Bahir Dar University Sport Academy is a newly established institute with the objectives of offering different programs of instruction, research and services regionally, nationally and internationally. The role of the academy in higher education is to prepare students for sport professions in the areas of sports coaching, sports management, sports medicine, sport studies and fitness. To achieve this end, the university has already invested a lot of money in the construction of standardized infrastructures such as a stadium, and different fields for ball games needed for giving quality education and trainings. This really enables the university to have a centre of excellence in sport sciences being the first of its kind in the country. In addition, there is also a high level of commitment from the top management of the university to continue the construction of an internationally standardized swimming pool and gymnasium. With no exaggeration, this will make the academy unique and the best in East Africa. This coupled with the trained manpower in the academy allows the production of competent professionals who will be able to implement effectively the transformation and development plan of the nation at large and the policies, regulations, strategic plans, etc of the federal and regional sport commissions specifically



Nowadays, there is a great effort being exerted to transform Bair Dar University into a highly regarded research centre. The sport academy is one of the well-established resources with favourable conditions to make this objective successful. Furthermore, the academy plans to expand service delivery to the community through research, consultation, short-term training, and using sport facilities. All these services play a great role in achieving one of the university's missions, community service, which is practical and fruitful. To achieve these successfully, the university has approved a new structural organization of the academy. The manpower is being deployed accordingly to make the academy fully functional. Another tremendous progress is that an MSc program in football coaching has been opened and students are enrolled for the program which will lay a foundation to develop the research culture in the academy.

We strongly believe that different stakeholders can also contribute a lot to the academy's success. We should be able to create strong links with them. Even though the academy is in its infancy stage, some attempts have been made to create links with sister universities locally and internationally. We will continue our effort to link the academy with many other universities, sport academies, and governmental and non -governmental organizations. Taking this opportunity, we would like to announce that the academy is ready to collaborate with all stakeholders concerning any sport activities and it gives professional support to the needy.

As a dean of the academy, I do not doubt that the academy will become a centre of excellence with the cooperation of the staff members, the usual commitment of the leadership, and the active participation of all stakeholders.

Thank you!