Establishment of the Institute of Land Administration (ILA) Bahir Dar University (BDU)

ORGUT was contracted by the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden to support the establishment of the Institute of Land Administration at the Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia. The successful piloting of land registration and related administration as part of the Sida-Amhara Rural Development Programme implemented by ORGUT until 2010 led to a steadily increasing demand for competent national land administration professionals. The programme to support the establishment of an institute for higher education in land administration was therefore designed to meet this immediate need but also to strategically address the increased institutional capacity needs required for the development of a robust and self- sustaining land administration sector in Ethiopia.

The objective of the support was to establish and support in managing a land administration institute that ultimately improve the life conditions of the many poor by a land administration system that indirectly will support food security and poverty reduction. The major components included:

• BSc level education programmes, Academic staff development, Upgrading of current practitioners skills,
• Institutional development support and Infrastructure development, and
• Teaching methodology development.

The programme was implemented by the Bahir Dar University with technical support from KTH and ORGUT. The Environmental Protection and Land Use Authority, EPLAUA, also had an important role; in the short run by providing part time instructors from among its staff members to the education programme, and in the long run by employing graduates of the institute, and it also benefitted from staff upgrading programmes.