1. Statistical capacity building in Ethiopia: Recent experiences, needs, challenges and the way forward.
Arnoldo Frigessi
University of Oslo

2. Professor in Statistics at Medical Faculty UiO
Leader of a center for innovation BigInsight
In Italy until 1997
Norad (Norhed) project MASTMO with Trondheim, from 2007
Visiting professor HU
Proud father

3. Modern statistics and big data
Statistics for Ethiopia
Challenges and possible actions

4. Statistics is not just tables

5. Statistics is …
… predicting the future,
… understanding how things work,
… taking decisions in uncertain situations,
from DATA.

6. predicting the future
How will the price of coffee evolve in the next 5 months?
DATA:
history of prices
world economy indices
weather predictions
production plans in Brazil & Vietnam
demand outlook

7. understanding how things work
Do vicinity to hydroelectric dams increase malaria risk?
DATA:
Not much.
There is enough water around in rainy seasons

8. DATA
ACTION
BRIDGE OF STATISTICS

9. STATISTICS FOR ETHIOPIA
Education: prepare students to use statistics in their job
Public health: infrastructure and management
Agriculture: performance
Infrastructure and logistics: planning, operations and maintenance
Industry: performance
Energy: production, distribution, prices
Communications: planning and operations
Government: priorities, uncertainties …
… to help accelerate development towards better living.

10. Of course, first of all we need …
Doctors
Engineers
Teachers
Social workers …
But statisticians are cheep and make impact !

11. STATISTICS IN ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia has high quality pedagogical competence
Basic statistical education present in almost all universities.
Strong Central Statistical Office
MSc is Statistics in a few Universities (Addis, Jimma, Hawassa)
PhD programme starting now ( 6 students in Hawassa)
Excellent campus infrastructure!

12. MSc Mathematical and Statistical Modelling
funded by NORAD ~ 2 mil USD
4 Ethiopia students got PhD at NTNU
Started MSc in 2009
20 weeks/year teaching/supervising in Hawassa
by ~10 from Norway
6 cohorts
70 graduated students!
Mostly (all?) teaching in the
new universities

13. PhD programme 2014-2020, ~ 1 mil USD Degree at HU
10 PhD fully funded + 10 partially
4 years, 25% MSc teaching
1-2 years in Norway

14. CHALLENGES (Electricity) (Internet) (Books) (Laptops)
(Offices/places to study)

15. CHALLENGES Lack of experienced staff/professors, too few with PhD.
Number of students per staff 2-3 times too high.
Insufficient English.
Too little time available to study and work.
Curriculum still too abstract. More project based!
Too little contact with real world: Industry, Government, Hospitals, Businesses, …

16. CHALLENGES Academic hierarchies Career not enough based on results
Gender balance insufficient
Almost no “senior” mentors
International network too weak

17. THE WAY FORWARD
Statistics should contribute more to society!
Go out in the real society, find data to solve problems.
Impact!
Statistics should have more dialogue with industries!
A statistician in every business! Teachers from industry.
Crossdisciplinarity!
More joint projects across disciplines and faculties
Teach less theory and more problem solving.
Practical competence.
Make a national plan to provide statistical capacity and competence: 400 MSc and 100 PhD in 10 years.

18. THE WAY FORWARD
Strengthen legitimacy of academia!
Every country needs academic think-tanks that
contribute to society: free, critical, constructive.
A more flat academic organisation!
Academic leadership linked to results.
Stable, clear, easy and enforced rules.
Support gender parity and diversity
Support a national plan to provide statistical capacity and competence: 400 MSc and 100 PhD in 10 years.

19. CAPACITY BUILDING
starts where we are
small steps, important steps
long term perspective, but with short term aims
incentives.

20. the national plan for Ethiopian statistics
EthioStat2030 –
the national plan for Ethiopian statistics
100 PhD
400 MSc
100 industrial projects
100 International academic visits
10 Courses revised
10 meetings with the Minister
20 mil USD from international collaborations
in the next 10 years?