By Charmaine Ndlela
The University of South Africa (UNISA) Ethiopia Regional Learning Centre (RLC) has celebrated the graduation of 98 postgraduate students, comprising 94 doctoral and four master’s graduates, underscoring its continued contribution to higher education and human capacity development in Ethiopia.
The centre, inaugurated in January 2007, serves as UNISA’s regional hub in Ethiopia and reflects the university’s commitment to expanding access to quality higher education beyond South Africa’s borders.
Established under the College of Graduate Studies, the Regional Learning Centre was created to support the Ethiopian government’s human capacity development initiatives in education.
It focuses exclusively on postgraduate students.
The centre provides student administration, academic and research support, and diplomatic engagement, including stakeholder relations and promoting UNISA’s international profile.
It enrols honours, master’s and doctoral students across UNISA’s eight colleges: the Colleges of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Accounting Sciences, Education, Economic and Management Sciences, Human Sciences, Law, Science, Engineering and Technology, and the Graduate School of Business Leadership.
Doctoral candidates make up the largest share of enrolments. As of June 2024, the centre had 681 registered doctoral students.
The Regional Learning Centre provides academic and administrative support to students in Ethiopia, including those serving in diplomatic missions in Addis Ababa.
Academic support includes postgraduate workshops, seminars and consultations on research proposals and projects, while administrative services cover admissions, registration, library access, ICT and finance.
The learning centre was established under a 2004 cooperation agreement between the South African and Ethiopian governments aimed at advancing a shared vision of a united, developed and prosperous Africa.
UNISA said most of its doctoral graduates from the centre are academics employed at Ethiopian public universities, strengthening the country’s higher education sector.
The university also collaborates with the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and Ethiopian universities to advance education, science and research across the continent.
According to UNISA, these partnerships support its institutional strategy while contributing to the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The university said that, as of September 2024, a total of 1,097 students had graduated through the Ethiopia Regional Learning Centre. Doctoral graduates account for 52% of all graduates, while 34% completed master’s degrees.
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