The LMEU project aimed to play an instrumental role in modernizing higher education leadership and management capacities in Ethiopia.

Key information 

Building Institutional Capacity in Leadership and Management of Ethiopian Universities (LMEU)

Project Budget€699,035 with MFA funding, total budget € 767 613,36
Project Duration: 1 March 2017-30 - 30 April 2021 
Coordinating Institution: University of Tampere 
Partner Institution(s): Addis Abeba University, Ethiopia; Bahir dar University, Ethiopia; Mekelle University, Ethiopia; Ugandan Management Institute, Uganda; Makarere University, Uganda; KwaZulu-Natal University, South Africa 

Project description and key results 

The LMEU Project set to play an instrumental role in modernising the higher education (HE) leadership and management capacities of Ethiopian partner universities. The LMEU Project identified three major partner universities in Ethiopia. These were Addis Ababa University (AAU), Bahir Dar University (BDU) and Mekelle University (MU).  

The breakthrough in the LMEU project was the opening of the joint PhD programme in HE leadership and management. In one hand, the joint PhD programme was the first in its kind in the Ethiopian HE system in content and structure. There has not been a single university in Ethiopia that neither open a PhD programme in HE leadership and management nor committed to establish a joint PhD programme in the same field with international universities.

On the other hand, the opening of the joint PhD programme has perfectly served the very purpose of the project to strengthening the academic knowledge base of HE Management and Leadership in Ethiopia and well aligned with the national and institutional higher HE policy frameworks’ scopes and need of the country.

In line with this, the joint PhD programme is designed to enhancing the learning experiences of the students’ by providing student-centred pedagogical approaches; organising extensive doctoral seminars; developing continuous supervision models; carrying out student mobility programme and conducting highly relevant higher education workshops and conference.  

Another major highlight of the project was the efforts made to strengthening professional training in HE leadership and management in Ethiopia. During this period, four major activities were carried out and major milestones were also achieved. The activities were the finalisation of the three training modules, such as higher education system and policy; organizational Change and Strategic Management in Higher Education; and organisational dynamics of universities that are supposed to serve as study and training guides for the Ethiopian HE leaders who would participate in the professional development training.

The development of the three modules was participatory and all project members in Ethiopia contributed their inputs from the beginning to end. To further improve the quality of the training modules, Ugandan and South African project partners participated in commenting and improving the contents, method and structure of the modules. The involvement of the Ugandan and South African colleagues enhanced the collaboration between the partner universities and supported the Ethiopian partners develop quality training modules, which later would serve at a national level. The major highlight of the development of the professional development training modules is the participation of the Ethiopian doctoral students in the preparation of the modules. It is believed that the opportunity they received in the development of the modules enabled them to convert their theoretical knowledge into something practical.

See LMEU's website