About the Department

Background

The Department of Plant Sciences, which was launched during the 2010/11 Academic Year (2003 e.c.), is one of the pioneer departments in College of Agriculture and Environmental Science (former Faculty of Agriculture), University of Gondar (UoG). In the wake of its establishment, the department began training students for BSc degree in Plant Sciences and undertaking different problem solving research, technology transfer and community service projects. Tough young, the department is considered one of the Best Performing Departments in the University and has received different awards from the University in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 academic year (2005 and 2006 E.C.) consecutively for its unreserved effort and pro-activeness for better teaching, research, technology transfer and community service activities. The department started teaching, research and community service activities by just 6 Lecturers, 3 Graduate Assistants, and only 40 students during the 2010/11 Academic Year.

In order to know about the employments and job opportunities of its graduates, the department has been working on tracking and communicating with its former students and the feedbacks from the students show that almost all graduates had been employed in different sectors. This shows that the students graduated are competent enough and the new students coming to the department have huge job opportunity. Additionally among the Eleven academic staff recruited for the Department of Plant Sciences from the vacancy advertised nationally on Adiszemen gazetta, Eight graduates recruited were graduates in the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Gondar which indicates that the graduates of the department are competent enough anywhere.

In order to deliver quality education and undertake problem solving research and community service activities, the Department of Plant Sciences has a “Learning by doing” core value of its curriculum and hence has established research and teaching demonstration sites at Teda, Dabat and Belesa farm sites. For this purpose, different varieties of chickpea, Sorghum, Teff, Wheat, Barely, Haricot bean, Mung bean, Field pea, and Lentil crops had been collected basic seeds from different Agricultural Research Centers of the country and planted and used as a basic tools for practical based education and research at the demonstration sites.

Objectives of the Department of Plant Sciences

Along with producing competent professionals, the Department of Plant Sciences is aimed to meet the following objectives:

• .To produce qualified and competent graduates in the field of Plant Sciences with the required skills, knowledge and attitudes
• -To produce well trained Plant Sciences professionals that can conduct research to generate, adopt and disseminate improved crop production and protection technologies.
• -To generate and disseminate improved crop production and protection technologies by integrating teaching and research activities with extension activities so as to extend the newly improved technologies to the farmers.
• -To provide technical advice, consultancy services and short term training to farming community including investors, development agents and other stakeholders in crop production and protection
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Available Facilities

Department of Plant Sciences have the following facilities