‘It was a great opportunity. By studying abroad through the Chevening scholarship I was able to specialise in the field I am most passionate about and built an invaluable network in Ethiopia and abroad’, Selam Mussie said. He is a Chevening scholarship alumna who studied gender and media at the University of Sussex, UK, and is now living in Addis Ababa and working as a freelance media and communications consultant in that field.
Youth unemployment is an ongoing problem in Ethiopia. The majority of the people below 25 years who want to work are not able to find jobs. 31 national public universities continue to produce workplace-ready graduates. As a result, a growing number of Ethiopians look for employment opportunities abroad and decide to migrate, often through irregular pathways. This makes them vulnerable and possible victims of human trafficking and smuggling.
Under the Better Migration Management (BMM) programme, funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has developed a booklet aimed at Ethiopian university and graduate students as well as young professionals, who may be interested in continuing their education abroad. The booklet contains a selection of scholarship opportunities available to Ethiopian citizens and/or nationals wishing to study through government-funded scholarships.
Studying abroad has gave Selam Mussie the competitive edge he needed to build a career of his own upon his return. Furthermore, Dr. Berhanu Gizaw, Director of the Association of Ethiopians Educated in Germany, explains that apart from improving individual career prospects, studying abroad and the exposure to different education systems contributes to the development of students’ home countries. For example, Ethiopian students educated in Germany contribute to knowledge transfers and support the integration of new disciplines into the Ethiopian higher education system. Furthermore, programmes like the one run by the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) support Ethiopian diaspora educated in Germany in their return plans and facilitate job searches.
The booklet “Connecting Ethiopians Students and Young Professionals to Global Opportunities” was launched at the Goethe Institute in Addis Ababa, earlier this month. 75 students and young professionals participated in the event and received the scholarship booklet. Representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Ethiopia and other diplomatic missions, such as the British and Chinese embassies, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM), and the Association of Ethiopians Educated in Germany joined the event and discussed study abroad opportunities.
In the opening remarks, Emanuela Parisciani, Programme Manager for Migration at the Delegation of the European Union to Ethiopia, stressed the importance of moving under safe and dignified conditions, which the European Union is supporting under the Better Migration Management Programme. Joshua Friedman, BMM regional coordinator for Ethiopia and Djibouti, added the need to improve knowledge on legal migration options. He said the brochure was created to raise awareness of legal and safe migration opportunities for Ethiopians to study abroad.
The brochure is available online here.
Details
- Publication date
- 20 November 2019
- Region and Country
- Ethiopia
- Thematic
- Improved migration management
- Partner
- GIZ