Leather Product Engineering

Background 

 Leather product engineering is one of the main fields that can play a leading role in the economic development of a country. The Leather Product Engineering program is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary for a successful career in the leather industry. This interdisciplinary field combines aspects of material science, engineering, fashion design, and manufacturing processes specific to leather products. The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) established different Institutes with the main objectives of producing trained professionals, conducting research and development activities, rendering consultancy services, and providing technical support to the sector. In this regard EiTEX also took the responsibility of producing professionals with broad-based education and training in leather goods footwear design, and manufacturing; to enable graduates to be creative, adaptable, and problem solvers in the challenges of the professions in the rapidly changing environment that exists in the globe. Moreover, it aims to initiate, develop, and sustain research activities that are critical for the conditioning of the advancement of the Ethiopian leather sectors involved in leather production and design. The leather industry faces a major crunch in terms of well-trained manpower in the areas of advanced technology, manufacturing, and design with an adequate grasp of technical and cultural matters. 

Our Mission

To train leading and entrepreneurial Leather Products Engineers who can use professional knowledge and skills in the direction of leather and leather products industry's needs and progress, follow and apply the technological developments and innovations, solve professional problems, be aware of the environmental and ethical responsibility of the profession and contribute to the technological and economic development of our society; and carry out the research and development of leather and leather products sector.

Our Vision    

To become a leading education and research institution at the national and international level, training leather engineers with high standards who are required by the leather and leather products sector in our country and the world, contributing to the international competitiveness of the Ethiopia leather and leather products sector by education and research activities.

Professional profile

Leather product engineering is a profession that deals with the application of scientific and engineering principles to the design and control of all aspects of leather processing, leather materials, leather chemistry, leather products manufacturing, and machinery. These include leather materials, interactions of materials with the machine, safety and health, energy conservation, and waste and pollution control. Additionally, the professionals are also enabled to do leather industry plant layout and facility design, leather product manufacturing design and improvement, and designing and creating leather products.

In Leather Product Engineering, it is essential to discipline the engineers, who can use recently developing technologies and have the properties to realize production and modification of any leather type by using basic or alternative methods to usage place and aims, controlling physical and chemical properties in all stages of the leather production, evaluating and marketing of leather items, reducing solid wastes and effluents of the leather industry and converting these wastes to a suitable form for achieving to the economy as an additional value.

The tasks, that professionals in Leather product engineering undertake, are too many to list them all. Some of the typical tasks the professionals are expected to deal with after completing their studies are:

- To have basic and modern knowledge about Leather material Science, footwear technology, footwear design, leather design, and production of Leather Goods.

- To be able to utilize the knowledge of mathematics and science in the Leather product engineering profession.

- Understanding of eco-friendly practices and sustainable sourcing of leather products materials.

- To be able to design leather products and collections

- To be able to define, interpret, and solve the problems related to Leather industry

- To be able to design and apply a trial/project in the Leather product Engineering field and to make a conclusion by evaluating the experimental data.

- To be able to use advanced techniques and modern tools necessary for Leather product Engineering applications.

- To use the information technologies necessary for the Leather product Engineering field.

- To be able to show the skill of evaluating and marketing leather items.

Potential Employers (Job opportunities)

Graduates in Leather Product Engineering have various potential employers across multiple sectors. Some of the potential employers are listed below:

=> Fashion Designer and Apparel Companies

- Designers and manufacturers of high-end leather goods, such as handbags and shoes.

- Companies producing affordable leather products.

=> Footwear Manufacturers

- Specialized firms focusing on leather footwear for casual, formal, and athletic markets (Like Anbessa shoe).

=> Leather Industry Development Institute (LIDI)

                  - Graduates will be employed at LIDI as a designer and researcher 

=> Automotive Industry

      - Manufacturers that use leather for car interiors, upholstery, and accessories.

=> Furniture and Upholstery Companies

      - Businesses producing leather furniture, including sofas, chairs, and decorative items.

=> Leather Goods Manufacturers

      - Companies specializing in a range of leather products, from belts and wallets to luggage and accessories.

