMo8M3r74OyPBlVA
Public and International Relations Executive
