Salale University (SLU) is one of the newly established public universities located 110 km from Finfine in Northern Shoa zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Based on the century’s' request of Salale community and the direction of the government to address education to address education where it required, the now SLU was established as independent institution in 2016 to perform learning and teaching processes, to conduct problem solving researches and to give community services.
Research discovers, elucidates and evaluates new knowledge, ideas, and the technologies essential in driving the future of society and humanity. Without research, a relevant and modern curriculum does not exist; research fosters professional excellence in faculties, important for delivering outstanding student education and training.
When our staffs engage in research, with its deliberate process and requirements for critical thinking skills, they become better researchers and are best prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the future that might face our community. Because research is an opportunity to make a difference and it is open to everyone and thrives on a diversity of approaches and perspectives; research activities and services have critical economical, societal and environmental impacts not only regionally but also has nationally and internationally.
Therefore, the office of Research and Publication Directorate (RPD) of SLU is responsible for leading, coordinating and facilitating the University’s research and publication activities. In our context, it includes the broad spectrum of research, scholarly and creative activities undertaken by staff and students of our colleges that lead to original findings, products, and services. Thus, an important underlying objective of our research is conducting problem solving and applicable researches that their results and activities will be shared and disseminated both typically and electronically through the standards of peer-reviewed publication, proceedings, etc.
After its establishment in 2016, SLU has unreservedly performing its duties (teaching and learning processes, research and community services). In doing so, our University has showing tangible improvements, e.g., surprisingly, 51 research projects were approved for the first time out of the 69 proposals submitted during this academic year (2018/19).
Unlike as a beginner institution, Salale University has highly seeking for applied research activities, which are going to solve the society’s problems, and tried to allocate some budget for researches to be conducted in its thematic areas in various cultural, social, economic and political issues. Accordingly, thorough assessments were done with careful attention by taking plenty of time to fairly evaluate the submitted proposals and evenly distribute the limited resources for the submitted research proposals during the academic year.
Although our plan was to conduct 30 researches in the whole University level in the academic year, 51 projects are accepted to be carried out that is 20 projects more than our plan, which made 170% achievement in the academic year.
