Effort to Establish NSBE Chapter at Addis Ababa University (NSBE-AAU):
Phase I Summary by Sintayehu Dehnie
In the initiative to establish NSBE in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa University (AAU) is chosen strategically due to its historical significance as the oldest higher education institution in the country and one of the oldest (if not the oldest) modern African Universities. Once NSBE-AAU is established, it will take the leadership of establishing Chapters in the other higher education institutions. Faculty of Technology of AAU, one of the well established Engineering schools in the country, is leading the current NSBE-AAU effort at AAU.
The Effort at Faculty of Technology
As a first step we had one-to-one meeting the Heads of the Departments to brief them about NSBE and its mission statement. We also briefed them on the benefit of having a NSBE chapter in Ethiopia. A brief meeting with the Dean of the Faculty of Technology was also arranged. All the key people we talked to seemed enthusiastic about NSBE-AAU. We seized this opportunity and called a meeting to introduced NSBE to the Faculty of Technology.
Considering the short notice of the first meeting, there was good attendance by faculty, undergraduate and graduate students. The meeting began by introducing the Mission of NSBE. We talked about history of NSBE, its organizational structure and the governing documents. The presentation was well received by the attendees who suggested that a general body meeting be called to introduce NSBE a larger audience. Thus, we called the first general body meeting to reach out all students and faculty. This time we had a poster of the meeting and announcement was posted at different locations within the Faculty of Technology.
The first general body meeting was held on January 30, 2009 at the Auditorium. The meeting was attended by more than 40 students and a few faculty members. We began the meeting by reading NSBE’s mission statement. The presentation in this meeting was more detailed. The presentation included history of NSBE (The Chicago Six), organizational structure, NSBE budget, duties and responsibilities of each NSBE officer etc. Highlights of Chapter activities at NYU-Poly and Ghana were presented. We emphasized the work of NSBE-Ghana to motivate the audience.
