Theme: Think FORWARD

Universities are meant to be standard setters, where great thinkers are produced. Ideas, rather, ideas that matter, are the central tools employed to help fulfill this noble cause of nation building, through fostering creativity and innovation. With the highest regard to TED’s mission of spreading ideas, we would like to emphasize the value of vision and positive impact. As the first ever TEDx event within the Addis Ababa University community, we strive to create a platform to revisit established thoughts by being ready to challenge and be challenged via the various topics from across the different disciplines, while promoting the underpinning thought of open dialogue and constructive engagement by thinking forward!

Goethe-Institut
College of Business and Economics
Addis Ababa, Ādīs Ābeba, 1193
Ethiopia

Abiy Zegeye

DRM expert

Abiy Zegeye is a faculty member of the Addis Ababa University. His primary teaching and research concerns molecular approaches to improving animal productivity. His academic focus has broadened and rests at the intersection of animal production's contribution to climate change and the management of climate induced disaster risks. Both as a keen observer and a spectator of the unfolding era coupled with his love of provoking a debate from a contrarian and counter intuitive point of view makes him an engaging speaker.

Asnake Kefale

Political scientist

Asnake Kefale, holds BA in Political Science and International Relations, Addis Ababa University (AAU), MA in International Relations, International University of Japan, and PhD in Political Science, Leiden University, the Netherlands. He is currently an assistant professor of Political Science at the AAU. In 2013/14, he was a recipient of the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship and visiting researcher at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. In 2014, he was an African Research Fellow at the London School of Economics. His research interests include international relations of the Horn of Africa, federalism and conflict management, political parties and civil society.

Emebet Mulugeta

Psychologist

Emebet Mulugeta is an associate professor at the School of Psychology and Center for Gender Studies, Addis Ababa University (AAU). She received her BA in Psychology from AAU, her M.Ed. in Developmental Psychology and her Ed.D.in Psychological Foundations of Education from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. She teaches Advanced Child Development, Research Methodology, and Gender and Policy Issues. Emebet is the founder and Director of Nia Center for Children and Family Development, a center conducting research on family and children’s issues; offering training on various topics related to parenting and children, and providing various psycho-social support to families. She has published several articles and book chapters on issues related to children, gender and education. In 2003 she was named a Prominent Woman Educationalist by the Forum for African Women Educationalists; in 2006 she was awarded the African Guest Researcher Scholarship from the Nordic African Institute in Sweden.

Ephraim Senbetta

Civil engineer

After spending his adult life in the United States(US), Dr. Ephraim Senbetta returned to Ethiopia as a Fulbright Scholar to teach at Addis Ababa University, Civil Engineering Department. He also teaches at Bahir Dar University and has been doing consulting work related to construction products, quality management and green buildings. While in the US he had different management responsibilities in building products companies. His experience includes work with a variety of “green”/ environmentally friendly construction products. He was also responsible for developing and implementing a sustainability program for his previous employer, Mapei Corporation, Florida. Dr. Ephraim received his B.S, M.S, and Ph.D degrees in Civil Engineering from Purdue University, USA. He is a registered Professional Engineer, a Certified Quality Auditor, a Six-sigma Black Belt and a LEED accredited professional qualified to work on green building projects. His passion is sustainability in all of its aspects.