The Africa Center of Excellence for Water Management (ACEWM) put the quality and relevance of its educational programs as its utmost priority since its commencement of actual academic operations in the 2017/18 academic year.

in order to evaluate program effectiveness, improve curricula and support services, enhance graduate employability, strengthen industry partnerships, engage alumni, and maintain institutional accountability; it is essential to undertake a Graduate Tracer Study(GTS).By tracking the career outcomes and experiences of graduates, the Center is aiming to make data-driven decisions to align its programs with water and other sector needs, prepare students for the job market, and ensure educational programs remain relevant and valuable.

To this end, GTS has been conducted for both Master’s and PhD graduates in the various specialization tracks of the Center. As the ACEWM is a relatively new Center, the total number of graduates, who have completed their studies, is limited. Accordingly, the graduate tracer study covers all graduates from the Center and students who have successfully completed all the requirements of the AAU and the Center for completion of their studies. A non linear platform has been used through a well-designed questionnaire to be completed by all graduates. The survey targets all MSc and PhD graduates of ACEWM from 2018/19.It considered a5% margin of error and an 80 percent minimum response rate. The online survey was sent to all graduates via their email addresses. The total number of potential respondents for whom the survey instrument is sent for are the 12 PhD and 68 MSc graduates of the center by the time of the survey. From these, a total of 66 responses were collected accounting for 55 MSc and 10 PhD graduates which correspond to 82.5 percent response rate.

The survey instrument has been designed to align with the Center’s objective to further strengthen the quality and relevance of its programs.

In general, the study revealed that ACEWM is equipping graduates to the level required and aspired by students. Moreover, the tracer study highlighted the need for more resources in line with accommodation, recreational and medical facilities. The finding also indicated the need for future refresher specialized short courses to continuously upgrade skills of graduates relevant to the demand of their work area.

For more information, please visit our website link https://acewm-aau.org/research-documents