AA University: Department of Sport Science to launch Ph.D. program

Addis Ababa , Ethiopia – The Department of Sport Science of the Addis Ababa University (AAU) is going to launch Ph.D. program in Sport Science in the upcoming academic year.

The department held discussion with scholars of sport science to validate the curriculum for the program during the international workshop held from December 28-29, 2016 at Ghion Hotel.

Requirement for eligibility and course content were among the areas of discussion. The workshop also deliberated on traditional sports, sport science and Ph.D. curriculum validation with the aim of promoting traditional games and sports.

Prof. Admasu Tsegaye, President of Addis Ababa University, while officially opening the ceremony noted that Ethiopia has over 80 nations and nationalities that have their own culture and sporting traditions which have significant importance for health care and physical fitness. “Most of the traditional sports have a long but unrecorded history,” according to Prof. Admasu’s statement.

The workshop also highlighted traditional games and sports as potent points of harmony that reinforce the human relationships within a particular community apart from their health care advantages.

Sahlemikael Bezuneh (Ph.D.), lecturer at the Department of Sport Science of the AAU, stated that the sport industry is rapidly expanding, anticipating that we should soon see encouragement to incorporate traditional sports in schools and campuses to enhance its development.

He also further explained that the workshop recognized the advantages of investigating and documenting our traditional sports for its further development.

Scholars from India, Korea, Veitnam, Tunisia, USA and Ethiopia were in attendance and presented papers on various traditional sports of their respective countries.