Ethiopian University Starting Footwear Engineering Undergraduate Programme
The Addis Abba Science and Technology University (AASTU) is launching a new-undergraduate programme dubbed the Footwear Engineering course. The curriculum for this programme has been developed by the Leather Industries Development Institute (LIDI).
The university also offers another undergraduate programme dealing with leather processing; entailing tanning and crusting raw leather. Director General of LIDI, Wondu Legesse, said that the launching of this programme in AASTU is going to an important addition to the leather field. He also pointed out that more courses will be rolled out in other institutions of higher learning.
The undergraduate programme will run for five years, two years being theoretical studies and the remaining three years being practical training; the university will enrol 25 students for the first round of intake.
Wondu said that the programme is still under observations and according to the outcome, they may reduce the period for theoretical learning to just one year, the rest being practical learning. They also intend to increase the number of students enrolled into the programme per year as time goes by.
LIDI came up with the curriculum after consultation with experts from India from the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) and Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI) borrowing from the experiences that Indian Universities have.
The graduates of this programme are expected to be fully equipped with a set of skills that will enable them manufacture finished and value added leather products like shoes, gloves and other garment products. As of now, the institute has only six Ph.D. holders and 32 master holders in Footwear Engineering.
