Jimma University (JU) is a public research university located in Jimma, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is recognized as the leading national university, as ranked first by the Federal Ministry of Education for four successive years (2009-2012). The establishment of Jimma University dates back to 1952 when Jimma College of Agriculture was founded. The university is located in the city of Jimma, situated around 352 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa. Its grounds cover some 167 hectares.
Jimma University was founded in the 1980s through the merging of the Jimma Institute of Health Science and the Jimma College of Agriculture. Both institutions had been national leaders in their respective fields, and with the merger, the development of a new, multifaceted and development-oriented institution was able to emerge from the two former specialty institutions.
Jimma University Main Gate
Early Beginnings: Jimma College of Agriculture
The establishment of Jimma university dates back to 1952 when Jimma College of Agriculture was founded. An operational agreement between Technical Cooperation Administration of the USA and the Imperial Ethiopian Government signed June 24, 1952, provided for the development and operation of an agricultural secondary school which would also furnish interim facilities for beginning the Agricultural College. It was further agreed that courses of study would be offered for the training of agricultural technicians.
The Imperial Ethiopian Government agreed to make available all existing buildings, equipment, machinery, tools, teaching materials, land, and facilities at Jimma together with two gashas (approximately two hundred acres) of land for practical work and experimentation in Agriculture. The first staff from Oklahoma University for the JATS school arrived in early September 1952. School was scheduled to open in October.
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In the formative years of higher education in Ethiopia, the role and contribution of the JATS is especially significant. In these early years, the JATS provided all the teaching and research facilities required for university training in agriculture. Until the 1958-59 academic year, students in the first two years of collage stayed at JATS after which they were transferred to Alemaya to complete the rest of their undergraduate training. Until 1968, the JATS served as the major source of students with the required agricultural background for the collage of agriculture. After 1968, entry to Alemaya is based on the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) and the overall admission standards of the rest of the AAU system.
Expansion and Innovation
JU is Ethiopia's first innovative community-oriented educational institution of higher learning, with teaching centers for healthcare students in Jimma, Omo Nada, Shebe, Agaro, and Asendabo. JU is a pioneer in Public health training. It has academic and scientific collaboration with numerous national and international partners. Jimma University is one of Africa's largest and most comprehensive public research universities.
Jimma University is highly committed to pioneering concepts, as reflected in its motto, the university was initially founded based on the concept of Community-Based Education (CBE). Throughout its history, the university has been committed to this scheme, and almost all of the academic curriculum are based on CBE programs.
The university is operating on four campuses and is establishing its fifth campus at Agaro. The university has many national and international linkages and collaborations in research, education, and community service.
Jimma University Students
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College of Health Sciences
The establishment of the College of Health Sciences of Jimma University (JU) can be traced back to 1983 with the birth of the then Jimma Institute of Health Sciences (JIHS). The very beginning of the establishment of JIHS is marked as a continuation of the Ras Desta Damtew Health Assistant Training School established in 1967 by the Ethio-Netherlands Health Project on the premises of Jimma Hospital. On this foundation, the School of Nursing was established in 1983.
Jimma University Teaching Hospital (JUTH)
Jimma University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) is one of the oldest public hospitals in the country. It was established in 1922. Geographically, it is located in Jimma City 352 km southwest of the capital Addis Ababa. However, in later times, it became evident that some side-wing buildings were constructed by different stakeholders at different times to respond to the ever-growing pressure of service demand and clinical teaching needs derived from the public and Jimma University respectively.
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, as a national role model for research-oriented departments, was established with a start-up budget of US$10 million. This is the first comprehensive department of materials science in Ethiopia, which offers all MSE programs.
Academic Programs
At Jimma University there are seven colleges and institutes offering degree programmes, including: technology, agriculture and veterinary medicine, health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, business and economics and law and governance. Across these colleges and institutes, 56 undergraduate and 103 graduate and doctorate degrees are on offer to students in a range of degree programmes such as health promotion and behaviours, midwifery, hydraulics and water resources engineering, plant breeding, and Afan Oromo and literature.
International Collaboration
Jimma University has a history of international collaboration, with international partners and its partnership with the University of Oklahoma helped the university address agricultural matters in the 1960s. JU is Ethiopia's first innovative community-oriented educational institution of higher learning. The university has many national and international linkages and collaborations in research, education, and community service. Jimma University has become a hub of intellectual and academic activity that attracts thought leaders, innovators, educators and leaders from around the country. Jimma University emphasizes that the power of collaboration is greatest when there is the most diverse set of international partners.
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Facilities and Resources
The Jimma University has more than 4,000 faculty and staff members. It also has twelve research facilities, a modern hospital, a community school, a community radio station (FM 102.0), an ICT center, libraries, and revenue-generating enterprises.
While outside the capital, Jimma University has had the ability to maintain a standard of education not found elsewhere in the country. With international partners from the University of Oklahoma in the United States, Jimma University’s parent institution the Jimma College of Agriculture was founded to address matters of agriculture in the 1960’s. Jimma University has hosted partners from all around the world for decades. Such long term partners include foreign teaching staff from India and the Philippines, Cuban doctors and development professionals, American and European doctors and public health professionals, and Asian development partners from South Korea, Japan and China. Foreign partners often regard Jimma University as a unique, yet little known major institution of research and higher education. Today, Jimma University has numerous Memorandums of Understanding’s with a variety of partners from around the world.
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