President’s Message

On the occasion of our first anniversary, let me start by congratulating all colleagues and students of this young and vibrant University. A year ago this time, some 960 new university students began to crawl in to the beautiful city of Adigrat, from all corners of the country, for the first time in its history. That was indeed an historical moment to reckon with. Scores of city residents in traditional dress as well as representatives of different governmental and nongovernmental organizations together with the University’s teachers and support staff gathered at the new but incomplete university compound with a sense of joy and satisfaction to receive the incoming students. The original sense of bewilderment was soon to be transformed into a sense

of comprehension and togetherness. It was a moment of relief particularly for the university academic and administrative staff who have been working day and night, to put things in order, in the days preceding to the arrival of students.

Like any other new university, Adigrat University has had its own humble beginning. It set itself big targets to be achieved within a relatively short time. The activities performed in the first year of its operation are just part of the bigger picture. Opportunely, it did not have to start from scratch. It had the experience of seasoned universities from which to build on. It had the possibility of building on the positive experiences and achievements of other universities in the country; while also carefully and consciously sidelining whatever unnecessary experiences may have been there. A year of hard work and ingenuity has thus become the hallmark of our activities at the university. All in all, the first year of operation can be reckoned as a success story and it has been attained amidst all kinds of challenges and difficulties. It is also an indication of what is more to come in the years ahead. Without discounting the future challenges, and as the saying goes, well begun is half done.