BAHIR DAR UNIVERSITY (BDU) CELEBRATES THE HISTORIC GRADUATION OF STUDENT UNION EXECUTIVES AT THE NILE EXECUTIVE 

BAHIR DAR, ETHIOPIA — In a monumental milestone for national academic excellence and institutional governance, Bahir Dar University’s flagship Nile Executive Leadership Academy (NELA) officially graduated its newest cohort of trailblazers as part of its Presidential Young Leadership Training Program. From July 9–27, 2026, top student union executives from 10 premier universities across the nation—including Addis Ababa University (AAU)—converged for an elite, high-level executive training program: Advanced Leadership Practice for Student Union Executives. While executives from 13 universities were originally invited, the final cohort represents a powerful, unified national network of youth leadership.

The intensive summer residency culminated in the prestigious presentation of the Certificate of Youth Leadership Mastery, marking a new era of ethical, high-impact student governance in Ethiopia's higher education ecosystem.

A High-Profile Launch

The grand opening of this flagship training program was launched with high-level institutional endorsement, held in the presence of distinguished dignatories: Dr. Mengesha Ayene (President of Bahir Dar University), Dr. Jejaw Demamu (Secretary for the Forum of Heigher Education Institutes in Amhara Region Ethiopia), Prof. Yeshigeta Gelaw (Chief Executive Director, NELA), families of BDU-NELA and invited guests.

Their joint presence underscored the strategic national importance of equipping the next generation of academic and civic leaders with advanced governance capabilities.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Mengesha Ayene strongly emphasized the vital importance of servant leadership in modern governance. He challenged the young executives, stating that youth leaders must actively step up to play a defining role in shaping the future landscape of the nation.

A Blueprint for 21st-Century Governance

This flagship program goes far beyond traditional leadership training. It represents a rigorous, world-class curriculum designed to forge institutional builders. The credential recognizes:

Advanced Governance: Mastery over complex organizational mechanics.

Systems Architecture: The ability to design sustainable, resilient institutional frameworks.

Ethical Fortitude: Cultivating the moral compass required to lead modern student bodies and future global institutions.

The Closing Ceremony

The high-intensity residency concluded with a prestigious closing ceremony attended by key university executives, academic leaders, distinguished NELA Alumni, invited guests, and trainers. Dignitaries honoring the closing included: Prof. Yeshigeta Gelaw (Chief Executive Director, NELA), Prof. Delele Worku (Executive Director of the School of Graduate Studies, BDU), Dr. Wubiete Adinew (Director of Teachers' Affairs, BDU) and Dr. Alemtsehay Mekonnen (Administrative and Business Development Director, NELA).

During the ceremony, Dr. Alemtsehay Mekonnen, Director of Administration and Business Development at NELA, presented an overview of the Academy's achievements since its establishment in 2019/2020 at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University. She highlighted the Academy's major contributions to addressing leadership gaps, its future strategic directions, and the challenges encountered throughout its journey.

Dr. Alemtsehay noted that, since its establishment, the Academy has graduated 54 outstanding leaders through its flagship six-month Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP). 

During the 2025/2026 academic year, NELA also provided short-term leadership training for 60 participants. In addition, the Academy organized, in collaboration with EDI-Ethiopia, Entrepreneurship Training Workshop (ETW) for NELA graduates and alumni, as well as a Public Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem Building (PEIEB)Workshop for Top and Middle Management Team of Bahir Dar University.    She further emphasized that NELA is currently working to establish the Women Executive Leadership Development (WELD) Center, which aims to strengthen women's leadership capacity and promote gender-inclusive leadership development.

Duringtheevent,29 Student Union Leaders whosuccessfullycompletedtheintensive21-day Training Program received certificates from Prof. YeshigetaGelaw, Chief Executive Director (CED) of NELA, and Mr.Melkamu Teshome, NELA Almunus.

The closing ceremony featured a deeply moving reflection session where trainees openly shared their profound appreciation for NELA's life-changing and innovative curriculum. The cohort praised the academy's unique andragogy, highlighting how directly it ground classroom theories into real-world challenges faced by individuals, leaders, institutions and beyond.

