Debub (Awasa) University

Hawassa University (HU) was established at Hawassa in April 2000.Since 1976 the different colleges of HU had been operational starting with the college of Agriculture. The University has been formed by merging three colleges in Southern Ethiopia: Awassa College of Agriculture (ACA), Wondogenet College of Forestry and Dilla College of Teacher Education and Health Sciences. The historical background of the three colleges is briefly described below.

At the time of establishment of theHawassaUniversityin April 2000, there was no Internet connection to speak of, except for few dial-up connections at some offices. Specifically, there was one in the Library that served one University staff at a time mainly for sending/receiving e-mail messages. After the establishment of the ICT Center in late 2000 with some 20 computers at its disposal, a shared dial-up Internet connection was introduced which, for the first time, started to serve the University staff to get access to the Internet (WWW and E-mail).

In the year 2003, the MoE has sponsored the establishment of campus-wide networks at the Awassa College of Agriculture, Wondogenet College of Forestry and Dilla College of Teachers Education and Health Sciences (DCTEHS). Soon after the deployment of the network, a broadband Internet connection was introduced.

In the year 2008, a campus-wide network was established at the main campus. Moreover, the three campuses atHawassaCity, i.e. the Main Campus, the College of Health Sciences and the College of Agriculture, were interconnected via fiber-optic cables and these campuses were connected to the Internet through two gateways (at the Main Campus and the Awassa College of Agriculture).

Mission
Our mission is to provide, coordinate, and facilitate the use of ICT in all activities of the University in order to facilitate change.

Vision
Our vision is to exploit ICT to its full potential thereby assisting the University in elevating its position to a center of academic excellence.

Objectives
The ICT Directorate office was established to meet the following objectives:
To plan, develop and manage University-wide ICT infrastructure
To develop/acquire relevant applications
To manage operations and maintenance of ICT resources
To train end-users on computer literacy and offer end-user computing support
To promote staff development program to ensure that ICT staff continue to acquire the necessary skills to provide high-quality services and support
To advise and consult the University management on the acquisition of ICT resources and related issues
Carry out researches in ICT

Major Tasks
Major tasks done by the ICT Directorate in the year 2011 include:

A design for network expansion in all the campuses is undergoing; soon there will be a bid floating.

The complex of the staff office and the IOT building at the main campus have been connected to the campus-wide network through wireless bridges. An Internet pool is established at the complex of the staff office and wireless access points are installed at strategic points.
A purchase of WiMax devices has been made and it will soon be installed in the Main Campus to supplement the cabled networks.
An on-line grade submission system has been developed; it will soon be deployed.
The University web-site has been redesigned and is being populated with data.
A team of application developers is engaged in developing a system for automating the University Hotel.
An ICT Policy is almost finished with only some refinement remaining. It will soon be presented for comment and then it will made public.
Establishment of the ICT Directorate office in the year 2009, following the BPR study.
Recruitment of some staff on the basis of contract and assignment of some academic staff to work under the directorate office.
The networking of all existing campuses, interconnecting the campuses and introduction of broadband network for use both by staff and students
Starting to engage in applications development

Achievements of the Office
Achievements of the ICT Directorate office may be summarized as:

Establishment of the ICT Directorate office in the year 2009, following the BPR study.
Recruitment of some staff on the basis of contract and assignment of some academic staff to work under the directorate office.
The networking of all existing campuses, interconnecting the campuses and introduction of broadband network for use both by staff and students
Starting to engage in applications development

Debub (Awasa) University Degree Programs :

Medicine

Nursing

Public Health

Video Presentation

Bayissa Geleta - Compassion Ethiopia

Bayissa Geleta, 21 is from Gebre Guracha, Ethiopia. Compassion has identified him as an outstanding student. Bayissa is currently a first year student attending Hawassa University for Business Management and Economics. He will receive Christian leadership training and mentoring in addition to his studies.