UNL’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications is working to maintain and improve a graduate journalism program in Ethiopia.
For the past few years, the College of Journalism and Mass Communications has been sending professors to Addis Ababa University (AAU) in Ethiopia to teach graduate-level courses.
AAU is the only institution in Ethiopia that runs a journalism graduate school program. It is also the oldest and largest university in the country, said Zenebe Beyene, the assistant dean in the School of Journalism and Communications at AAU.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is working with the Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication in Norway on the project, Beyene said.
The ultimate goal of this cooperation is to give AAU a self-sufficient program. The hope is that Ethiopia will benefit from the journalism experience of UNL and its professionals, Beyene said.
With the involvement of journalism college Dean Will Norton and others, UNL is also helping improve the library collection at AAU.
“The library at the school is now described as one of the best journalism and communication libraries in the region,” Beyene said.
Not only will this benefit Ethiopia, it could also help UNL.
“This collaboration gives UNL a great opportunity for research in the areas of cross-cultural communication,” Beyene said. “Helping a developing program like ours is a benefit in itself.”
The students in Ethiopia appreciate UNL’s efforts, Beyene said. UNL professors have quickly become among the most popular at AAU, he said.
Tim Anderson, one of the professors sent to AAU, lectured there on graphics and page design in November 2005.
Each semester, Norton tries to see what classes are needed and which professors are available. Generally professors stay for a week or so to teach a brief course. Right now, there are two professors from UNL teaching in Ethiopia, Anderson said.
“It was a great program and an honor to be involved with this program and teach those students,” Anderson said.
The instability in Ethiopia was a concern to those who made the trip. The protests and riots in the country allowed Anderson to teach for only a few days. He hopes to return some day.
“It was inspiring to teach students who thought they could improve their country with what we’re doing.”
