Mekelle University
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Mekelle University ( ti, መቐለ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a higher education and training public institution located in
Mekelle Mekelle ( ti, መቐለ, am, መቀሌ, mäqälle, mek’elē) or Mekele is a special zone and capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta awraja in Tigray. It is located around north of the Ethiopi ...
,
Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray ...
,
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, 783 kilometers north of Ethiopia's capital,
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
. Mekelle University is one of the largest public universities in Ethiopia. It has seven colleges, eight institutes, and more than 90 undergraduate and 70 postgraduate programs. The student intake capacity of Mekelle University has reached 31,000 or 10% of Mekelle's population.


History

The Arid Zone Agricultural College was established at the University of Asmara, but was then moved to Agarfa in southern Ethiopia in 1990. In 1993, the Arid Zone Agricultural College was moved to Mekelle and started with 42 students in 3 degree programs. After two years, the Faculty of Science and Technology was established at the same campus and, together, these two faculties were then combined into Mekelle University College. Also, a Faculty of Law started its operation by accepting diploma students through a continuing education program. In May 2000, the Government of Ethiopia (Council of Ministers, Regulations No. 61/1999 of Article 3) formalized Mekelle University as an autonomous higher education institution. Professor
Mitiku Haile Mitiku Haile (born 1951) is Professor of Soil Science at Mekelle University (Ethiopia), undertaking research on sustainable land management, restoration of degraded lands and integrated soil fertility management. Career * 1985: MSc at Ghent ...
became the first president. The univerrsity has been closed during 2021 and 2022 due to the civil war.


Academics


Presidents

* Professor
Mitiku Haile Mitiku Haile (born 1951) is Professor of Soil Science at Mekelle University (Ethiopia), undertaking research on sustainable land management, restoration of degraded lands and integrated soil fertility management. Career * 1985: MSc at Ghent ...
(2000-2010) * Professor Joachim Herzig (2010-2013) * Professor
Kindeya Gebrehiwot Kindeya Gebrehiwot (born 1973) is an Ethiopian academic who is currently Professor of Forestry at Mekelle University (Ethiopia), undertaking research on forest regeneration, particularly frankincense trees. He studies the threats to this flagsh ...
(2013-2020)Mekelle University Board Approves Full Professorship Promotion of Dr. Kindeya Gebrehiwot and Dr. Gidey Yirga
EthioGRI, 2/8/2017, Sandra Turner
* Professor
Fetien Abay Fetien Abay Abera is professor of crop science at Mekelle University (Ethiopia), undertaking research on participatory plant breeding, particularly barley. She released five varieties of barley that have been widely adopted by farmers across the ...
(2020-2021) * Dr.
Fana Hagos Birhane Fana is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the southeastern part of the municipality of Bergen. The borough was once part of the historic municipality of Fana (municipality), Fana which was incorpo ...
(2021-ongoin


Colleges

*College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources Management *College of Natural and Computational Sciences *College of Law and Governance *College of Social Sciences and Languages *College of Business and Economics *College of Health Sciences and Ayder Referral Hospital *College of Veterinary science


Institutes

*Ethiopian Institute of Technology - Mekelle (EiT-M) *Institute of Paleo-Environment and Heritage Conservation *Institute of Geo-Information and Earth Observation *Institute of Environment, Gender, and Development Studies *Institute of Water and Environment *Institute of Climate and Society *Institute of Pedagogical Sciences *Institute of Energy (IoE) *
Mekelle Institute of Technology Mekelle Institute of Technology (MIT) is an educational institute created in Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, in 2002,Gregorian 2002 mostly overlaps with 1995 E.C. aiming to teach and do research in engineering, science and ...
(MIT-MU) *Sports Science Academy and Mekelle Stadium (under construction) *Ethiopian mechanical engineering society (under construction)


Development of the main campus

A village existed at the edge of the escarpment overlooking
Mekelle Mekelle ( ti, መቐለ, am, መቀሌ, mäqälle, mek’elē) or Mekele is a special zone and capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta awraja in Tigray. It is located around north of the Ethiopi ...
. On a nearby hill, the Iyesus church was established. The villagers fetched their water from the ''May Anishti'' spring underneath. In 1895, a fort was established on the small hill overlooking the campus, and the place served as a military stronghold, that was conquered by the Italian army in 1935. In 1938, there was a shop-restaurant, a post, telephone and telegraph office, an Italian military post and a military cemetery. In 1938, the village of Inda Iyesus counted approximately 350 inhabitants (including 45 Italians). After the Italian defeat in 1941, the place was taken over by the Ethiopian army, who expanded it into a large military camp. After the defeat of the Derg army in 1989, the place was used for a few years by the
TPLF The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ti, ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ, lit=Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray), also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist paramilitar ...
army after which it was transferred to the Ministry of Education for the establishment of the "Arid Zone College" that would gradually grow into Mekelle University. Popular names of the campus are taken from this history: ''Arid Campus'' and ''Inda Iyesus Campus''.


Parks

Mekelle University main campus hosts several parks: * Momona Park, called after a large ''momona'' tree (''
Faidherbia albida ''Faidherbia'' is a genus of leguminous plants containing one species, ''Faidherbia albida'', which was formerly widely included in the genus ''Acacia'' as ''Acacia albida''. The species is native to Africa and the Middle East and has also been ...
'') under which the first lectures were organised in the academic year 1993-1994 * Belgium Park, in reference to the longstanding cooperation with the
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
academic institutions (starting 1994) * The large ''May Anishti'' forest on the slope between campus and city.


Notable people

*
Samuel Urkato Samuel Urkato Kurke (; born 1 September 1974) is an Ethiopian politician and cabinet minister since October 2018. He was president of Wolaita Sodo University before becoming Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and has been Minister of Science and ...
, Minister of Science and Higher Education.


References

{{authority control Mekelle University Mekelle Educational institutions established in 1991 1991 establishments in Ethiopia Universities and colleges in Ethiopia