Adding an extraordinary artistic and cultural depth to the ceremony, trainee poets took the stage for an inspiring poetry session, delivering powerful original verses written in Amharic and Ge'ez. The reflections reached a historic peak when the trainees themselves initiated and led a solemn Leadership Graduation Oath, collectively pledging their virtue-based leadership to themselves, their universities, their communities, their societies, their nation, their continent and the Universe at large.

The closing remarks were delivered by Prof.Delele Worku. In his address, he commended the NELA for its remarkable achievements and its strong commitment to engaging and supporting its alumni. He encouraged both the graduates and the trainees to actively pursue leadership opportunities wherever they arise—with in their institutions, across Ethiopia, and beyond. He emphasized that the knowledge, skills, and values hey had acquired through the Academy should be translated into ethical leadership, innovation, and meaningful contributions to society.

Prof. Delele Worku also advised the graduates to become lifelong learners. He noted how incredibly fortunate the trainees are to receive advanced, practical leadership training at such an early stage in their careers, pointing out that most leaders step into governance roles today without ever receiving proper foundational training.

Trainees Honor NELA Leadership

In a deeply moving and historic highlight of the graduation ceremony, the trainees—standing proudly as the Cohort IV NELA Fellows and the 2nd Cohort of Youth Leadership Mastery—presented special honors to NELA’s top leadership:

Prof. Yeshigeta Gelaw, the founding Chief Executive Director of NELA,wasawarded by the fellows for his extraordinary dedication to the success of the program, and for his exemplary leadership in teaching, guiding, and mentoring the trainees throughout the intensive regular 6-month postgraduate diplolma program and the summer youth leadership mastery residency.

Dr. Alemtsehay Mekonnen was awarded by the fellows in recognition of her outstanding contributions, administrative excellence, and unwavering support to NELA and its trainees.

Accepting the award, Prof. Yeshigeta Gelaw expressed his deep gratitude to the Fellows and trainees for their heartwarming recognition. He reminded the cohort that they are now uniquely equipped with the science, art, and practices of leadership—a rare curriculum that successfully amalgamates modern scientific methods with ancient wisdom. Stressing that NELA expects a high Return on Investment (ROI) from their leadership, Prof. Yeshigeta delivered an inspiring call to action:

"ብትችሉ ሐዋርያ ባትችሉ አርድኢት (ደቀመዛሙርት) በመሆን፣ ራሳችሁን ዘወትር 'ለካህን'—ማለትም ለሕሊናችሁ፣ ለሕዝባችሁ፣ ለጥበበኞች፣ ለዘመኑና ለታሪክ—እያሳያችሁ ዓለም ለሁላችንም መልካም ትሆን ዘንድ በቁርጠኝነት ሥሩ።"

(Whether you become apostles or disciples of leadership, always manifest your authentic self to your 'priest'—which is your conscience, your people, the wise, your era, and history itself. Work with unwavering commitment to make the world good for all of us.)

He concluded his charge by echoing the passionate, timeless lyrics of Michael Jackson: "Heal the World; Make it a better place for you and for me!"

Prof. Yeshigeta also expressed his heartfelt appreciation to all NELA Alumni and invited guests including Prof. Mengesha Admasu (former President of University of Gondar), Dr. Solomon Worku (Senior Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Health of Ethiopia) and Dr. Sisay Girma (Director of Entrepreneurship Development Center at BDU) for playing key role in facilitating the training and for their unwavering support to NELA and its programs.

Shaping Tomorrow, Today

NELA continues to solidify its position as Ethiopia's premier hub for executive transformation. By investing in student union executives from key institutions in the nation and beyond, Bahir Dar University is actively shaping the visionary, virtuous, resilient, agile and morally grounded leaders and system thinkers who will guide our society into the future.

Congratulations to all our distinguished graduates and NELA Fellows! The future of adaptive leadership begins with you.