Mekuria Teklemariam, the former minister of urban development and construction in Ethiopia, has earned his doctorate degree in Information and Telecommunications Technology Management, graduating summa cum laude from the Global IT Technology Program (ITTP) in August. After residing in Korea for the past four years, Dr. Teklemariam returned to Ethiopia on September 10 upon completion of his PhD at KAIST.
Dr. Teklemariam’s research focused on “differentiating mobile broadband policies across diffusion stages” and “developing tailored strategy for mobile applications adoption across diffusion levels” — the first of which was published in Telecommunications Policy, and the second of which was submitted to the Technology in Society journal. His biggest motivation for choosing these topics arose from his desire to develop and propose a tailored broadband policy for his home country, Ethiopia. Within the next five years, Dr. Teklemariam plans to develop policies and allocate resources to projects related to improving Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) diffusion — especially broadband internet diffusion — not only in Ethiopia, but also throughout Africa. In fact, the former minister has already initiated his plan by reaching out to the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) in Korea for support and collaboration with the Ethiopian government.
When asked about his experience at KAIST, Dr. Teklemariam — who chose KAIST mainly for its scientific and research production that contributed to Korea’s economic development — expressed great satisfaction towards the academics, research, services, and even the campus and facilities. However, he hopes that KAIST will dedicate more effort towards building its global image by increasing its affiliations with universities in other countries with good research outcomes. Dr. Teklemariam further mentioned the value in volunteer programs between countries such as Ethiopia and Korea, and noted the importance of the international alumni’s role of welcoming and receiving students from their own country. He also strongly recommends Ethiopian students pursuing graduate studies to join KAIST.
Dr. Teklemariam speaks basic and conversational Korean and has succeeded in living in Korea without too much difficulty, despite the language barrier. As for differences in mindset and culture, he commented that he admires the professionality of and academic values of the KAIST professors, as well as the Korean people’s time discipline, reliability in terms of promises made, and give-and-take balance, to name just a few.
As Dr. Teklemariam reflected on the memories he made in Korea, he pinpointed his trips to Jeju, Daegu, Gyeongju, and Pohang from which he learned about Korean history and even about Korean industries and technology. To wrap up his time in KAIST and Korea, he would like to thank his advisor Professor Youngsun Kwon, his Taekwondo trainer Professor Taeyoon Jang, his mentor Professor Jaejung Rho, and his friend Woogie.
Upon returning to his homeland, Ethiopia, Dr. Teklemariam was appointed to the Chief Executive Office of Ethiopian Policy and Research Institute (with the rank of a minister) by the current Ethiopian prime minister.