November Brownbag Speaker: Dr. Abeje Kassegne Visits PIRE Students
“Engineered systems are only as powerful as they are practical for the users”, notes Genevieve Rigler, civil engineering undergraduate, at the end of the guest speaker lecture on November 29 by Dr. Abeje Kassegne’s, one of PIRE’s Ethiopian-based international collaborators.
PIRE students came to celebrate the end of the semester with a guest visit from Dr. Kassegne, professor of Sociology at Addis Ababa University. Dr. Kassegne’s research focuses on migration and community development, agricultural extension, rural livelihoods and indigenous farming systems, making him a valuable member of the PIRE research team and community, which was apparent through his thoughtful andragogy marked by rich discussions throughout the presentation.
He began with an overview of Ethiopia, stating that it is the second most populous country in Africa with a population of 105 million, 65% of which are under 30 years old. The physical landscape lends itself to the issue of drought and the effects of climate change which makes for an interesting intersection between social science and scientists.
“The population has a robust culture variance with many ethnic and religious group. The ethnic-based federalism is hailed by some and criticized by others. However, there is optimism for the future as the new leadership shows as populist, progressive, pro-Ethiopian and inclusive. Recent political success includes the border conflict with Eritrea being settled amicably, thousands of political prisoners being released, the reformation of the justice system, the establishment of the Ministry of Peace and, most recently, the election of the first female President by members of the Ethiopian parliament” he states.
Dr. Kassegne went on to explain the preservation and evolution of social science through political history. “Sociology provides knowledge, perspective and expertise of Ethiopian realities from an in situ point of view. Appreciating indigenous knowledge and indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms will be a valuable entry point for Ethiopian social scientists in the immediate future”.
Sociological expertise for the lifecycle of the research and project in the field is manifold, PIRE sociologists work to:
- Examine the social organization of irrigation (e.g. the water users’ association)
- Promote and integrate gender in the design and implementation of irrigation projects
- Understand conflict resolution mechanisms in the use of irrigated water
Dr. Kassegne’s visit illuminated the social landscape for students yet to travel to Ethiopia and offered valuable insight for graduate students currently conducting their work and for the engineering undergraduate students who will develop their research project and methods in the spring of 2019.
The next discussion between Dr. Kassegne and the PIRE students will be in the summer of next year, in Ethiopia.
Categories: News
Published: December 1, 2018