
The 5th international research symposium organized by Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU) took place from May 9-10, 2025 under the theme: "Stepping towards sustainability through circular economy: waste into resource".
With its second day plenary session, the symposium inspired its participants with five more keynote speeches made by well experienced professors.
The first keynote speech was made by Professor, Dr. Engineer Esayas Alemayehu from Jimma University who discussed solving water problems with engineering under the theme: “Contribution of Non-linear Problem-Solving Approaches in Achieving Sustainable Water Management: Role of Engineering Solutions”. This was followed by a comprehensive discussion on “The 2024-2025 Magmatic and Tectonic Events on the Fentale-Dofen Volcanic Segment, Main Ethiopian Rift”, presented by Professor Gazahegn Yirgu from Addis Ababa University. This highly stirred the audience recalling them of the recent volcanic activity at Fetale area in Ethiopia’s Rift Valley, which is nearby ASTU. Another speaker was Professor Sultan Suleman from Jimma University who aregues that Ethiopia can be the hub of pharmaceutical industry using circular economy. His presentation was titled: “Advancing Pharmaceutical Manufacturing in Ethiopia: Harnessing Circular Economy Principles and Technological Innovation for Sustainable”. In a similar move, Professor Kang Beom Soo from Pusan National University in South Korea shared insights on aerospace innovation and technology. Finally, Professor Olu Emmanuel Femi, again from Jimma University, spoke about turning industrial waste into useful materials for energy and the environment under the theme: “Waste as a Resource: Harnessing Industrial By-products and Functional Materials for Environmental and Energy Sustainability”. His presentation lent itself to recapping the themes of all the keynote speeches.
The second day plenary session was concluded by giving recognition to the five keynote speakers by vice presidents of Adama Science and Technology University.
In the afternoon syndicate sessions, 20 scientific papers were presented by researchers from public universities across Ethiopia, focusing on four major areas: manufacturing and energy, environment and natural resources, space technology and computational science, and emerging technology.
Dr. Lemma Beresa, Research and Technology Transfer Vice President of Adama Science and Technology University, in his closing remarks pointed out that, the university has made the best out of the successfully held 5th international research symposium. He underscored that as waste should be converted into resources intentionally to contribute for the sustainable development of our country, Ethiopia. Dr. Lemma extended heartfelt gratitude to the scholars from across the globe for sharing their rich experiences and scientific findings without any reservation.