RESPOND-HER project presentation - Appear

Responding to Poverty and Disability
through Higher Education and Research
(RESPOND‐HER)
2011‐2014
Belay Hagos Hailu (PhD)
Addis Ababa University
13 November 2012, Vienna

Contents
• Background
• Objectives
• Expected Results
• AAU Project Team
• Major Activities and Outputs for Year I
• Achievements
• Challenges
• Way Forward

Background
• The project idea came up as a result of the
discussions we had with graduates with
disabilities in Ethiopia.
• At AAU, there are 347 students with disabilities
enrolled at the undergraduate programs in
various disciplines.
• Graduates frequently came for support when
they got frustrated with unemployment.
• Discussion with the Federation and National
Associations for Persons with Disabilities showed
that unemployment was a major issue.

General Objectives
I. Fostering the development of skills and
competencies of academic staff from Ethiopian
universities in order to enable research and
teaching in the field of special needs education
at high levels of scientific excellence.
II. Strengthening the rights and improving access
to higher education and employment of
students with disabilities (SWD) and thereby
contributing to poverty reduction among this
marginalized group in Ethiopia

Specific Objectives
1) Facilitating active participation of academic
staff from Addis Ababa University (AAU), in
particular junior and female researchers,
within a Project of Excellence research study.
2) Improving teaching skills and expertise of
academic staff at AAU in the field of special
needs education.

Specific objectives (cont’d)
3) Assessing access and barriers to higher education
for SWD at a broad range of Ethiopian universities.
4) Fostering development of diversity management
(DiM) strategies and supporting the
implementation of Disability Centers at Ethiopian
universities.
5) Enhancing existing services for SWD at Addis
Ababa University (AAU), including provision of
technical equipment.
6) Assessing and targeting barriers to employment
for SWD after graduation from university.

Expected Results
1) Enhanced research and academic writing skills of three to
five Ethiopian researchers (in particular junior and female
researchers).
2) Improved teaching skills and expertise of five Ethiopian
academics (in particular junior and female researchers) on
special needs education and on e‐learning techniques.
3) Successful involvement of six staff members of each
country in teaching exchange activities.
4) Implementation of DiM strategies and disability services
at eight to ten Ethiopian universities. Enhanced services
by Disability Centre at AAU (incl. technical equipment).
5) Improved understanding of major labor market barriers
for graduate SWD and of how to target these.

AAU Project Team Members
RESPOND‐HER Project Team Members of the Department of
Special Needs Education at Addis Ababa University include:
1) Professor Tirussew Teferra, Team Leader
2) Dr. Alemayehu Teklemariam, Member
3) Dr. Belay Hagos, Member
4) Mr. Fantahun Admas, Member
5) Mr. Moges Abey, Member
6) Dr. Sewalem Tsega, Member
7) Mr. Tilahun Achaw, Member
8) Dr. Yirgashewa Bekele, Member
9) Mr. Yeshitila Mulat, Administrative Assistant
10) Mrs. Mulu Alem, Secretary

Major Activities and Outputs for Year I
• Participated in exchange program for teaching in UV
& AAU
– Mr. Moges Abey & Mr. Tilahun Achaw participated in offering a
course in University of Vienna (23 Feb –8 March, 2012)
– Dr. Yirgashewa Bekele participated in offering a course in University
of Vienna (17‐30 April, 2012)
– Professor Tirussew Teferra participated in offering a course in
University of Vienna (1‐15 July 2012)
– Dr. Sewalem Tsega shared experiences with Mrs. Birgit on Center
for Students with Disabilities at the University of Vienna (October
24 –November 6, 2012)
– Dr. Belay Hagos is currently offering a course jointly with Dr. Mikael
Luciak at the University of Vienna (7‐21 November 2012)
– Ms. Michelle Proyer and Mr. Tobias Buchner shared their
experiences at Addis Ababa University (14‐25 May 2012)
– Two team members: Dr. Alemayehu Teklemariam & Mr. Fantahun
Admas will do the same joint team teaching through the exchange
program soon

Activities (cont’d)
• Participated in international conference in
different countries
– Professor Tirussew Teferra & Dr. Mikael Luciak jointly
presented a paper at the American Educational
Research Association Annual Meeting in Vancouver,
Canada, on April 2012.
– Dr. Yirgashewa Bekele and Ms. Margarita Sciemer
jointly presented a paper at the European Conference
of Educational Research in Cadiz, Spain on Sept 17‐21,
2012.
– Dr. Alemayehu Teklemariam, Ms. Margarita Schiemer,
Ms. Michaela Kramann are preparing to present a
joint paper in Sydney, Australia (2‐6 December 2012).

Activities (cont’d)
• Active involvement in research
– All team members participated in the process of
conducting the study on employability of university
graduates with disabilities
• Data collection
• Report writing
• Contributing inputs and feedback
• Dissemination of results
– Participation of University Students and Graduates
with Disabilities in the Project as
• Sources of data
• Data collectors and
• Assistants

Achievements
• Learning from one another; a learning event
• Federation and National Associations of Persons
with Disabilities are motivated to work with us
and appreciated the project goal
• Capacity of the staff of the department of special
needs improved in doing research (e.g., on
employability of graduates with disabilities)
• The project looks forward to build the capacities
of other ten universities in Ethiopia

Challenges
• Negative attitude towards PwDs
• General societal neglect of PwDs
• Poor enforcement of law
• Poverty; economic problems
• Accessibility issues

Way Forward
• RESPOND‐HER project is innovative and
participatory in its approach.
• The project can bring significant impact at
HEIs and in the lives of students and graduates
with disabilities.

Thank You!