Mr. Tadesse Jaleta

RPO head

tadejaleta@yahoo.com

Welcome to the

Research and Publication Office

Until 2001 there was no office that would initiate and coordinate the research activities in the then Dilla College of Teacher Education and Health Sciences (the forerunner of today's Dilla University). Therefore, the academic staff members, on individual basis, exerted effort to conduct micro research activities.

In 2001, an office for initiating and coordinating research and publication activities was established: the Research and Publication Office (RPO).

 

In 2002-03 academic year, the RPO began to function properly and it was then that the tradition of availing funds for research projects on competition basis began. In that year, 16 research projects: 10 from the Faculty of Teacher Education (FTE) and six from the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) were selected and funded by the College and ESTC.

In 2003-04, five projects (three from the FTE and two from the HS) were selected and funded. The focus areas of the projects were on teaching techniques, health, and science education. They were completed as scheduled.

In 2004-05, the College allocated funds for three research projects that dealt with areas of practicum, educational management, and traditional medicine. The projects were completed successfully.

In 2005-06, eight research projects were carried out with money allocated from the College and all of them were completed on time. The projects dealt with issues related to practicum, science education, distance education, indigenous knowledge, and English language education.

In 2006-07, 16 research projects were carried out and all of them were completed.

In 2007-08, 12 research projects are in progress.

Research Vision
Dilla University will be one of the centers of excellence in research and publication in sciences and technology. It will become one of the international institutions where scientists from different corners of the world come together and conduct researches on topics related to social, cultural, economic, and political life of the South Ethiopian nations and nationalities.

The University will run large-scale research projects in technology, education, and social and natural science areas in its research centers and will contribute to the strategies for realization of the Ethiopian national policies of poverty reduction, democratization, and sustainable development.

The University will have nationally and internationally reputable journals in which valuable research findings will be published. Furthermore, DU will have very good research collaborations with universities in Ethiopia and abroad.

Research Mission
Research is one of the major responsibilities that DU is expected to carry out. The research activities in DU are mandatory for two important reasons:

First, it is through research activities that instructors can effectively attain continuous professional development. Research activities involve planning, reading, thinking, investigating, discovering, writing, creating and applying.

Theses are activities of advanced and continuous learning. It is possible to say that researchers are always in the process of learning. In order to update themselves in line with recent theories, enrich their subjects with modern discoveries and provide their students with improved knowledge and applications, academic staff of the university should engage themselves in research.

Second, research reinforces the relations between DU and the society. It is through research activities that the university intervenes in the social and economic challenges of the society and finds out scientific solutions. In doing so, DU contributes to the attainment of socio-economic development of the country. In such a way, the link between the university and the communities in its surrounding will be strengthened.

On the basis of the above notions, the research activities of Dilla University aim at:

• Encouraging instructors and students to engage themselves in micro and macro research projects through which they can achieve continuous academic and professional developments;

• Generating and disseminating new theories, applications and technologies in social, natural, and humanity sciences;

• Identifying, analyzing, and solving the socio-economic problems of the surrounding communities in particular and of the nation in general; and

• Discovering relevant and applicable strategies of national development; generally, the empowerment of research activities is believed to be the major way of making the university a center of excellence.

  Priority areas

DU is located in the region where natural beauty and cultural diversity call close attention of local and international researchers. The intact cultural treasures and the rich natural environment observable in the catchments of the university should be focal areas for the research activities.

Based on this condition, DU works towards integration of indigenous knowledge in its training systems. Thus, the RPO gives priority to indigenous/local studies in natural and social science perspectives.

It also gives attention to application and evaluation-oriented research projects that will come up with solutions to practical problems of our society. Problems related to, for example, natural resource management, educational development, gender, good governance, poverty reduction, and other development oriented issues, are given priorities.