Office of the Vice President for External Relations, Strategic Planning and Partnerships
Office of Community Service (OCS)
Addis Ababa University, as educational and research institution, is engaged in providing services to different communities and the society at large. Such services are basically dependent on the knowledge and innovations generated or developed by individual and teams of academicians and researchers of various Colleges, Schools, and Institutes of AAU. These services are considered to be instrumental to economic, social, cultural, environmental, technological and institutional changes and development of the nation. The services would also have important benefits to participating faculty of the University. Communities to which the services are targeted include industries and businesses, governmental and non-governmental development agencies, institutions, civic societies, policy makers, planners and experts at different social groups.
Community Service at AAU is officially launched in January 25, 2011. Since recently, as part of its reform agenda, AAU has recognized Community Service as one of its core missions, along with teaching and research. And more than ever, AAU is now strategizing and planning committed to actively involve with incubation, transfer and commercialization of knowledge, innovations and technology generated by various units and programs of the University. AAU is now ready to offer short term training and consultancy services on about 400 service areas. It is also ready to forge partnership and various engagements with industries, agencies and the wider community.
The Office of Community Service aims to ensure that AAU extends to the community through knowledge transfer and applications gained in academic teaching, research, and work experience for the benefit of the general public and proves the practical and direct relevance of the knowledge to the society.
The office comprises services delivered in the forms of outreach, training, consultancy and through university – industry partnerships.
The Office of Community Service is ready to:
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Respond to community needs and expectations consistent with AAU’s goals and objectives.
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Maintain and enhancing AAU’s contributions in intellectual, educational, cultural, and other services to local, state, national and international communities.
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Promote educational, academic and cultural values of the general community and fostering awareness of AAU in the community as an academic, educational and general resource.
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Provide a rich cultural environment for faculty and students that is consciously spread into the local community and on campus.
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Accept the role as an intellectual leader with national and international contexts, and stimulating and contributing to debates on cultural, economic, environmental, scientific and social issues.
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Develop links with stakeholders at national and international levels.
The Office of community service also aims to serve as a plate form for socially responsible activities of the faculty at AAU & aimed at transferring or reaching out study/research-based cultural, social and economic knowledge and innovations, getting feedbacks, and forging partnerships and sharing experiences with various industries, development agencies, social groups (e.g. students and women) policy makers and institutions. These outreach activities are expected to contribute to the advancement of human development and life in terms of cultural, moral, social, economic, scientific, technological, and environmental aspects of various communities and the public at large.
In general, when the faculty does community service (outreach, training and consultancy works, and partnering with industries), it is not just doing something for some body else rather it is a service that helps the provider as well as the recipient in sharing experiences and support each other with the faculty’s efforts and initiatives.
Community service, as an important public good, is of high priority in the overall reform strategic plan of the university. Hence, it requires an appropriate direction to set a new process in motion and bring about qualitative changes that promotes the interests of the public. For this reason appropriate policies and procedures are drafted and ready for implementation.
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