Research Directorate

Ambo University is one of applied science Universities in Ethiopia and it is located in the Oromia region, West Shoa Zone, Ambo town. Just like other public Universities in the country, the University is engaged in teaching-learning, research and community engagement activities. All full time academic staffs in the University are expected to invest 60% of their time on teaching, 25% on research and 15% of community engagement/technology transfer activities.

The research office was structured under academic and research Vice president (the then nomenclature of Academic Affaires Vice President) before it started to function as an independent directorate. At that time the name given to the office was Research, Consultancy and Community Service Directorate. In 2015 G.C, the University made restructuring and established the office of the Vice President for Research and Community Service and under which a separate directorate with a separate budget was formed as research directorate and community service directorate.

Currently, research activities are organized by research directorate, which is one of the nine directorates structured under Research and Community Service Vice President. The directorate coordinates and facilitates the research activities centrally, prepare policies and guidelines which are used for implementation and administration of research projects.

In the history of the University, the first research conference was organized in 2013G.C and in the same year, the first proceeding an annual research conference was published formally and continued to be published still now. In 2014 Research Policy was prepared by the office and being used as a guideline for the office to administer research projects and by staffs to develop, review, conduct research proposals and report terminal reports. Currently there are four research guidelines (Research thematic areas, financial administration, Mega Project and Research policy and Guidelines) prepared, reviewed and waiting to be endorsed by the university senate.

The University has ample infrastructures including dedicated research laboratories, shared laboratories with academic activities, workshops plots of lands, forests and research centers, where researchers can conduct their experiments/researches. Being an applied University and nominated to excel in agriculture, the University focuses on applied and community need based research projects with special focus on agriculture related research projects. Joint research with a number of stakeholders nationally and internationally being conducted by the University faculty and a number of research outputs were and being published in internationally reputable and nationally accredited journals.

The research director welcomes any potential industry/company/stakeholder, who would like to collaboratively work with the Ambo University of Applied Science in any field of mutual interest.