On December 2021, the Africa Centre of Excellence for Water Management received conditional accreditation from AQAS for its three PhD and Five MSc Programs. AQAS announced its conditional accreditation when the Agency issued Quality Assurance Accreditation Certificate Award to ACEWM last year. The international Accreditation Institution Agency for Quality Assurance (AQAS) is a prestigious and reputable international nongovernmental organization founded in 2002 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany.

AQAS worked to improve the quality and relevance of Higher Educational Institutions inside and outside Germany through its numerous educational quality assurance accreditation initiatives and programs that support academic institutions and centers of excellence to increase their acceptance and enhance their reputation and prestige. More than 80 higher education institutions and academic association members support AQAS. To date, it has accredited more than 3,500-degree programs at Universities of applied sciences. The Agency is a member of various international education networks.

Incognizant of these notable initiatives, invaluable contributions, and prominent roles played by AQAS, and to underpin and buttress excellence in Learning and Teaching, Research and Innovation, Community service, and capacity-building objectives, ACEWM sought and applied for international recognition and accreditations for its three PhD and five MSc programs by AQAS. ACEWM submitted a comprehensive self-evaluation report (SER) and supplementary documents to demonstrate its capacity and capability ingrained in its academic programs and overall performance. The accredited programs include Aquatic Ecosystems Management (PhD), Hydrology and Water Resources Management (PhD), Water Science and Technology (PhD), Aquatic Ecosystems Management (MSc), Hydrology and Water Resources (MSc), Water Quality Management (MSc), Water Supply and Sanitation (MSc), Water and Wastewater Technologies (MSc).

After a thorough critical assessment and review of Self Evaluation Report (SER), support document, virtual site visit, and open discussions with academic staff, students, and AAU leadership AQAS decided to issue conditional accreditation for the Centre notwithstanding adherence to all recommendations made by the Commission and Panel of Experts until Dec 2022. ACEWM worked to address and fulfill the conditions accordingly and timely and awaits AQAS Standing Commission’s final decision passed on December 5, 2022.

In its meeting held on 5 December 2022, AQAS standing Commission decided that ACEWM fulfilled all the conditions for the study program “Water Management” (Master of Science) and “Water Management” (PhD) and issued full recognition and accreditation for ACEWM. As a result, AAU has become the only university from Ethiopia registered in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) which is the European Higher Education Area’s official register of quality assurance agencies that substantially comply with the

ESG.https://www.eqar.eu/qa-results/search/by-institution/institution/?id=7367

ACEWM staff, students, AAU leadership, the academic community, partners, and donors expressed their ecstasy for the marked reputation and prestige ACEWM earned through hard work, dedication, and academic integrity.