From 2nd -5th of June, 2023, post graduate students at Africa Center of Excellence for Climate Smart Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation, Haramaya University, who have submitted their papers for presentation in this round of University wide schedule for open defenses have successfully defended their findings. In this round, the Center has examined members of its first, second and third Cohort PhD students. Some of the Third and Fourth Cohort MSc students have also defended their theses. In this round of open defense, Three PhD dissertations and 11 MSc theses have been assessed by the board of examiners from different fields of specializations.
The examination has been employed in a virtual and face to face presence of the board of examiners and advisory committees. The board of examiners with potential experiences in advising and examining graduate students, and having incredible experiences of publications on reputable journals have joined the Center from research institutions and universities in Ethiopia, and across Africa regions. Critical examinations were undertaken, scientific discussions have been exchanged with the participation of students and members of staff from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences of Haramaya University.
All the presented papers were successfully defended and accepted in the partial fulfillments of the requirements for the degrees in their respective fields of studies with very attractive grade results. The PhD dissertations have focused more on the areas of Special distribution of soil organic carbon, Impact of landscape management options and Spaciotemporal dynamic of woody species diversity. The three PhD students who have successfully defended and ready to graduate could be taken as an emblem of progress in the achievements of the Center in changing its objectives into remarkable goals. Currently, the center has successfully managed to graduate 12 PhD students.
By this time, about 64 MSc and 12 PhD students have successfully completed their studies including the ones that have already graduated in the previous rounds. In the near future, the Center expects more PhD and MSc candidates who are on a way to finish their studies by which it aspires to continue to produce more graduates in the fields of Climate Smart Agriculture and Biodiversity management.
