The newly appointed Academic Affairs Vice President, Dr Alemayehu Chufamo, believes in delineating precise strategic plan in measurable terms that should enable all users to achieve intended targets in a stipulated timeframe and carrying everyone along by building common understanding is his hallmark!

With him, he brings varied and rich administrative experience that will enable him to negotiate with vexed issues. However, he is a passionate individual yet being from Mechanical Engineering, knows how to fix problems of different nature with clinical detachment.

Spelling out his modus operandi, he said, Covid-19 pandemic is still around, so we are making best of whatever opportunities are available to handle academics. In November 2020, we have taken graduating class students who will soon be graduated. Master and Doctoral students’ studies continued unhindered. But we are looking for different conditions wherein Covid-19 will recede or not and then how to take non-graduating students. Probably beginning from 2nd week of February, we might take students in batches including 1st year, he stressed.

Presently, Ministry of Peace is imparting 45-day training to graduates from different universities for voluntary works. They will be acquainted with entire array of national services that include peace-building, patriotism, etc. and when it’s over, we will take the remaining students in Main Campus while things on other campuses will go on as per the schedule, he informed.

Elaborating further, he said, I profoundly believe in collective responsibility to bring in positive changes. Citing an incident during his selection process, he said, my strategic plan fascinated selection panel chief for my plans were drawn in measurable terms which were based upon AMU’s 10-year Strategic Plan.

The takeaway points of his plans are like achieving Master & PhD staff ratio of 50:50 in next 10 years. Secondly, in next 5 years, 90% of our laboratories need get fully equipped with scientific gadgets, digitalizing ICT system, refurbishing and expanding dormitory services, etc. These are specific provisions he would be focusing and striving to achieve during his tenure.

He said adding, I don’t want to impose my ideas on others, it should percolate down to my team and must go well with them. It should create a sense of belonging and drive them to implement plans with renewed vigor. On change, he said, basically, it comes from national level, but at the same time, we must have inner drive to achieve and attain what’s required of us.

AMU’s 10-year Strategic Plan has been my roadmap and depending upon those provisions, I could strategize my plans for academics and included specific points in measurable terms. Unless you have measurable objectives defined in specific terms, you can’t achieve them. Our strategies must have future plans in such a way that we must inter into agreement, follow up, coordinate, support and at the end of the day monitor and control in a measurable way, he added.

He adds, now AMU being Research University, research must be on the forefront for which we should have required human capital - Master and PhD staff ratio 50:50, teaching-learning and facilities need to be research-oriented wherein 90% laboratories should exclusively be for research. Thereby, we should boost auditing, evaluation and accreditation process within for which we need to bolster our Institutional Quality Assurance Directorate and invite external evaluators in that regard.

On global collaboration, he said, resources for building scientific infrastructure comes from abroad via international collaboration under different projects. Hereafter, AMU won’t have more buildings but upgrade and equip laboratories for research facilities with specific equipments. And in a year researchers will have their offices and other requisite facilities as new buildings with sufficient classrooms and offices are under construction, he added.

On new academic courses, he said, for the time being we might open new programs or close existing one if they aren’t required in the market. We respond to the emerging market demand; Abaya and Nechsar Campuses have already launched few programs and few may be phased out.

Accepting importance of classroom teaching, he said, Covid-19 has taught us to get acclimatized with online system and it has become one of the alternative means of teaching and we are doing pretty well. In

year’s time, we may launch online certificate programs for which we are developing curriculum and developing infrastructure for the same, thereafter, we may go for UG and PG courses.

Preparedness to handle incoming students’ diverse physical and psychological needs, he said, pandemic has not only affected our health but most of us even have had mental trauma and underwent different psychic issues. Therefore, we made proper preparation to handle such issues, in case, if any students need counseling, we will orient them to comply with Covid-19 protocol to cope up with situation. We don’t know how Covid-19 will behave but we will continue to use available opportunities and work aggressively to complete unaccomplished tasks.

Shedding light on his different positions within AMU, he said, I was Head of Mechanical Engineering Department from February 2004-August 2005, Registrar (Sept 2006 to Jan 2007), thereafter, I was Business and Development Vice President (Jan 2006 to Aug 2006), Administrative Vice President (Sept 2008 to July 2009) followed by Managing Director of Arba Minch Technology Institute (Feb 2014 to Oct 2017) and continued to be the Scientific Director of AMiT (Nov 2017 to Dec 2020) and on 21st December, 2020, I am elevated to the position of Academic Affairs Vice President, he summed up.

(Communication Affairs Directorate)