Building Self-Reliant Universities and Institutions through Systems and Strategic Thinking

Building Self-Reliant Universities and Institutions through Systems and Strategic Thinking A five-day executive training program designed to equip senior institutional leaders with the strategic tools necessary to transition academic and public organizations toward self-reliant governance is underway in Addis Ababa.

Running from July 13 to July 17, 2026, the intensive capacity-building program, titled “Transitioning Self-Reliant Governance from Policy to Implementation: Systems and Strategic Thinking,” brings together presidents, vice presidents, and senior leadership from nine Ethiopian public universities, alongside senior officials from the Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS).

This high-level collaborative initiative is jointly organized by the Ministry of Labor and Skills, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, PSI-Lab, and the Entrepreneurship Development Institute.

The curriculum is specifically engineered to shift institutional leaders away from traditional, rigid planning models, introducing them instead to adaptive systems thinking, strategic planning, change management, and agile project execution. By shaping how leaders navigate institutional complexity, anticipate unintended policy consequences, and design resilient implementation pathways, the program directly supports Ethiopian universities as they transition toward autonomous, self-reliant governance models.

This multi-sector partnership reflects a shared commitment to building a highly capable, forward-looking leadership class equipped to drive institutional transformation and advance Ethiopia’s long-term socioeconomic development goals.