Arsi University in Adama, Ethiopia, hosted the third Joint Steering Committee meeting of the MAINSTREAM Project under the Intra Africa Academic Mobility Scheme from 5th to 9th October 2026, gathering representatives from seven partner institutions namely Mountains of the Moon University (Uganda), the University of Kara (Togo), Arsi University (Ethiopia), Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST, Kenya), Université du Sine Saloum El-Hâdj Ibrahima Niass (USSEIN, Senegal), the University of the Free State (South Africa), and Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences (Germany).
Opening the Joint Steering Committee meeting the Arsi University President Dr. Fikadu Mitiku Abdissa underscored the value of South-South academic collaboration and the importance of the collaboration in accelerating Human Development through increased quality of agricultural education and skills among staff and students of the partner universities. Prof. Kagambe Edmond the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Mountains of the Moon University noted the scheme’s transformative impact on scholarship recipients through cross-border learning experiences. He noted that the Project has provided pathways for university reforms and internationalization, raising the capacity of African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to send and host international scholars. The meeting was also attended by Prof. Violet Kisakye, the Coordinator of the Project.
In addition to reviewing 2025–2026 performance, the delegates selected the third cohort of 32 short term Master’s and 15 PhD scholarship recipients across six African partner universities. To showcase its commitment to experiential learning, applied research, and commercial agribusiness, Arsi University hosted the delegates on a comprehensive tour support facilities that included the university’s teaching hospital, tropical medicine laboratory, poultry and dairy units, wheat farm, and fruit processing plant, alongside the Chilalo Food Complex and the Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center.