=> Tanneries

      - Facilities that process raw hides into finished leather, employing engineers for quality control and production.

=> Sustainable and Ethical Brands

      - Firms focusing on eco-friendly leather alternatives and sustainable production practices.

=> Consulting Firms

      - Companies offering expertise in leather technology, product development, and sustainability practices.

=> Research and Development Organizations

      - Institutions focused on innovation in materials science and leather technology.

=> Government and Regulatory Agencies

      - Organizations that oversee industry standards, environmental regulations, and trade practices in the leather sector.

=> Leather import and export agencies

=> Environmental Protection Authorities

Admission Requirements

 Applicants should achieve the minimum score on the Ethiopian Higher Education Qualification Certificate Examination (EHEQCE) or equivalent which satisfies the admission cut point to higher education set by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Higher Education Relevance and Quality Agency.

Assessment & Evaluation

The Assessment and Evaluation will be according to current rules and regulations of the Legislation of the Ethiopia Institute of Textile and Fashion Technology and the modifications, alterations, or amendments carried out by the appropriate authorities.

Graduation Requirement

The duration of study for an undergraduate degree will be five complete academic years, out of which the last semester will be exclusively allotted to the Thesis work. As regards Bachelor Thesis, the student should have completed all the prescribed courses of all nine modules successfully with a minimum number grade of 2.00 in each of the courses. For graduation, a minimum number grade of 2.00 is required. Other requirements will be according to the prevailing rules and regulations of the university/institution.

Degree Nomenclature

The degree awarded to students who complete the minimum requirements is labeled in English & Amharic.

In English: Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Degree in Leather Product Engineering

Course Detail 

The major features of the curriculum include the following:

Core leather Product Engineering courses such as Leather product design and Core leather Product Engineering courses, pattern making, footwear design, footwear technology, Collection and Range Building, leather accessory design, leather technology, Leather production techniques, Sustainable leather Fashion, Leather Finishing, Leather Analysis and Quality Control, Leather product marketing, & Computer-Aided Design (CAD) for Leather Products have been given the necessary emphasis. The practical education aspect of each course, laboratory/workshop exercises, project work, and industrial internship is given adequate scope. 

The practical education aspect of each course, laboratory/workshop exercises, and project work are given adequate scope. To gain practical skills, the students will be working in the leather and footwear industry as part of the program. The importance given to this aspect can be seen from the fact that the students will be spending their full time in the leather industry for ½ semester with an ECTS credit of 28.

To accredit the program the European Accreditation Institution, the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), and FDRE ETA are used. ECTS credits are a value allocated to courses to describe the student workload required to complete them. They reflect the quantity of work each course requires with the total amount of work required to complete a full year of academic study at the institution: lectures, practical work, seminars, private work- in the library or at home- and examinations.

Research Centre and Laboratories

The program maintains a robust research output, engaging in diverse areas of expertise and publishing in local and international reputable journals. Technology acts as a delivery tool, while the program engages in multidisciplinary research across various thematic areas such as industry operation research, product design and development, converting waste from apparel and leather industries into valuable products, and industry effluent treatment. 

Currently, the program has one research center with four sub-groups

=> Sustainable Leather and Leather Product Research Centre (SL2PRC)

- Eco-design and product innovation research group

- Environmental sustainability waste management research group

- Sustainable leather materials research group

- Ethiopian Indigenous arts and handcraft research group 

Facilities and Laboratories

The facility under the Leather Product Engineering program

Programs Offered:

    => Undergraduate Programs

- Leather Engineering 

- Leather Technology (in Progress) 

- Footwear Technology (in Progress)

    => Postgraduate Programs

- Leather product design and engineering (regular and extension) (M.Sc.)

- Leather Technology (PhD)

- Footwear Design and Engineering (PhD)

Products that were done by our students 

Academic and Technical Staff

List of Academic and Technical staff under the Leather Product Engineering:

Contact Person:

  Mr. Seid Ahmed 

   Department Head, Leather Product Engineering 

   Ethiopian Institute of Textile & Fashion Technology, Bahir Dar University

   Email: seid86925@gmail.com

   Phone: +251925229089 

   P.O. Box: 1037