Ethiopia Platform
Several participants of the January 2015 Symposium were photographed during one of the daily sessions
To maximize an approach that created synergy across the multiple disciplines represented, an overarching theme of “Healthy Cities� was identified. Within this theme, three sub-themes were recognized: urban systems (e.g., water, infrastructure, technologies, transportation), vulnerable populations, and human resource capacity building through education (e.g., biomedical sciences, engineering sciences). Discussion and work plans within each group focused on exchange of faculty and learners for purposes of faculty development, inter-professional education, scholarship, practice-based experiential learning that is developmentally appropriate, and advocacy/policy. Bi-lateral discussions helped to develop a list of actionable tasks on topics of interest to the participants and other stakeholders. Such topics included: seed grants; design of assessment and technology implementation to support humanitarian needs in transportation and health; development of STEM graduate education and research; medical school education and faculty development; water science and technology, health and planning; electrical engineering and computer science; healthy cities; and vulnerable populations. Faculty at UMMS are now working closely with Professor James Holloway, UM Vice Provost for Global and Engaged Education, who is taking an institutional approach to advancing what has been learned from the EM-PACE initiative.
One of the projects that was highlighted at the symposium focused on the evaluation of tap water quality before and after point-of-use filtration in Addis Ababa. Ms. Chia-Chen Wu (right), who is a doctoral student in the UM Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is shown with Mr. Bayable, a lecturer and PhD fellow at Addis Ababa University. They were measuring chlorine residual in one of the tap water sampling points. Mr. Bayable is now visiting UM to help analyze the water samples. Faculty lead on this project is Dr. Nancy Love, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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